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Jo Ann Miller
Jo Ann Miller is one of the most successful conductors and music educators in the upper Midwest — a region known for the excellence of its choral tradition. She is the Director of Choral Activities at North Dakota State University, Music Director of the NDSU Baroque Festival, and Choral Director for the Fargo-Moorhead Symphony. Her choirs have performed at regional and national ACDA conventions, with orchestras including the Winnipeg Symphony, and regularly tour throughout Europe and North America. Miller is a popular guest conductor and clinician throughout the United States and Canada, and is particularly interested in identifying and disseminating works of outstanding new composers.
Mother Goose Gems
Composer: Stephen Shewan
Author/Lyricist: Nursery Rhymes
Voicing: SATB
Released: January 2020
Difficulty: Medium Easy
Listen
“Gems” is right! Six rhymes from Mother Goose, varying from fast to slow, treble voices to TB voices to mixed voices, this set is a concert in itself. Playful, fun, touching, rocking - all these styles and emotions in one wonderful concert work for high school, college or community choir. Easy to Medium in difficulty.
Ask Me No More
Composer: Jeremy S. Bakken
Author/Lyricist: Alfred Lord Tennyson
Voicing: SATB, Divisi
Released: January 2011
Difficulty: Advanced
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This piece was the first winning composition for the North Dakota State University Edwin Fissinger Choral Competition Prize. The Tennyson text has been sensitively and descriptively set to music by Jeremy S. Bakken. Selected for the Jo Ann Miller Choral Series, this beautiful piece uses the choral, a cappella sound to its fullest extent. Medium to difficult, it will be a popular high school and college selection.
Hodie
Composer: Joseph Testa
Author/Lyricist: Sacred Medieval Latin Text
Voicing: SATB
Season: Christmas
Released: January 2005
Difficulty: Medium
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Selected for the JoAnn Miller Choral Series, this outstanding Christmas choral was written by Dr. Joseph Testa of Edgewood College in Madison, Wisconsin. Wonderful a cappella flowing lines celebrate the birth of Christ with the traditional Latin text (English also provided). Excellent for church or school.
John Anderson, My Jo
Composer: Scottish Air and Country Dance Tune
Arranger: Michael Weber
Author/Lyricist: Robert Burns
Voicing: SATB, divisi
Released: January 2017
Difficulty: Medium
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This piece is a polite adaptation by famed Scottish poet, Robert Burns, of a traditional bawdy song of the same name. This more charming version presents a poignant and emotive consideration of human relationships and aging. Arranged sensitively for a cappella mixed voices by Michael Weber of North Dakota State University, one feels the lament and the Scottish countryside. Medium in difficulty, for high school, community and college choirs.
Sunset
Composer: Eric Saari
Author/Lyricist: Walt Whitman
Voicing: SATB
Released: January 2013
Difficulty: Medium
Listen
Eric Saari from North Dakota State University has captured Walt Whitman’s text about sunset with vivid 21st century hues. Bursts of color unfold in words and sound, creating pictures in your mind. High school and college choirs will enjoy this piece from a new composer.
Sweet And Twenty
Composer: Daniel Pederson
Author/Lyricist: William Shakespeare
Voicing: SATB
Released: March 2003
Difficulty: Medium
Listen
In contemporary madrigal style, Daniel Pederson has eloquently set this Shakespeare love poem. Selected for the Jo Ann Miller Choral Series (Univ. North Dakota), this is a high school or college chamber chorus selection that would also be a wonderful festival selection. Caressing harmonies and free floating rhythms enhance this excellent composition.
The Isle Is Full Of Noises
Composer: Paul Ayres
Author/Lyricist: W. Shakespeare
Voicing: SATB
Released: January 2016
Difficulty: Medium
Listen
Ever awakened from a dream and wished you could return to it? British composer Paul Ayers begins with whispering noises before divulging his text, and later brings some Chinese poetry into the mix. His creativity earned him the winner of the North Dakota State Edwin Fissinger Composition Competition and a placement in the Jo Ann Miller Series. Great artisty emerges in this composition that works beautifully for advanced high school, college and community choirs. Medium.
The Last Invocation
Composer: Daniel Pederson
Author/Lyricist: Walt Whitman
Voicing: SATB
Released: March 2002
Difficulty: Medium
Listen
Dr. Jo Ann Miller, from the University of North Dakota, is recognized for her choral excellence. To announce her new series she has selected a piece from a former student, Daniel Pederson. His command for the a capella choral instrument is immediately noticeable in his evocative setting of this Walt Whitman poem. This is the kind of music that keeps choral artistry flourishing and a capella singers returning.
The New Moon
Composer: Nicholas Kelly
Author/Lyricist: Bliss Carman
Voicing: SATB
Released: January 2017
Difficulty: Medium
Listen
Winner of the Edwin Fissinger Composition Competition, this illustrative work has also been selected for the Jo Ann Miller Choral Series. The text by Bliss Carman paints beautiful pictures of the seasons and expresses the joy of love in all. Nicholas Kelly provides a colorful accompaniment and flowing choral lines that surpass the seasons and lift up love. It is a romantic song with a large landscape and a fullfilling message. Good for advanced high school, community and college choirs. Medium difficulty.
The Swing
Composer: Justin Metz
Author/Lyricist: Robert Louis Stevenson
Voicing: SA
Released: January 2008
Difficulty: Easy
Listen
Winner of placement in the Jo Ann Miller series for 2008, new coming composer Justin Metz illustrates the text of Robert Louis Stevenson masterfully. The accompaniment descriptively ''swings'' in the air and the vocal lines follow appropriately after. The elegance of the writing enables this piece to work with treble choir or children's voices. This selection is a true concert pleaser.
The Tyger
Composer: Andrew Miller
Author/Lyricist: William Blake
Voicing: SATB
Released: January 2015
Difficulty: Medium Advanced
Listen
The William Blake poems, ''The Lamb'' and ''The Tyger'' are often paired together, and Andrew Miller has composed them so they can be sung as a set or separately. The strength and power of a tiger emerges effortlessly from the superb writing. This selection was selected for the Jo Ann Miller Choral Series and was winner of the 2013 NDSU Edwin Fissinger Choral Composition Contest. Best for advanced high school and college choirs, along with community groups. Medium difficulty.
When Music Sounds
Composer: Nancy Hill Cobb
Author/Lyricist: Walter de la Mare
Voicing: SATB
Released: January 2012
Difficulty: Advanced
Listen
A great celebration of music and creation elevate this glorious piece. Winner of the NDSU competition and selected for the Jo Ann Miller Choral Series, this piece deserves attention. Skilled writer and music professor Nancy Hill Cobb won the competition due to the beauty of her a cappella writing. Appropriate for fine high school and college choirs.