Wheels of a Dream: SSA Choral Octavo

This octavo captures a pivotal dramatic moment from a Tony-winning score that resonates with students and audiences alike. The arrangement by John Leavitt preserves the song's emotional sweep while keeping the vocal lines singable for SSA choirs, making it genuinely rewarding to rehearse and perform without simplifying the source material.

The piece inhabits the yearning and aspiration at the heart of Ragtime, with a melody that feels both graceful and grounded. There's a cinematic quality to the orchestration and harmony, drawing listeners into an intimate character moment before expanding into fuller ensemble texture.

SSA choirs seeking Broadway material with substance and contemporary relevance. Strong for advanced middle school or high school groups that want to perform an actual award-winning musical moment rather than a simplified arrangement, and for choirs building a diverse season that includes theatrical works.

• Balance the emotional arc across all three verses; this isn't a showstopper belt but an introspective moment that builds gradually.
• Use the recorded accompaniment to anchor tempo and harmony, especially if your choir is new to Ragtime's syncopated idiom.
• Pay attention to any divisi passages marked in the score; they create texture and prevent the soprano line from becoming thin when it carries the melody alone.
• Shape dynamics through vowel color and breath placement rather than volume alone; Flaherty's melody will sing itself if the vowels stay open and resonant.

Program this as a concert feature that stands alone powerfully, or pair it with other Broadway selections to explore how contemporary musical theater engages contemporary themes. It works equally well as a spring concert centerpiece or as part of a themed program exploring American musical traditions.

• Singing sustained melodic lines through emotional shifts without losing vocal support
• Interpreting syncopated rhythms and jazz-inflected harmonies from a Broadway score
• Balancing three independent voice parts while maintaining harmonic clarity
• Working with recorded accompaniments to internalize tempo and harmonic context