The Aces endeavor to sing in as many musical styles as possible each year, with no discrimination except quality of music. In that spirit, the entire list is organized alphabetically, as in our folders (except music for Christmas, which goes at the end…) We had around thirty 2-hour rehearsals this year, plus a weekend retreat, for a total of about 75 hours of singing. They had an additional 30-ish one-hour sectionals on their own.
We presented 19 pieces at our end-of-year concert, including four pieces sung with our intergenerational TTBB group, the RAMChoir.
I’ve provided links to audio/video and the publisher information wherever available.
L’Amour De Moy (15th C. French, Arr. Parker/Shaw)
Advanced. It’s a lovely melody, beautiful text, and features a stirring tenor solo and the crystal-clear linear part writing of Alice Parker. I asked Alice to recommend a piece too-seldom done from her repertoire, and this is what she suggested. I’m glad we did it, though the large amount of French was a major challenge for our students. It will appear on our next album, due later this year.
Bright Lights, Bigger City / Magic (From Pitch Perfect, Arr. Deke Sharon)
Intermediate. Epic pop medley. This is the piece my students selected, purchased, learned, choreographed, and performed as a surprise to me on our final concert. It will appear on our next album.
Dúlamán (Michael McGlynn)
Intermediate. A favorite of our ensemble, this has the benefit of sounding terribly impressive but only really having maybe a dozen measures of 3-part TBarB writing. We learned and performed this in five rehearsals with RAMChoir – the only real challenge is ensuring you have soloists willing to learn the Gaelic.
Everything (Michael Bublé, Arr. Jed Scott) – MANUSCRIPT
Intermediate. I love this new-classic song from Bublé, and arranged this for the group about 8 or 9 years ago. It now rotates in regularly – nice solo features, solid accessible and interesting background parts.
Fionnghuala (Michael McGlynn)
Advanced. We learned this for State Solo & Ensemble, and also performed it in our opening set for The Real Group in April. It’s in Scottish Gaelic, with a very fast and very intricate choral part punctuated by even faster solos. It will appear on our next album, due later this year.
Frobisher Bay (James Gordon, Arr. Diane Loomer)
Advanced. The part writing is accessible, the message is hauntingly beautiful – it’s a contemporary folk song telling of a shipwrecked whaling vessel in northern Canada. What makes it advanced is (A) the tessitura, which is wide, and (B) the duration – at 6 minutes, it is a challenge for focus. Nonetheless, RAMChoir did a wonderful job presenting it with only five rehearsals.
Get Ready (The Temptations, Arr. Jed Scott) – MANUSCRIPT
Primary. We learned this specifically with RAMChoir. It has everything I love for an easy-to-learn pop song: it’s repetitive, high energy, rhythmically interesting, and fun to sing.
Good Old A Cappella – (Carter & Nevada, Arr. Sharon & Raugh)
Primary. This is an Aces standard – we learn it most years. It’s fun, and is certainly an anthem among the a cappella pop set. Deke Sharon’s arrangement is a workhorse – straightforward, easy to learn, and functional.
I Will – (Lennon/McCartney, Arr. Jed Scott) – MANUSCRIPT
Intermediate. I wrote this for the Aces a number of years ago, and brought it back this year when I heard from alumni last year how many of them considered it a favorite. It’s true to the original, though because I’m not fond of a cappella arrangements that are only solo features, it contains several homophonic sections with no solo.
In The Still Of The Night (Fred Parris, Arr. Ed Lojeski) Primary/Intermediate. An a cappella standard. We usually take this down a half-step to E from the original key of F. It makes it more accessible for baritone soloists, less rangy for the tenor 1s, and is just generally a slightly brighter key to match the song.
The Longest Time (Billy Joel, Arr. Roger Emerson)
Intermediate. The Aces sing this faithful transcription every year.
Loveliest of Trees (Jeremy Fox) – MANUSCRIPT
Advanced. We premiered this GORGEOUS setting of A.E. Housman this year at The Real Group concert. The Aces grew into the piece more with each subsequent performance, and I’m thrilled to share their recording of it when we release our next album. Keep an eye out for future publication news!
Paul Simon Medley (Paul Simon, Arr. Jed Scott) – MANUSCRIPT
Primary. Only a few measures of music to learn for each of the songs in the medley – Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes and You Can Call Me Al.
Runaway Baby – (Bruno Mars, Arr. Jed Scott) – MANUSCRIPT
Advanced. It’s advanced because of the range of the solo (lots of high B-flats!) and parts, the high energy of the background vocals, and the necessity of doing it with Mars’ original choreography. I arranged this for performance at the World Choir Games in 2012 and was delighted to bring it back this year.
Stand By Me – (Ben E. King, Arr. Jed Scott) – MANUSCRIPT
Intermediate. We always close our concerts with this Ben E. King standard, with our alums joining us onstage.
Superstition (Stevie Wonder, Arr. Paul Langford)
Intermediate. I love this arrangement from Paul Langford. No solo means great opportunities for the sections to stand out. His writing is tasty, not shying away from the occasional complex chord voicing. And it grooves. It will appear on our next album.
Take Me Home, Country Roads – (John Denver, Arr. Jed Scott) – MANUSCRIPT
Intermediate. I only recently learned just how ubiquitous this song is among our high school students! So I wasted not time in preparing this arrangement for them to perform. It was a hit every time we sang it. It will appear on our next album.
Vive L’Amour (Trad. American, Arr. Parker/Shaw)
Advanced. This Parker/Shaw classic never gets old.
You Raise Me Up (Brendan Graham & Rolf Lovland, Arr. Ed Lojeski)
Intermediate. I admit to doing a few slight tweaks to the arrangement of this Josh Groban song, for harmonic clarity, but overall it’s a lovely feature for soloists, and a powerful message. It will appear on our next album.
Christmas Medley – (Various, Arr. Richard Gregory) [Video] – MANUSCRIPT
Advanced. An arrangement I wish I had written.
Silent Night (Arr. Jed Scott) – MANUSCRIPT
Intermediate. I gave Silent Night a doo-wop 12/8 groove and much fun was had!
Jingle Bell Rock (Arr. Jed Scott)
Intermediate. It’s a mostly straightforward presentation of the ’50s classic, but I couldn’t resist some musical comedy at the end – namely, some basses who keep “forgetting” that the piece is ending. My own kids sang the ending and laughed and laughed for weeks after the performance.