The Dream of the Plastic Bag: SSA Choral Octavo

Deceptively gentle at first, the piece carries an undercurrent of urgency that builds without becoming heavy. The harmonic language feels modern and accessible, balancing moments of lyricism with direct, grounded text painting that keeps listeners engaged throughout.

SSA and SSAA choirs seeking contemporary secular repertoire with substance. This works equally well for high school women's groups, college treble choirs, and community ensembles looking to expand beyond traditional concert fare.

• Find the natural speech rhythm in the lyrics before locking into the written meter; this keeps the text from feeling metronomic and lets the meaning come through.
• Balance the three parts as equal voices rather than treating any line as accompaniment, which reveals harmonic colors that might otherwise disappear.
• Work the dynamic shape in long arcs across phrases rather than measure by measure; the piece breathes better when singers understand where the climax lives.

Pair this with other contemporary secular works on a concert exploring environmental themes or human relationships with nature. Its 11 pages make it substantial enough to anchor a program section without overwhelming rehearsal time.

• Interpreting contemporary compositional language and harmonic movement
• Text projection and meaningful delivery of social commentary
• Blending three independent SSA lines with equal weight
• Dynamic shaping across longer phrase structures