ABSTRACT
The two major professional organizations that serve as resources for choral music educators are the National Association for Music Education and the American Choral Directors Association. Their annual conferences feature "reading sessions" of middle school choral repertoire and concerts performed by outstanding middle school choirs. There are numerous resources that can aid the choral director in finding literature that meets the five essential criteria, the first being state-approved music lists for contests. In addition, choral music publishers regularly send out promotional recordings featuring new choral music for middle school. Many similarly effective pieces can be found on state-approved lists for beginning middle school choirs. As middle school singers mature into stronger musicians, the level of difficulty of the music can be increased. Freedom Is Coming by Henry Leck is similar in its number of parts, simplicity of range, and musical demands, and is based on an attractive and authentic non-Western song.
