Riffing off the original 1932 Teddy Bears' Picnic, this charming number has been updated to Teddy Bears' Holidays! It's likely your TTBB chorus sports an ample contingent of bearish gentlemen, and you're going to need them; because this extended version features individual voice sections, giving out LA, Texas, NYC, Hawaii, and Minnesota (or New England) realness. Fairly bursting with production and staging possibilities, this number is guaranteed to wow your audiences and bring the house down!
This one has been buried in the archives under a coat of digital dust, ready to see the light of day again. Harmonically challenging and emotionally interpretive, this setting of the Gershwin classic intends to be a pin-drop moment for TTBB a cappella ensemble.
Give a listen.
This isn't my song nor my arrangement. But you have GOT to hear this funny, charming TTBB holiday showpiece written by Kim Kuda, artistic director of the Rhode Island Gay Men's Chorus. It has it alll: humor, heart, harmony. Find her on Facebook and GRAB THIS NUMBER!!
This recorded version has been a long, long time coming. I've always longed to expand the original instrumentation; MainStage synth bank to the rescue. Then the AI voices and ElevenLabs narration bits. Scored in 1999, this work has gone on to be performed around the world. Armistead Maupin's text hits just as powerfully today as it ever has, and likely ever will. Of all the stuff I've created, I think I'm proudest of this piece.
It's 1989. Just out of the closet and having fled the homophobic Christian music industry in Nashville, David, again a Seattleite, connects with the fledgling Seattle Lesbian & Gay Chorus and writes them a signature anthem: a first gay-themed original work. Fast-forward 35 years. Having been on mothballs on this time, We Are Everywhere gets a major update in time for 2024 Pride. Former SLGC members: don't expect the old 12/8 feel. You are warned.
Tracy Chapman regained national notoriety when she performed this 1988 classic wtih Luke Combs on the Grammy broadcast. This a cappella treatment, created for The Women's Chorus of Dallas, maintains the songwriter's accompaniment devices and makes its own mark.