SKU: HL.14009206

ISBN 9781844494804. 9.0x12.0x0.215 inches. English. Lyrics by Nick Toczek.

Dragons! is a dramatic and comical musical for Key Stages 2 and 3, by poet Nick Toczek and acclaimed composer Malcolm Singer. Fergus is different from all the other kids - he is turning into a Dragon! He and his imaginary friends are taken through their paces at the School For Dragons, where they are taught to speak Dragonese and how to become hard as nails! Soon he discovers that he's not the only person he knows who is a dragon, and that in fact these firey fiends are everywhere! Dragons contains nine original, varied and challenging songs and includes optional solos and instrumentals. The play has a super rhyming story, and the songs are also suitable as a song-cycle for young choirs. The matching CD contains a complete performance of all the songs, plus imaginative backing tracks to sing along to. Pupil's Book: Catalogue number GA11638. Script available in student book.

SKU: WD.080689625176

UPC: 080689625176.

As a follow-up to the Semsens’ Songs from Letters in Red, this new collection will bring even more scripture to life for the kids in your ministry! Anchored by a super-fresh, contemporary version of the heartwarming hymn Standing on the Promises as the title song, this new project includes 10 dynamic songs, each based on a Biblical promise of God. Created by the multi-Dove-award nominated team of Christy and Daniel Semsen, this collection of kid-friendly arrangements offers fun-to-sing, easy-to-learn, Bible-inspired songs designed to teach kids about the faithful, everlasting promises of God.

STANDING ON THE PROMISES is a resource you won’t want to miss, featuring versatile, edgy and trendy songs and arrangements. This is the perfect teaching and kids choir performance tool with which to instill God’s Word and His never-failing promises in the hearts of your kids. With all-new energetic, engaging songs and a full complement of companion resources available (including CD and DVD Accompaniment Tracks), this collection is guaranteed to be a huge hit with your kids, teachers, and volunteers!

SKU: GI.G-10563

ISBN 9781622775996.

Conductor, chorus director, airplane pilot, educator, activist, mentor, and advocate Margaret Hillis blazed a trail upon which many continue to tread. The first woman to regularly conduct a major symphony orchestra, she was the founder of the Chicago Symphony Chorus and served for thirty-seven years as its first director, winning nine Grammy Awards. She was also a flight instructor for the U.S. Navy during World War II, an influential member of the National Endowment for the Arts, and built a reputation for her meticulous score preparation and innovative methods of refining choruses into superb ensembles. She earned the respect of the world’s major conductors along with the admiration and affection of many musicians, colleagues, and music lovers. But as compelling as what Margaret Hillis achieved is how she deftly circumvented the constant barriers in fields where women were not welcome. Further complicating her career aspirations, Margaret Hillis was a lesbian woman in an era when such an identity would have certainly ended her career. In Margaret Hillis: Unsung Pioneer, author Cheryl Frazes Hill—a longtime colleague and associate—examines how Hillis was able to overcome the many challenges she faced, navigating a career in ways relatable not only to musicians but also to women in all professions. Margaret Hillis’s story is one of resilience, determination, and passion for music. Her journey is an inspiration, a portrait of what it takes to succeed at the highest level in any field. Dr. Cheryl Frazes Hill is the Conductor of the Milwaukee Symphony Chorus and the Associate Conductor of the Chicago Symphony Chorus (CSC). Beginning as a member of the CSC in 1976, Margaret Hillis appointed Frazes Hill to the CSC conducting staff in 1987. Frazes Hill has served as professor of music at Roosevelt University’s Chicago College of Performing Arts since 2002. A frequent guest conductor, Frazes Hill is a published writer for national education and choral journals on topics of her research in music education and choral conducting. She is married to Dr. Gary Hill, and they have two children, Carlyn and Mitchell.   We are living in an age when strong women are accomplishing amazing things—and this is the story of a woman who succeeded in the male world of orchestral conducting and established the award-winning Chicago Symphony Chorus. Her life consisted of challenges continually met and conquered, and her relentless drive for excellence in her profession. Cheryl Frazes Hill gives us a carefully researched, balanced, and well-written account of her eventful life and achievements. —Alice Parker     Renowned conductor, composer, and longtime friend of Margaret Hillis Cheryl Frazes Hill was in a unique position to observe the career of Margaret Hillis because she was close to her on a personal and professional level. What is particularly gratifying about this biography is that it is clearly the work of someone who admires Margaret Hillis’s accomplishments, but at the same time Frazes Hill has retained a balanced objectivity about her subject. I came away from reading this with a greatly increased knowledge about Margaret Hillis, along with a deep appreciation for what she accomplished as a true pioneer. —Henry Fogel     Former President, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, League of American Orchestras     Dean Emeritus, Chicago College of Performing Arts, Roosevelt University.

SKU: PA.H07911

ISBN 9790260104457. 31 x 23.5 cm inches.

Lubos Fiser (1935-1999) was one of the most talented Czech composers of his generation. Born in Prague, he studied at the Prague Conservatoire from 1952-1956 and then at the Academy of Music. He was known to the public for his many film scores but it was his other compositions, many of them written under difficult political conditions, which mark him out as a composer of significance.

Fiser's eight piano sonatas have a special place in his oeuvre. Fiser subsequently eliminated his second sonata (1956) from his compositional repertoire. From the third sonata onwards (1960), subtitled Fantasia, the composer wrote a two-movement composition, in which he continued to incorporate as his fundamental musical device the confrontation of sharp contrasts in tempo and mood. Beginning with his fourth sonata (1962-1964), Fiser created a single-movement work in an expressive, formally focused composition which betrays a progression towards greater compactness of musical shape in a concise yet effective musical testimony. The fifth sonata was written in 1974, the sixth sonata in 1978. The seventh sonata from 1985 was dedicated to Frantisek Maxian, the eighth sonata was written in 1995.

Piano Sonata No.1 was written in 1955. Fiser worked on it during his last year at the Prague Conservatoire under the supervision of Emil Hlobil. The piece is one of Fiser's early works which still respect a traditional compositional approach. Unlike his major and late piano sonatas, this sonata has three movements, each representing the traditional Classical-Romantic form. The sonata was premiered by Fiser's fellow-student and friend Antonin Jemelik in Theatre D34 on 30 January 1956.

The new setting for this piece is based on the single edition to date (SNKLHU, 1957); only with regard to a few inconsistencies in the score was it necessary to consult the composer's manuscript (kept at the National Museum - Czech Museum of Music, acquisition number 297/2006).