New LDS Sheet Music for Ward Choirs Available from SoundsmithMusic.com
Mendon, Utah (PRWEB) September 22, 2016 -- There’s nothing unusual about no-cost LDS sheet music for ward choirs. A quick Google search brings up dozens of sites like DeFordMusic.com or FreeLDSSheetMusic.org. But what makes Soundsmith Music unique is Smith’s association with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.
Steve began preparing music in 1995 while still a student at BYU. Mack Wilberg, then director of the BYU Men’s Chorus and Concert Choirs, became his primary client. As Mack transitioned from the university to the tabernacle, Steve’s work with the Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square blossomed into a career that now spans more than 20 years.
“Working closely with Mack gives me unique insight into choral arranging,” Smith says. And he hopes that insight leads to “well-crafted hymn settings” accessible the average ward choir. "Music is so essential in the church," says Smith, "but good ward choir music is often too difficult or expensive. I've tried to make arrangements that are fun, easy to learn, and also free."
SoundsmithMusic.com first launched in 1996 to a worldwide audience of LDS ward choir directors. Many downloaded his free LDS sheet music and offered enthusiastic feedback. Because of a growing family and other responsibilities, Smith temporarily retired the website in 2012. His 2016 relaunch includes improved versions of his original arrangements and new settings of familiar LDS hymns and children’s songs. The new site also hosts many of Smith’s popular Christmas arrangements, just in time for fall rehearsal.
Additionally, Smith offers advice for ward choir directors via the new site’s blog. “Over the years, I’ve learned a lot about how to build a successful ward choir,” Smith says. He hopes to help new ward choir directors, especially those with little or no musical training, find solid footing. Perhaps, Smith muses, lessons learned in working with “the” church choir will help many church choirs found in LDS wards, stakes, and branches around the world.
ABOUT SOUNDSMITH MUSIC
Created in 1995 by composer Steven Smith, Soundsmith Music provides professional composing, arranging, and music preparation services for choirs and orchestras worldwide. Clients include the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Orchestra at Temple Square, BYU, Telarc Records, Deutsche Grammophon, and Oxford University Press.
ABOUT STEVEN SMITH
Steven studied music composition at Brigham Young University. He provides the primary music preparation services used by Mack Wilberg, director of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. In addition to creating LDS sheet music for ward choirs, Steven works with religiously unaffiliated choirs and orchestras throughout the U.S. His musical leadership includes numerous community choirs, orchestras, and ensembles throughout Utah and Cache counties. Steven’s musical theater work includes stage adaptations of Heidi, Max Lucado’s You Are Special (The Wemmicks), and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow in Concert, a Stories in Concert™ production. He currently resides in Mendon, Utah with his wife and four children.
Steven Smith, Soundsmith Music, https://SoundsmithMusic.com, +1 8016691117, [email protected]
Share this article