By Sally K. Albrecht
Director of School Choral & Classroom Publications

As a child, I often wondered if Santa ever took any time off! I honestly pictured him on Christmas Day, just exhausted from his insane travels, sitting with his feet up in his pajamas, sipping on hot chocolate, with Mrs. Claus and the rest of the North Pole gang lounging nearby. But the day after Christmas, as we drove home from my grandmother’s house, I often imagined him starting the job of toy-making all over again for the next year!

Sound like your life as a music teacher? You have a big concert or musical performance, then take about a day to recover and reminisce (heavy sigh), then realize on the following day that you better start thinking about the next big project or concert! (I know, that’s how it is in the world of music publishing, too!)

So . . . now that we’re at the end of the traditional school year, perhaps it’s time to think ahead to your next seasonal show! Alfred offers a wide variety of holiday performance options. Several of our favorites are featured in this email.

This year, we also have three brand new reproducible publications you will want to consider:

Fiesta! The Legend of the Poinsettia is a 20-minute unison mini-musical, based on a Mexican folk tale and focusing on the holiday traditions of Mexico—including the candlelit processions of Las Posadas, the breaking of the piñata, and the magic of the first poinsettia plant. Staging notes are included.

Holiday Partners! is a new holiday song collection that includes ten selections for
2-part voices. You can easily select a 15-20 minute program grouping from these offerings, as there are songs to cover every seasonal celebration—or perform them all!

North Pole Diaries is a witty, fun, and easy-to-put-together 30-minute show for 2-part choirs. Eight songs are tied together with rhyming diary entries. Plus, each song includes complete choreography notes! Great for your beginning choir, or consider using this program for the whole school, utilizing a different class for each song/scene.

We hope you have time to sit back for a little while this summer. But, if you’re near your computer, perhaps you’ll take a moment to visit alfred.com to review the sample pages and audio excerpts we have available for you. Or, better yet, take your iPad to the pool! You’ll be glad you took the time to work ahead.

Now, if only I could help you do your holiday shopping . . . and wrapping . . . and decorating . . .

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