This Is America: 3-Part Mixed Choral Octavo

Energizing and declarative. The gospel and inspirational idioms pulse with rhythmic vitality and emotional directness, creating a piece that both performer and audience can feel fully present in. It carries conviction without sentimentality.

This arrangement welcomes mixed choirs at the intermediate level: groups with singers who have basic part independence but don't yet tackle eight-part harmony or extreme tessituras. It also suits secular choral programs seeking contemporary music with substance and social relevance.

• Attend closely to the relationship between your parts and any recorded accompaniment; the gospel sensibility here thrives on rhythmic precision and locked ensemble feel.
• Explore dynamic contrast across the five pages. Resist the urge to sing the whole piece at one volume; let the arrangement breathe with crescendos and recessions that highlight the lyrical and rhythmic content.
• Consider the text delivery as integral to the performance. Clarity and conviction in diction carry this piece; under-articulation flattens its impact.
• Balance the three parts so no voice gets buried. In inspirational and gospel-influenced writing, all layers carry melodic or rhythmic weight.

This works beautifully as a concert closer or a centerpiece in a program exploring American voices and contemporary perspectives. It can anchor a thematic concert about identity, community, or social awareness, or stand powerfully on its own in a mixed repertoire concert where you want a piece with modern relevance.

• Gospel-influenced rhythmic feels and syncopation
• Part independence in three-part texture
• Blend and balance with limited voicing
• Text delivery and diction clarity
• Engagement with contemporary social themes through music