This Will Be (An Everlasting Love): SATB Choral Octavo

Greg Gilpin's arrangement captures the irresistible momentum of the original without requiring a pit band or elaborate staging. The writing sits comfortably for student singers while the gospel vocabulary and rhythmic drive keep everyone engaged from the downbeat. It's a rare pop arrangement that actually rewards careful rehearsal and builds genuine ensemble skills rather than coasting on familiarity.

The energy is relentless and joyful, built on a groove that makes you want to move. There's sophistication in the voicing and harmony beneath the infectious surface; this isn't mindless fun, it's celebration built on craft.

This arrangement works for any mixed choir with solid ensemble fundamentals and comfort with contemporary harmony and syncopation. It's equally at home in a show choir finale or an evening concert that needs genuine excitement without resorting to novelty.

• Shape the dynamic contour deliberately across the full arc rather than singing full volume from measure one; the climax lands hardest when you've reserved energy for the final section.
• Lock the rhythm section (basses and altos on the backbeat foundation) before layering soprano and tenor lines; this gospel feel requires rhythmic precision, not approximation.
• Use the recorded accompaniment strategically in sectional rehearsals to lock voicing balance, then rehearse frequently without it so the choir owns the vertical sonority.
• Articulate the eighth-note figures cleanly; gospel style demands clarity in the rhythmic texture, especially in the parts that drive the groove forward.

Save this for a spot where the audience energy needs lifting or where you want to showcase your choir's ability to handle contemporary idioms with musicianship. It pairs well in a second act alongside other pop or gospel selections, or as a closer that sends the audience out genuinely uplifted.

• Reading syncopated rhythmic figures in contemporary gospel style
• Balancing between rhythmic precision and forward-moving flow
• Voicing awareness in close harmony (especially important in the alto and tenor lines)
• Sustaining energy and ensemble focus through repetitive material without losing detail
• Stylistic interpretation of R&B-influenced phrasing and articulation