Entries by Heidi Goeller

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Hymn Arrangement for Orchestra: Be Thou My Vision

Be Thou My Vision was commissioned by Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, and premiered at their fifth annual Desiring God National Conference back in September. As with all of my hymn arrangements for orchestra, I try to stay true to the tone of the text when choosing harmonies and orchestral textures. This approach presented a […]

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Christmas SATB Choral Anthem: Gloria in Excelsis Deo

Although I like all of The Word Became Flesh, I think Gloria in Excelsis Deo is undoubtedly one of the most exciting moments in the whole work. If you listen carefully throughout the underscores of The Word Became Flesh,, you’ll notice a distinctively exotic sound that always accompanies angels. For example, you’ll hear it in […]

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Christmas SATB Choral Anthem: Unto Us a Child Is Born

Unto Us a Child Will Be Born takes the longing of Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus and infuses it with a sort of sort of celebratory expression of expectation. If you listen closely, you will see that the melody in the Savior Foretold Underscore is really just an augmented (that’s a fancy music work for elongated) […]

SATB Choral Anthem: Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee with Asifiwe Bwana

Recently, I had a director ask me how my and Heidi’s unique setting of Joyful, Joyful with Asifiwe Bwana came to be. So here is the story behind this unique arrangement. Randy Edwards, the director of YouthCUE, asked me to compose some new choral pieces in multicultural styles.  I don’t find many up-tempo sorts of […]

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Jesus, In His Own Words in Washington DC

Heidi and I were blessed to attend the YouthCUE Nation’s Capital performance of In His Own Words on June 29th, 2008. This concert featured a chorus comprised of almost 300 teenagers (from seven states and six denominations) accompanied by an full orchestra comprised of members of the National Symphony and Armed Forces Bands. This is […]

Psalm 13 Choral Anthem: Your Unfailing Love

On September 1st of 2007, Heidi’s extended family gathered together for the burial of her Aunt Julie’s ashes. Auntie Julie, as we called her, died on November 3rd, 2006 after a year-long battle with cancer. She was only fifty-four. Even after almost a year of grieving the loss of his wife, Uncle Bill still seemed […]

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Welch’s TV commercial with Alton Brown

Just after I finished composing and producing music for the two Great Western Bank spots, I was contacted by my good friend Stephen Yarbrough. Stephen was the professor  of theory and composition at the University of South Dakota. He had been contacted by ViaGroup, a prestigious advertising firm, who was interested in using portions of […]

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Working in the Music Industry

Right after I graduated from college, I wanted to try and find employment as a working composer, arranger, and/or orchestrator. So I packed up my things and moved to Nashville, Tennessee. My first few years there, I struggled to make ends meet as I worked, on a freelance basis, at one of the largest publishing […]