For High Voice & Piano
Commissioned & collected by performer-educator Denise Bird
 
In March of 2020, the coronavirus pandemic hit our musical community. This shift from gathering to
isolation left so many artists at sea, especially those whose music was just beginning to be heard. As I held a position that made a quick shift to virtual operations, I read posts from friends and colleagues expressing dismay at our new reality and impending lack of work.

Meanwhile, society was embracing a renaissance of artistic self-exploration and one-on-one music
learning. One of my own voice students stated that she was interested in learning vocal pedagogy and new songs, but she did not want to sing a bunch of "cringy" music written hundreds of years ago by an exclusive demographic. 
 
The intersection of these two dilemmas and an online post by a friend, Georgeanne Yehling, calling for more music for beginning vocal students brought me to this project. In this anthology, you will find twenty-five commissions for the voice studio. My instructions for the composers were to write a piece around three minutes or less long, with one or two pedagogical challenges for voice and piano, voice and guitar, or solo voice. The intention was to compile an anthology that might reflect the variety and diversity of those who enter the voice studio.
 
- Denise Bird, soprano
 
All proceeds from sales of this collection support our pathway programs for BBIA composers.