Dear Choralist subscribers,

I recently requested suggestions for songs appropriate for 6th Grade
graduation. Several List people have kindly sent their ideas to me and I
would like to share them with the entire List.

Thank you for your generosity in time and experience.
Steve Myer


And now, the song suggestions.
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How about Carl Strommen's "Like an Eagle" or "I Believe I Can Fly" from Space
Jam....they aren't exactly high on the list of most choralist subscribers
since they are pop music, but hey, it's graduation....and the songs have a
message that the kids, the school, and their parents would appreciate.

J. Price

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O GIVE THANKS for SA and Piano by Wayland Rogers
Boosey and Hawkes
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One of my favorite graduation pieces, which is in fact set for 2 treble
voices (among a number of other voicings), is "Like an Eagle" by Carl
Strommen. I've heard a number of choruses do this piece for graduations,
and the audience and students both always love it. I'm pretty sure that
you can get it through JW Pepper. One other recommendation that I would
have is "This is the Moment" from Jekyll and Hyde (though I'm not sure
where it's available from). I actually remember singing this piece in
two-parts years ago, and I remember it being quite a beautiful song.

b. olinsky

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How about "Take These Wings" by Don Besig. It's kind of a tearjerker about
someone finding a wounded bird on the sand and the bird saying, "take these
wings and learn to fly". It's really pretty. I know it comes in a bunch of
voicings, including SA . Shawnee Press.

Also, "Like An Eagle" by Carl Strommen is good and I know it comes in a
bunch of voicings. Also Shawnee Press


P. Corbin

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Patsy Ford Simms wrote a piece called Just Remember last year that is
perfect for graduation. It is published in a 3-part setting but is easy to
sing.
Should be available at most choral dealers.

B. DIngley
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"One Little Candle" by Audrey Snyder may work well - two treble parts.
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...You might want to take a look at "Encore" by Carl J. Nygard and published
by Hinshaw (MHC-732). It starts with girls in unison and then boys in unison,
but then goes into
satb. I think it might be quite possible to adapted the four-part to two or
unison.
The text is:
Too soon the time can slip away; Too soon we see the end of day.
And so, we try until the end to live again and love again.
And even though our time is gone, there's time enough for one last song.
A final chance to say "A-men," to live again and love again and sing again.
Live for a dream, Love with a heart, Sing to a rising song.
A prayer for good and brotherhood, That all men may be one.
Let all who can turn breath to song; Let all who hear remember long
the beauty amd the joy we send when in our song we live again,
And love again, and sing again.

Another possibility is to contact Shawnee Press. They seem to have a lot of
material in this genre. Their toll-free number is 1-800-962-8584 and theri
e-mail is They also have a website:
www.shawneepress.com.

G. Morlan
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Here's to Song, by Allister MacGillivray, arr. Lydia Adams (I have it
in SSAA, but it's also available in SA voicing from McGroarty Music
#MMP-05)
One Song , by Dave & Jean Perry (Alfred Level Two 2-part #4770)
Your Friend Shall Be The Tall Wind, by Sherri Porterfield (Heritage
2-part #H5871)
Song of Peace - partner with Dona Nobis Pacem, by Donnelly & Strid
(Alfred Level One 2-part #7909)
Wherever You Go, by Jerry Estes and Margaret Henson (Alfred Level Two
2-part #11579)
And this is my all-time favorite work for children's choir (if your
kids haven't sung it yet, they need to before they leave your care!):
Blow, Bugle, Blow, by Ruth Elaine Schram, text by Alfred Lord Tennyson
(Heritage 15/1176H.) It's mostly 2-part, breaking into three equal
canonic voices at the end. I've used it in the fall to get kids
hooked on good text and good music, I've used it at the end of the
year to say goodbye, and I've taken it to contest. I've used it with
auditioned and non-auditioned elementary and middle school groups.
Every choir has fallen in love with it, and I haven't tired of
teaching/conducting this song.

- J. A. Taylor
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Try WE ARE THE CHILDREN OF TOMORROW - 2 part. Sorry I don't have the
composer, but it's recent.

J Vanderhoff
----------------------

Are you looking for pop or classical? When I was teaching elementary
school, we did the popular tunes, "Lean on Me" one year, and "That's What
Friends are For" another year, both in the Pepper Catalogue. I'm a
classical musician, but I have to say that even I got teary when two of the
girls put their arms around each other as they sang, "That's what friends
are for." Ours is a rural school, and after 6th grade, the class divides,
choosing from three different options for public high school. So they'd
never be that close again, and they knew it.

M.Drysdale

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"April is in my mistress' face" 2-part high voices and piano: available for
perusal from me to anyone who is interested?

Yours sincerely

Paul Ayres
electronic mail paulayres(a)clara.net
website http://home.clara.net/paulayres

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I've done lots of songs -- several you should consider include "Remember Me
this Way" from the movie Casper, and "Like an Eagle" by Carl Strommer. Both
are available in 2 part, I believe.

LYNDA
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We've got a few things that have been used widely in just your kind of
setting. My own song, Amigos (WMP#01) (used in the 1993 World's Largest
Concert) has verses in Spanish, French, English and Hebrew and has been sung
in over 50 languages (tailor it to your school), saying, "I am with my
friends, you are all my good friends". May be sung in unison, two or three
simple parts. Dowidzenia (WMP#25 or 25B) is a round in Polish and English
("farewell my friend until we meet again") with optional piano, alto recorder
or Orff instruments. Bob Walser's haunting arrangement of Vem Kan Segla (Who
Can Sail) (#18) is another for unison or two parts. May be accompanied by
piano and/or very easy string ensemble (beginning players). Lastly, La Paloma
Se Fue (the dove that flew away) (#11) is a Puerto Rican song in unison/two
parts with simple piano and unpitched percussion. Check these out on our
websiteWorld Music Press Home Page .

Judith Cook Tucker, Publisher
World Music Press
Intercultural Understanding through Music
18 Kilian Dr., Danbury CT 06811-3461
Phone: 1-800-810-2040 Fax: 203-748-3432 E-mail: WMPress(a)aol.com
www.worldmusicpress.com (Under construction - includes listings of titles and
descriptions - will be expanded gradually to include sound clips and more
links)

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