Music for young voices by Sheena Phillips

 

 

Carol

Two part treble voices and piano

Words by Jean Kenward

Quiet Christmas song about candles and kings

Published by Canasg Music (www.canasg.com)

 

Catch me if you can

Two and three part treble voices and piano

Suite of four traditional counting and nonsense rhymes

 

Charlie is my darling

Two part treble voices and piano

18th century Scottish song 

Commissioned and first performed by the Knox Choraliers, Ohio, dir. Diane Dingler, May 2005

 

Chinese crane song

Two part treble voices and piano (also available for SATB voices)

Words by Edwina Towson

Moderately difficult

First performed by Capital University Women's Chorus, dir. Sandy Mathias, 2003

 

Christ Child Lullaby

Unison voices and two octave handbell choir

Traditional Gaelic carol (in English translation)

Commissioned by San Pedro Presbyterian Church, San Antonio, Texas, for Christmas 2005

Published by Canasg Music (www.canasg.com)

 

The Contest of the Holly and the Ivy

Three part treble voices and piano

Words medieval English anon. 

Commissioned by the National Youth Choir of Scotland for Songbooks 2, published 2009

 

The Dream Maker

Two part treble voices and piano

Words by Jean Kenward 

Commissioned by the National Youth Choir of Scotland for their 10th anniversary songbook, 2006

 

Dragon march   

Two part treble voices and piano

Words by Edwina Towson

Published by Canasg Music (www.canasg.com)

 

Entre le boeuf et l'ane gris (In the cattle stall)

Two part treble voices and piano

Traditional French Christmas carol

Commissioned by the Knox Choraliers, Ohio, dir. Diane Dingler, 2006

 

Feast of Christmas

Two part treble voices and piano

Words by Jean Kenward

Lively Christmas song 

Published by Canasg Music (www.canasg.com)

 

Food Songs

Two part treble voices and piano, voices using mi so and la only

1. Salsa   2. Fizzy Drinks. 3. Valse Végétale

Commissioned by Christopher Bell for the Phil Kids (children's chorus of the Belfast Philharmonic), 2008

Sample pages of 'Salsa' (PDF) Sample pages of 'Fizzy Drinks' (PDF)

 

Frog Music

Three part treble voices and piano, pentatonic

Words anon and by the composer 

Commissioned by the National Youth Choir of Scotland for Songbooks 2, published 2009

 

I once went a-courting

Three part treble voices and piano

Words anon and by the composer 

Commissioned by the National Youth Choir of Scotland for Songbooks 2, published 2009

Orchestral version being produced by Stephen Dougherty for a performance in May 2011 by NYCoS and the Orchestra of Scottish Opera

 

Learning to Drive    

Two part treble voices and piano

A song about playing Wii Golf, using four notes only (la so mi do) 

Commissioned by the National Youth Choir of Scotland for their 3,4,5 series of songs for young singers, 2011

 

Life of Adventure    

Two part treble voices and piano

Words by Peter Hill 

Commissioned by the National Youth Choir of Scotland for their 10th anniversary songbook, 2006

 

Limbo Dancer's Soundsong

Two part treble voices and piano

Words by John Agard 

Commissioned by the National Youth Choir of Scotland for its 10th anniversary songbook, 2006

 

Ocean

Two part treble voices and piano

Suite of four pieces, written for Christopher Bell and the NYCoS National Boys Choir, 2008.

1. Blue Whale

2. Coral Reef

3. Gulls (a cappella)

4. Seascape

"In many ways the wordless Gulls (from Sheena Phillips' Ocean suite) was more musically impressive - as a sonic experience, in this reverberant acoustic, as much as an exercise."  (Keith Bruce, Arts Editor, The Glasgow Herald, 9 April, 2008, reviewing performance by the National Boys Choir in St Mary's Cathedral, Edinburgh)

One hundred years of recess

Unison treble voices and piano

Suite of six pieces based on playground rhymes, clapping rhymes, etc

Commissioned by Clinton Elementary School, Columbus, Ohio for the centenary of the Annex, 2004

 

Six sea shanties

Two part treble voices, with optional third part, and piano

Suite of six traditional shanties, written for Christopher Bell and the NYCoS National Boys Choir, 2007. With optional narrations.

1. Santiana

2. Blood red roses

3. Boney

4. The Dead Horse

5. All for me grog

6. Time to leave her

"Sheena Phillips's Sea Shanties were a novel delight"  (Keith Bruce, Arts Editor, The Glasgow Herald, 9 April, 2007, reviewing performance by the National Boys Choir in Glasgow City Hall)

Duration c 15 mins  

Tha mi sgith (I am tired) 

Two part treble voices and piano

Traditional Gaelic song 

Commissioned and first performed by the Knox County Choraliers, Ohio, dir. Diane Dingler, May 2005

 

Three Holiday Three-Note Songs   

Unison / two part treble voices and piano

1. See how a Rose

2. Silent Night 

3. Ruaridh the Highland reindeer

Duration c 6 mins  

Each song uses only the three notes mi so la in the vocal parts.

Three Soutar songs   

Unison / two part treble voices and piano

Three poems by the Scots poet William Soutar  

First performed by the National Boys Choir of Scotland, dir. Christopher Bell, 2002

1. The muckle man

2. Princess Anastasia 

3. The windmill

"Glorious settings"  (Keith Bruce, Arts Editor, The Glasgow Herald, 8 April, 2002, reviewing performance by the National Boys Choir)

Duration c 4 mins  

Published by Canasg Music (www.canasg.com)

 

Westminster Chimes

(i) Treble voices and piano

(ii) Treble voices, piano and handbell choir 

Based on the famous Westminster Chimes of London, 2006

 

The winter wood

Three part treble voices and piano

Short cantata based on poetry by Jean Kenward

1. Bleak and bare

2. Star

3. The Wheel of Winter

Commissioned by Kinderchor of Otterbein College, Westerville, Ohio, dir. Amy Chivington

Duration c. 10 minutes

 

 

 

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