Thunder!: 1st Percussion: Choral SoundPax
Words and music by Sally K. Albrecht
Item: 00-PC-0014958_PC1
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Description
Can you hear it "rumbling, tumbling, grumbling all over town?" In a minor key, but sure to be a major hit! The deep-sounding piano accompaniment and optional percussion add even more stormy drama!
Don't just read it, hear it, play along with it, and watch your students grow with it. In MakeMusic Cloud, Thunder!: 1st Percussion: Choral SoundPax comes alive with professional accompaniment, adjustable tempo, and built-in practice tools that turn solo practice into real progress.
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Additional Details
Series:
Alfred Choral Designs
Publisher:
Alfred Music
Page Count:
8
SKU:
00-PC-0014958_PC1
Instrumentation:
SoundPax
More about this title
About the Composer: Sally K. Albrecht
Sally K. Albrecht has shaped American choral music for decades as a composer, conductor, and clinician with a particular gift for movement-integrated arrangements. Since 1987, she has received annual ASCAP Special Music Awards and maintains over 600 published choral works alongside 75 larger musicals and songbooks. Her conducting has led honor choirs at prestigious venues including Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, and The Kennedy Center across the country.
Albrecht spent more than thirty years directing school choral, vocal, and elementary music publications at major educational publishers, most recently at Alfred Music. She has taught at Oakland University in Michigan, Jersey City State College in New Jersey, and Meredith College in North Carolina. A Cleveland native, she earned her B.A. from Rollins College in music and theater (1976), then completed both an M.A. in Drama and an M.M. in Accompanying from the University of Miami (1977 and 1979). She currently resides in Wake Forest, North Carolina, with her husband Jay Althouse, also a noted composer and arranger. Albrecht has chaired the Board of Trustees for Omicron Delta Kappa National Leadership Honor Society and received their Pillar of Leadership award, as well as Distinguished Alumna Awards from both the University of Miami Frost School of Music and Rollins College in 2021.
Why we love this
Albrecht writes choral music that lands with immediate theatrical impact. The minor key and storm imagery give this piece genuine dramatic weight, while the optional percussion and rich piano writing ensure it sounds substantial without requiring an enormous ensemble or extensive rehearsal time. It's the kind of concert piece that reminds audiences why they love coming to choral performances.
What to expect
Thunder rumbles beneath the surface of this piece, building tension through deep piano sonorities and the gradual layering of voices. The minor key creates an unsettling, dramatic atmosphere that feels urgent and alive, inviting audiences into a vivid soundscape of weather and movement.
Who it's for
This piece works well for middle school through high school choirs seeking a dramatic, concert-ready number that doesn't require advanced vocal technique. The minor key and stormy subject matter appeal to young singers who enjoy character-driven music with narrative shape.
How to get the most out of it
- Lean into the atmospheric minor key by allowing the sustained vowels to resonate fully; the rumbling piano underneath supports this kind of spacious phrasing better than rushed text delivery.
- If using the optional percussion parts, place those players where they can respond visually to your conducting; the storm effects need coordination more than independence.
- The recorded accompaniment gives your ensemble a solid reference for tempo and harmonic support during rehearsals, especially helpful when introducing the piece or working with less experienced singers.
How to use it
Program this as a strong opening number to grab attention, or pair it strategically with lighter fare to create dynamic contrast in a concert. The theatrical imagery and minor key make it equally effective as a standalone dramatic statement or as part of a larger thematic set about nature or storytelling.
Skills your students will build
- Singing in minor keys with harmonic awareness
- Blending voices across multiple parts in contemporary choral writing
- Responding to dramatic text painting and imagery
- Coordinating with optional percussion and accompaniment
- Sustaining long vowels and phrases with proper support