This December Season!: SoundTrax Digital Audio Download

This collection brings together eight accomplished choral writers, each contributing a distinctive voice to holiday repertoire that avoids the predictable. The recorded accompaniments free your rehearsal time from piano duties while giving students a polished reference sound, and the mix of sacred and secular options means you can program across different concert contexts without feeling repetitive.

These arrangements balance warmth with contemporary arranging craft. You'll find moments of straightforward homophony alongside inventive voicings, and the recorded accompaniments lend a polished, intimate quality that feels appropriate whether you're in a small auditorium or a larger concert space.

Middle school and high school choir programs looking for accessible, well-crafted holiday arrangements that sit comfortably in the choral octavo genre. Directors who want quality recorded accompaniments built in will value the SoundTrax format, which reduces rehearsal pressure and provides a professional sound model for students.

• Reference the SoundTrax recording during early rehearsals to establish stylistic intent; Albrecht and her collaborators often shape phrasing in ways that serve the text rather than default to square phrasing.
• Balance blend against clarity when parts overlap in the arrangement; recorded accompaniment can mask tuning issues, so use unaccompanied sectional work to lock intonation before adding the track.
• Shape dynamics relative to the accompaniment texture rather than in isolation, especially in moments where the keyboard line thickens or drops away.
• Attend to any movement suggestions in the score; several pieces in this collection incorporate choreography that Albrecht designs to enhance the musical storytelling.

Build a holiday concert that mixes sacred and secular selections by drawing from this collection across both subcategories, giving your program coherence without predictability. Alternatively, use individual selections strategically: opener or closer roles, or as a lighter moment between more complex repertoire.

• Singing with recorded accompaniment (listening, ensemble synchronization, independence)
• Blend and balance in mixed-voice and unison textures
• Text expression through contemporary arranging styles
• Intonation in non-traditional harmonic settings
• Interpreting stylistic nuance from a professional reference recording