What About Us (arr. Hans Reintjes): SAB Choral Octavo

Hans Reintjes has crafted an arrangement that preserves the song's defiant energy while making it genuinely singable across three parts. The SAB voicing avoids the trap of oversimplifying pop arrangements, instead asking singers to lock into a contemporary groove while managing real harmonic movement. Programming this signals to your choir that contemporary pop belongs in the concert hall when it's arranged with this level of respect for both the song and the singers.

Urgent and vulnerable at once. The song's central question burns with conviction while maintaining moments of introspection. Singing this feels like you're part of something larger than yourself, a shared declaration wrapped in contemporary production sensibilities.

Choirs seeking contemporary material that challenges rather than condescends to singers. This arrangement works for groups comfortable with pop idioms and looking to program music that matters to their students' lives. Strong sight-readers in the alto and bass sections will appreciate the harmonic sophistication beneath the accessible surface.

• Treat the rhythm section as the foundation. Even if you're singing a cappella, lock the pulse together before layering in harmonic content.
• Balance the lyrics' defiance with precision in unison passages. The power comes from collective commitment, not individual volume.
• Pay attention to the arranger's dynamic markings. Reintjes builds texture deliberately, and ignoring those cues flattens the emotional arc.

Consider pairing this with other contemporary pop or musical theater selections to build a set that reflects how students actually experience music. It also serves as a bridge piece in concert programs that otherwise lean classical, signaling that your choir's musical taste spans genres. The emotional weight makes it a strong concert closer or pre-intermission number.

• Maintaining rhythmic precision in contemporary grooves
• Balancing choral blend with contemporary pop phrasing
• Reading syncopated rhythmic figures in all three parts
• Sustaining emotional intensity through repetitive lyrical structures
• Adjusting vowel shapes for modern (rather than classical) vocal tone