Star of the North Commissioning Corner

Music for My Own Needs…and Maybe Yours, Too

By AndRew Parr

In a 2018 discussion with a band teacher colleague, I made the claim that “I really don’t write or arrange music for choirs.”  Fast forward seven years, and I now have twenty-five pieces with a variety of publishers, including Hal Leonard, Choristers Guild, Alfred, E.C. Schirmer, Hinshaw, Heritage Music Press, Augsburg Fortress, and Excelcia.  So, how did this happen?  Why am I even writing and arranging music in the first place when so many other people already do it?  The short answer?  I love doing it.  The long answer?  Well…there is more to it than that.

There is a lot of great choral music being written for all sorts of ensembles by all sorts of composers.  Certainly, many people write music for excellent SATB choirs – this kind of ensemble seems to be the standard to which most serious composers aspire.  And, while those ensembles are wonderful, not every choir boasts an evenly balanced, auditioned 60-voice membership.  What about directors with voicing-separate 9th and 10th grade choirs?  What about an elementary music teacher conducting a volunteer fifth grade choir?  How about middle school directors leading mandatory, non-auditioned, grade-level choirs?  There is less consistency in compositional output for these ensembles.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, composers like Joyce Eilers, Emily Crocker, Mary Lynn Lightfoot, Roger Emerson, and Audrey Snyder, began to make a serious impact in choral publishing. Each of them possessed years of real-world experience in the junior high choral classroom.  Rather than offering reductions of “masterwork” choruses for adolescent singers, they created a new genre of choral music for schools.  Their writing certainly inspires me and is still relevant in many classrooms today.  I suppose I humbly attempt to follow in their footsteps. 

Most of my music is designed with specific singers in mind, and a lot of pieces are aimed at my own students.  My arrangement of Shenandoah, published by Choristers Guild in 2020, was created after I couldn’t find the arrangement I wanted.  Yes, there were many 2-Part arrangements of the folk song available, but none of them had the right combination of unison writing, accessible linear harmony, and supportive accompaniment that my singers needed at the time.  I used this same mentality in creating my arrangement of The Water is Wide.  

I suppose the guiding aspiration in my writing and arranging has been to create music that I would buy for my own ensembles, even if I hadn’t written it.  Writing music for “developing choirs” is not as simple as just voicing a piece for SAB, 3-Part Mixed, or 2 Part voices.  There are many pieces out there that would never be successful with my choirs, even though they are written in the “correct” voicings and use the “correct” ranges.  And, this gut-reaction has little to do with text content or even melodic contour.  It is instead closely related to how the harmony is set up, how frequently the harmony repeats, and whether or not the piece is aesthetically appealing to a non-musician. 

This mindset informed my Creature of Steel and Steam.  The piece sets a distinguished poem in an almost partner song-ish way.  The setting is rhythmic and minor; a “win” with the average 7th or 8th Grade choir.  Rather than explain my intentions with this piece, I encourage you to listen to the recording; you’ll see exactly what I mean.  The same mindset was applied to my Fill the Earth with Joyful Singing.  The piece uses call-and-response writing, sits in a minor key, and is certainly relevant to a developing “mixed” ensemble

Presently, an exciting part of my journey has been working with choir directors to create a piece suited specifically for their needs.  Recently, I had the honor of revoicing my arrangement of Wild Mountain Thyme for the ACDA-MN 2025 CTB State Honor Choir.  Luke Warren, guest conductor, reached out to me, asking if I would consider tailoring my 3-Part Mixed arrangement to this CTB ensemble’s needs.  I was overjoyed to do this and attending the honor choir performance was a highlight of my professional life so far.  

Equally gratifying was working with Melanie McIvor and her Music Association of Minnetonka Elementary-aged choirs.  The organization commissioned me to write a piece, celebrating their 50th anniversary.  In conjunction with student ideas and director input, we designed and created a piece titled Music is Golden.  Watching her great work with these tremendous students and attending the premier inspired me to try to work with directors more often.  Melanie was an encouraging and thoughtful collaborator throughout the entire process. 

And yet, perhaps the most meaningful moments on this journey for me are when I am contacted by a singer or director who I don’t know.  When a 7th Grader from Georgia reaches out via email to tell me she is learning my Laudamus Te, or a Church Choir Director from Pennsylvania reaches out on Facebook to let me know that their congregation was impacted by my Son of Mary on Christmas Eve, I am profoundly honored.  The thought that my work, created to serve my own environments might also be useful or inspirational to someone else provides me with an indescribable feeling of connection.  I look forward to sharing these connections for many years to come and am grateful for all the opportunities so far on this wonderful journey!

About the author

Andrew Parr is the Choir Director at Rogers Middle School in Rogers, MN, and the Director of Worship and Music at Gustavus Adolphus Lutheran Church in St. Paul, MN.  Parr holds a K-12 music teaching license in the state of Minnesota and has more than a decade of experience working with developing choirs.  He earned his bachelor’s degree in music education from St. Olaf College, where he studied conducting and voice with Dr. Anton Armstrong and sang in The St. Olaf Choir.  Parr holds a master’s degree in education from The College of St. Scholastica.  He is an active member of The American Choral Directors Association and The Association of Lutheran Church Musicians.  He is honored to have his music published by Hal Leonard, Alfred, Shawnee Press, Choristers Guild, Augsburg Fortress, Hinshaw, Heritage Music Press, E.C. Schirmer, and Excelcia.  Please visit andrewparrmusic.com for more information.