Ashley Danyew

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36 Children’s Choir Anthems by Women Composers

I’ve written a number of children’s choir anthem lists over the years:

Today, I’m adding to the list by sharing a collection of children’s choir anthems composed by women.

After all, March is Women’s History Month and over the years, it’s also become a time to celebrate women in music.

If you’re looking for some inspiration for your planning this year and seeking ways to include more diversity in the voices you share and represent, here are 36 children’s choir anthems (unison/2-part) written by women composers to help you get started.


36 Children’s Choir Anthems (Unison/2-part) by Women Composers

*Disclosure: I get commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

  1. All Things Bright and Beautiful (arr. Anna Laura Page)
    Unison/2-part Choir with Piano with opt. Flute and Finger Cymbals

    A partner song featuring the traditional hymn tune and a newly-composed melody.

  2. The Gift of Home (Ruth Elaine Schram & Aren Newell Williams)
    Unison/2-part Choir with Piano

    Reflecting on the gifts of home, love, and family.

  3. Pie Jesu (Mary Lynn Lightfoot)
    2-part Choir with Piano

    Great for youth choir! This accessible anthem comes in different voicings and includes a few simple phrases of Latin text.

  4. More Than Enough (Becki Slagle Mayo & Lynn Shaw Bailey)
    Unison Choir with Piano

    An engaging rote-to-note anthem based on Jesus' miracle of five loaves and two fish. Includes a Rote-to-Note Discovery Page filled with rehearsal ideas for beginning note-readers and a reproducible congregational page.

  5. God’s Gift to Us (Glenn & Susan Freeman Ernisse)
    Unison Choir with Piano and opt. Flute
    A simple anthem for Advent with a sweet melody line and a mix of major and minor modes (great teaching opportunity!).

  6. The Fruit of the Spirit (Becki Slagle Mayo)
    Unison/2-part Choir with Piano and opt. Flute
    Set in 6/8 time, this lyrical anthem is based on Galatians 5:22-23 and features a simple countermelody.

  7. Hand Me Down My Silver Trumpet (Joy Webb)
    Unison/2-Part Choir with Piano and opt. Trumpet and Percussion
    A classic! Upbeat, memorable, fun to sing, and a great teaching piece. The optional trumpet is a must!

  8. The Lord is My Shepherd (Sarah Moore)

    Unison Choir with Piano and opt. Flute

    A sweet, lyrical setting of Psalm 23 for unison voices. Includes an optional flute obbligato.

  9. You Are the Hands (Lynn Shaw Bailey/arr. Becki Slagle Mayo)
    Unison/2-part Choir with Piano

    A touching anthem that honors those who care for, nurture, and invest in the lives of children.

  10. Hosanna to the Lord (arr. Becki Slagle Mayo)
    Unison/2-Part Choir with Piano and opt. handbells (3-4 octaves)

    A perfect Palm Sunday anthem. Weaving in the traditional hymn, “All Glory, Laud, and Honor,” this would be a great anthem to use for a combined choir: children’s choir + youth choir, children’s choir + adult choir, or an intergenerational group.

  11. God, Bless My Family (Cindy Berry)
    Unison/2-part Choir with Piano

    This beautiful, prayerful anthem incorporates a few lines from the hymn “For the Beauty of the Earth.”

  12. Alleluia, Allelu (Susan Naylor Callaway)
    Unison/2-part Choir with Piano

    A joyful anthem with dance-like rhythms. Features a simple 2-part option (echo-based) making this accessible for younger elementary choirs.

  13. Sunday Rounds (Alice Parker)
    Unison/2-part /3-part Choir, a cappella

    A set of simple rounds for worship -- great for children, youth, or adult choirs, or a combined intergenerational experience.

  14. Whom Shall I Fear? (Cindy Berry)
    Unison/2-part Choir with Piano

    A simple setting of Psalm 27:1 in 6/8 meter.

  15. Ma Navu (How Beautiful) (arr. Audrey Snyder)
    2-part Choir with Piano

    Featuring Hebrew and English text, this sparkling setting of a traditional Jewish folk song has text drawn from Isaiah 52:7: “How beautiful are upon the mountains the feet of the messenger of good tidings: of salvation and peace.”

  16. This is the Day (Cindy Berry)
    Unison/2-part Choir with Piano

    A spirited setting of Psalm 118:24, with optional handclaps and a spoken ending.

  17. Wind Song (Helen Kemp with text by Shirley Erena Murray)
    Unison Choir with Piano and opt. Glockenspiel and Chime Tree
    Based on a Korean folk song. Great for Pentecost!

  18. Christmas Is Here, Sing Noel (Cindy Berry)
    Unison/2-part Choir with Piano

    A festive Christmas anthem with handclaps and a bit of syncopation. Featuring a quiet, legato middle section for contrast. Lots of repetition in both melody and rhythm.

  19. A La Puerta del Cielo (In a Humble Manger) (arr. Audrey Snyder)
    2-part Choir with Piano

    A beautiful, lyrical setting of a traditional 16th-century Spanish lullaby. This would be lovely for a Lessons and Carols service! Includes Spanish and English text.

  20. God Is Calling Us (Natalie Sleeth/arr. Jean Anne Shafferman)
    2-part Choir with Piano

    This anthem features a partner song between an upbeat original melody and Kum Ba Yah. Great for Christ the King Sunday, Discipleship, Lent, Stewardship, and more.

  21. Canciones Hispanas (Medley of Spanish Carols) (arr. Audrey Snyder)
    2-part Choir with Piano with opt. Percussion

    A creative medley of three traditional Spanish carols, with text in both Spanish and English. Includes De Tierra Lejana Venimos (from Puerto Rico), Oi Betlehem (from Biscaya), and Fum, Fum, Fum (from Spain). Includes Spanish and English text.

  22. A Lenten Love Song (Helen Kemp)
    Unison Choir with Piano

    A simple Lenten anthem for your children’s choir, based on descending scale patterns. The text tells the story of Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane.

  23. Niño Precioso (arr. Rosephanye Powell)
    2-part Choir with Piano and opt. Percussion
    A fun setting of a traditional Nicaraguan folk song. Note: 2-part harmony is in thirds with the melody.

  24. God Bless Families (Natalie Sleeth)
    Unison Choir with Piano

    A sweet, simple song of blessing for “families near and far” with melodic repetition and contrasting sections.

  25. Amazing Day (Rebecca Thompson)
    Unison/2-part Choir with Piano and opt. 6 handbells

    A singable anthem that provides children with an opportunity to give thanks for everyday things: an amazing day, work and play, friends and family, and animals. Includes helpful suggestions for weaving this anthem into worship through Scripture and hymns.

  26. Song of Creation (Margaret Tucker with text by Mary M. Coulson)
    Unison Choir with Piano
    A sweet anthem about creation with some great teaching moments!

  27. A Little Child Shall Lead Them (Marilyn Biery)
    Unison/2-part Choir with Piano and opt. C instrument

    A prayer for peace based on Isaiah 11:6-9. Very appropriate for Advent.

  28. Gracious Spirit, Dwell With Me (arr. Mary Kay Parrish)
    Unison Choir with Piano and opt. 10 Handbells or Handchimes
    This anthem features beautiful, long phrases, traditional text, and simple handbell cluster chords.

  29. God Is Here! (arr. Helen Kemp)
    Unison Choir with Piano, opt. Organ and Congregation

    An accessible setting of Fred Pratt Green's hymn text, "God Is Here!"

  30. God is Always Near (arr. Helen Kemp, ed. Katie Houts)
    Unison/2-part Choir with Piano and opt. Violin or Flute

    Meaningful text by Helen Kemp set to an Indonesian folk melody.

  31. Lord of All (Helen Kemp)
    Unison Choir with Piano and Congregation

    A new musical setting of the familiar "For the Beauty" text. Includes an invitation for the congregation to sing a stanza of the original hymn.

  32. Gentle Mary Laid Her Child (Sondra K. Tucker)
    Unison Choir with Piano and opt. Flute
    A simple unison setting of TEMPUS AD FLORI DUM.

  33. Morning Stars Singing Together (Helen Kemp)
    Unison Choir with Piano and 3-octave Handbells
    A perfect choice for Music Sunday! A celebration of the beauty of music and offering thanks for music in all its forms.

  34. God is Always There (Toni Sullivan)
    Unison Choir with Piano
    A song of assurance and gratitude, thanking God for always being there for us. Includes a Discovery Page with activities like tracing the road map of a repeat sign, following the movement of notes up and down the musical ladder, and using listening skills to determine major and minor keys.

  35. Hosanna, Loud Hosanna! (Vicki Hancock Wright)
    Unison Choir with Organ, Piano, Congregation, and opt. 7 Handbells
    A festive anthem for Palm Sunday, featuring the familiar ELLACOMBE melody.

  36. Prepare the Way of the Lord (Darian Krimm/arr. Stacey Nordmeyer)
    2-part Mixed Choir with Piano and opt. Children's Choir and Handbells

    A simple processional for intergenerational choirs. Includes a verse for each Advent candle sung to the tune of “O Come, Little Children.”


What are your favorite children’s choir anthems by women composers? I’d love to hear!

See this gallery in the original post