VOCAL/CHORAL
Much of my choral and vocal music can be purchased through J.W. Pepper
Treble
Black Riders Came from the Sea | SA
The Brook | SA
The Cold Winds Blow | SA
I Saw Three Ships | SA
Two Landscapes of Song | SA
Where Can I Go? | SA
The Winter Owl | SA
The Hurricane | S(S)A
Johny Has Gone for a Soldier | SSA
I Celebrate Myself | SSAA
I'll Never Study | SSAA
Out, Damned Spot | SSAA
You Shall Know | SSAA
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Tenor/Bass
Black Riders Came from the Sea | TB
The Brook | TB
The Cold Winds Blow | TB
I Saw Three Ships | TB
Keep A-Goin' | TB
The Road Not Taken | TB
The Wanderer's Song | TTB
The Winter Owl | TB
In Umbra | TTB
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Mixed Voices
I Saw Three Ships | 3-part Mixed
I Will Be Worthy of It | SAB
The Hurricane | SAB
I Saw Three Ships | SATB
Incendiary | SATB
Lux in Tenebris | SATB
O Fortuna | SATB
Outside In | SATB
Show Me the Way | SATB
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Solo Voice
Beautiful Things | soprano, violin, piano
Jack | tenor, piano
Patti Rides the DART | soprano, flute, piano
Voices in the Night | baritone, piano
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You Shall Know (2025)
​Self-published - buy digital score download​
SSAA choir, piano four hands, violin, crotales, and tom-toms
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Composed for the Texas Woman's University Concert Choir's performance at the 2025 ACDA Conference.
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You Shall Know sets excerpts of the farewell address from Kahlil Gibran’s twentieth-century masterpiece The Prophet.
The first portion of the composition presents a turbulent search for a meaning beyond our material reality. The music shifts following the promise of “you shall see and you shall hear” as the restless ascending chord progression reverses upon itself and gradually builds with each repetition of the stepwise descent to the tonic. In the end, it is through blessing both the light and the darkness - the knowable and the unknowable - that we may truly know who we are and what our place is in this world.
O Fortuna (2025)
Carl Fischer
J.W. Pepper Editors' Choice
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SATB choir​
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​This contemporary setting expresses the unpredictable and sometimes capricious nature of fate in its use of mixed meter, at times shifting without warning between 7/8 and 4/4. While current listeners may not hold the superstitious beliefs the original medieval authors may have held, the concept of fate as a power that can both plague and please is still an idea that captures our present imagination.
Show Me the Way (2025)
Carl Fischer
J.W. Pepper Editors' Choice
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SATB choir​
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​All voice parts have a chance to shine as the request to “show me the way” is passed among the choir, repeated, and transformed through a variety of imitative techniques and textures. Wilcox’s lines suggest that life's journey is full of challenges and uncertainties, but through love, patience, and a commitment to good deeds, one can find purpose and fulfillment. This hopeful perspective is expressed musically through the driving compound meter rhythms provided by the piano (and optional drum and flute) and the use of accessible chromatic pitches in the vocal lines.
The Road Not Taken (2025)
Carl Fischer
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TB choir​
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This setting of Robert Frost’s iconic poem captures life’s journey as a series of choices, symbolized by diverging paths. The piece begins with a tentative piano introduction, reflecting the hesitation at a fork in the road. Text painting highlights the word “diverged” as the voices shift from unison to a perfect fifth, while the lyrical melody offers opportunities for expressive phrasing. The poet’s choice of the “road less traveled” unfolds with a mix of reflection and resolve, affirming that this decision “has made all the difference.” This timeless message resonates through both the music and text, offering a poignant exploration of choice and consequence.
The Wanderer's (2025)
Carl Fischer
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TTB choir​
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​This adventurous tune for Tenor-Bass Choir captures the energy of an individual longing to leave their home and explore the world. This enthusiasm for exploration is represented musically by the pulsating, mixed-meter piano accompaniment, the syncopated rhythms of the vocal lines, and the chromatic but accessible harmonic progressions.
Johnny Has Gone for a Soldier (2023)
BriLee Press
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SSA choir
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The familiar text of this American and Irish folk song is graced with a fresh melody and refrain before partnering with the original folk tune in this beautiful setting for treble choir. It is a solid choice for developing lyrical legato lines and allows singers to develop a mature tone that will translate well for performances.
The Cold Winds Blow (2023)
Carl Fischer
J.W. Pepper Editors' Choice
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Voicing Options:
TB choir
SA choir
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Walter de la Mare's adventuring text is aptly set in this wonderful piece for tenor-bass choirs. A natural fit for any winter concert, the piano accompaniment brings the roll of the sea while the vocal lines bravely traverse the wintery wind and waves with confidence and strong harmonies that suit the story.
Black Riders Came from the Sea (2023)
Michael John Trotta Emerging Series/BriLee Press
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TB choir
SA choir
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Beginning with an ominous ostinato from the choir, "dum digga digga dum," this piece sets Stephen Crane's short but vivid poem describing the invasion of a fast-approaching enemy army. An engaging concert work for developing tenor-bass choirs that they're sure to like!
I'll Never Study (2022)
Mark Foster/Hal Leonard
2021 American Prize Finalist Honorable Mention
Treble All-State Piece for Texas (2025), Kentucky (2023), and Tennessee (2023)
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SSAA choir
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Composed in honor of the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment guaranteeing and protecting women's constitutional right to vote. With satirical lyrics, liberation and empowerment are the important messages in this blues-infused music. Composed for the TWU Concert Choir performance at the
2020 Texas Music Educators Association Convention.
The Winter Owl (2020)
BriLee Press
J.W. Pepper Editors' Choice
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Voicing Options:
SA choir
TB choir
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This compelling setting of a William Shakespeare text vividly describes the winter season with its frigid temperatures and chilling wind. In contrast, the owl hooting merrily is illustrated with a change in meter and accented syncopated phrases. This minor-mode piece provides an interesting change of pace for winter concerts.
I Will Be Worthy of It (2020)
Michael John Trotta Signature Series/Carl Fischer
J.W. Pepper Editors' Choice
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SAB choir
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With an empowering text urging the singer to press on regardless of difficulties or setbacks one may face in life, this musically satisfying piece is propelled by a driving piano and interesting rhythms in the vocal parts that mimic the intrinsic motivation spoken of in the lyrics. With a modern sound and engaging harmonies, this work will make a wonderful closer or opener.
Patti Rides the DART (2020)
E.C. Schirmer
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Song cycle for soprano, flute, and piano
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Patti's unexpected and often humorous experiences riding the DART (Dallas Area Rapid Transit) were chronicled online and eventually discovered by the composer. Inspired by Patti's pithy, sarcastic, and self-effacing observations, he went on to create a set of seven musical miniatures for soprano, flute, and piano. Ideal as a humorous recital element or as a comedic change of pace, Patti Rides the DART will resonate with audiences and remind them that whatever is posted online may eventually become an art song!
Incendiary (2019)
SATB choir
Commissioned by the Flower Mound High School Jaguar
Chorale, Flower Mound, TX
Outside In (2019)
SATB choir
Commissioned by the Ryan High School Choir, Denton, TX
Two Landscapes of Song (2019)
Carl Fischer
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SA choir
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Who Robbed the Woods? and O Cool Is the Valley Now combine to create a set that both explores the subtle beauty, serenity, fragility, and resiliency of nature and examines our relationship to the natural world around us. For SA voices, this enchanting, contrasting pair of songs can be performed as a set, or each can stand alone nicely.
Lux in Tenebris (2019)
Carl Fischer
J.W. Pepper Editors' Choice
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SATB choir
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Reinforced by a driving piano accompaniment, the inspiring text "We follow the light that shines in the darkness" is made musically poignant through the confident vocal line. A few Latin phrases are interspersed with English lines of text to create a mature and significant concert work that remains accessible for developing mixed choirs. A wonderful selection!
The Brook (2019)
BriLee Press
J.W. Pepper Editors' Choice
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Voicing Options:
SA choir
TB choir
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Like an ever-moving brook, chattering along, captured by the perpetual motion of the piano part, the use of the asymmetrical meter creates a constant sense of forward momentum in this delightful piece for treble choirs. Opportunities abound for literary connections, diction, tone, and meter with this text from a poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson.
Beautiful Things (2019)
E.C. Schirmer
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Song cycle for soprano, violin, and piano
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Each song of this work sets an essay from Beautiful Things, a collection of 28 short essays by author Michelle Webster-Hein. Each essay is a short discourse on finding beauty in simple things each day, and the musical setting attempts to convey the same sentiment. The set of songs may be performed in any order, or the individual songs may be performed as stand-alone pieces. The score is written for soprano, violin and piano, and includes a separate pull-out score for the violin part.
Jack (2018)
song cycle for tenor and piano
Commissioned by John Green
Out, Damned Spot (2018)
Mark Foster/Hal Leonard
2019 American Prize 2nd Place Winner
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SSAA choir
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In depicting the manic nature of this Shakespeare text, the music features numerous key changes and employs a variety of time signatures. The combination of the dramatic text along with the ever-shifting music will require a full range of emotions and vocal virtuosity from your treble choir.
I Celebrate Myself (2018)
Mark Foster/Hal Leonard
SSAA choir
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The Walt Whitman poem Song of Myself conveys both a sense of confidence and a spirit of adventure and is powerfully set in this treble voice arrangement. The text affirms our uniqueness as individuals but also stresses our interconnectedness to each other and the world. The music captures these characteristics with a constant drive and sense of excited anticipation.
I Saw Three Ships (2018)
BriLee Press
J.W. Pepper Editors' Choice
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Voicing Options:
SA choir
Three-part Mixed choir
SATB choir
TB choir
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Jolly and jaunty, rhythmic and fun, this energetic setting of the traditional English carol is sure to be a holiday favorite for your choir. Accessible ranges and a supportive accompaniment make this a great choice for developing choirs. Add the optional frame drum and flute parts for a more stylistic interpretation.
In Umbra (2017)
Carl Fischer
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TTB choir
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Bold, daring vocals exemplify the translation of the Latin text, "In the shade, therefore, we will fight." When coupled with the rhythmic, forceful piano accompaniment, male ensembles of all sizes will sound fantastic singing the accessible Latin text. Supportive piano and compelling text join forces in this exciting concert piece. Pronunciation guide provided.
Where Can I Go? (2017)
Carl Fischer
J.W. Pepper Editors' Choice
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S(S)A choir
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​This spiritual setting of the Psalm 139 text, supported by a driving piano accompaniment and optional tambourine, really rocks! Wonderful harmonic moments and fun interplay between the voices provide opportunities to create excitement and explore expressive singing. Treble choirs of all levels will enjoy performing this unique spiritual which will delight audiences at any concert performance.
Keep a-Goin' (2017)
BriLee Press
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TB choir
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Tenor-Bass ensembles will enjoy learning this uplifting song full of fun rhythms, toe-tapping, and accessible ranges. With lyrics that encourage the singer to persevere no matter what challenges lie ahead, this soulful and energetic gospel-style piece will be a wonderful choice for your next concert.
The Hurricane (2016)
BriLee Press
J.W. Pepper Editors' Choice
J.W. Pepper Basic Library
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Voicing Options:
S(S)A choir
Three-part Mixed choir
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This setting of a text by William Cullen Bryant really conveys the excitement of a hurricane! Knee slaps, finger snaps, and blowing sounds effectively imitate the rain and wind while the piano contributes just the right percussive effects to complete the illusion of the storm. "Lord of the winds! I feel thee nigh, I know thy breath in the burning sky!"
We the Ragged (2015)
SATB choir
Commissioned by Trinity United Methodist Church, Denton, TX
Loss is Indeed Our Gain (2014)
baritone and organ
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A New Creation's Joy (2014)
SATB choir
Commissioned by Trinity United Methodist Church, Denton, TX
If God Is For Us (2013)
SATB choir
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Passiontide (2012)
cantata for soloist and SATB choir
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The Fallow Ground (2011)
Pierrot ensemble with baritone solo
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Uprooted (2007)
song cycle for bass, piano, and percussion
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