Singing is a full-body activity (source). And we know that movement is a valuable tool for helping children understand and engage with music.

This is why so many children’s choir directors and elementary music teachers teach songs and anthems with hand, arm, or body movement of some kind.

Sign language is a natural choice.

Fall is here, which means the return of Georgia football (Go Dawgs!), puffer vests, and apple everything (sorry, PSL).

It also means lots of repertoire planning and rehearsing for Christmas programs, musicals, and holiday concerts.

I recognize that some of you are in positions where you may be programming a holiday concert or program, whether that's a school or community setting or an interfaith musical celebration with area churches. If you're looking for choral music that touches on various Winter holidays and celebrations, I hope the list of anthems below is helpful to you.

There’s a season for growing and a season for scaling back.
A season for doing and a season for undoing.
A season for reaching out and a season for reaching in.

There's a season for singing and a season for listening.
A season for leading and a season for following.
A season for going and a season for staying.

There’s a season for creating and a season for taking it all in.
A season for moving and a season for standing still.
A season for being and a season for becoming.

It can be subtle, that line in between. Is this a season of leading or one of following? Are we creating or recreating? Are we moving or standing still, with the world spinning around us?

It's hard to tell, sometimes.

Each year, I spend some time looking through the new choral releases: studying the scores and listening to recordings. Then, I curate my favorites for you here on the blog.

Today, I’m sharing six new anthem releases for unison/opt. 2-part choirs—several with optional instrumental parts, which creates opportunities to include other musicians, perhaps from your congregation. I’ll also tell you about a brand-new graded curriculum option for Fall 2022 (for those of you looking for a comprehensive, all-in-one resource) with a theme that really resonates in our world today.

I hope you find something you love for your children’s choir this year!

We almost missed it driving in.

Tucked into the bluff, the peak of the slate roof is just above road level and was barely visible through the thick summer foliage.

We pulled onto the side of Skyline Drive to park. The air was still damp from the afternoon thunderstorm as we climbed down the stone steps to the access road.

Many of you faithful readers have probably been directing a choir for what feels like ages.

But I recognize that some of you are new to this: maybe this is your first church job or your first time directing the choir at your church after serving in another capacity. Maybe you have choral conducting experience, but not in a church setting.

Part-singing is one of the great joys of choral singing.

The challenge of singing an independent line and that satisfying feeling of creating harmony and musical interest is both fun and motivating for singers (of all ages!).

But how do you teach that?

Sometimes I get questions in my inbox that I think others may be wondering, too. Here’s a question I received from a director in Germany about what to do for your first handbell choir rehearsal.

My Sicilian grandmother was just over five feet tall, like me. She had thick brown hair and olive skin, like me, and she wore a ring on almost every finger.

"Mangia! Buon appetito!" she'd say, setting down an antipasto platter, a plate of warm arancini, or a slice of spaghetti pie made from leftovers.

Hymns tell the stories of our faith.

Stories of faithfulness, prayers for peace, and songs of abiding love. Stories about Jesus’ birth, life, death, and resurrection. Prophecies, promises, and words of hope and assurance.

As the great St. Augustine once wrote, "To sing is to pray twice."

When we sing these stories of our faith, we internalize them. We remember them.