Joseph Sowa – Composer/Arranger

Please welcome Joseph to HolySheetMusic.

Joseph Sowa (b. 1984) is a composer of orchestral, chamber, choral, and vocal music. His arrangement of “For the Beauty of the Earth” was recorded by soprano Charity Tillemann-Dick on her album American Grace, which debuted no. 1 on the Billboard® “Traditional Classical” chart. His works have been performed by the BYU Philharmonic and Chamber Orchestras, the Lydian String Quartet, the Quartetto Indaco, the Awea Duo, the Tower Duo, Douglas Bush, Daniel Stepner, and numerous LDS choirs, among others. He has been commissioned by the Barlow Endowment for Music Composition, the Laycock Endowment for Creative Collaboration in the Arts, Douglas Bush, Neil Thornock, and Arianna Tieghi.

“For the Beauty of the Earth“: Suitable for both church and concert settings, Joseph Sowa’s arrangement of “For the Beauty of the Earth” embroiders the classic hymn of gratitude with a lyrical cello solo and a lush piano accompaniment. It was recorded by soprano Charity Tillemann-Dick on her album Billboard® “Traditional Classical” chart-topping American Grace. 

Here is a link to “For the Beauty of the Earth.”

Dr. Sue Neimoyer – Composer/Arranger/Musicologist

We welcome Dr. Sue Neimoyer to HolySheetMusic.  Sue’s compositions are exquisite from accessible to challenging.  The first piece we offer at HolySheetMusic, “Wondrous Love” is incredible and for the advanced choir.  We have a list of pieces we’ll be publishing by Sue, arrangements and as well as new compositions.   Here’s more about Sue:

Sue Neimoyer – Biography

Sue Neimoyer’s compositions reflect her very diverse musical background and professional experience.  She hails from Yreka, California, where she began studying piano at age 5.  Her first compositions, written at age 10 for her neighborhood’s garage rock band, were songs in the style of the Beatles and other pop groups of the 1960s.  At age 13, she performed her first solo classical piano recital as well as a piano concerto with her school orchestra.  Her first compositional work to receive acknowledgment was an arrangement written for her high school’s jazz ensemble, which was awarded a “superior” rating at the Reno Jazz Festival.

Dr. Neimoyer earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in composition and theory from Brigham Young University and the University of Utah.  She holds a Ph.D. in music history, with an emphasis in American music, from the University of Washington in Seattle.  She served an LDS mission in the California Arcadia Mission. While in Seattle, she was the music director and organist at Trinity United Methodist Church, where she arranged music for and conducted the church’s chancel choir and played bass guitar its contemporary Christian music ensemble.  Her compositions and arrangements have been widely performed in the United States, as well as in Europe and China.  Her “Mountain Anthem,” sung by the International Children’s Choir of Salt Lake with a Utah-based “honor orchestra,” was featured in PBS’s broadcast of the 2002 World’s Largest Concert, representing and celebrating the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics.

As a performer, Dr. Neimoyer has played solo jazz piano bar engagements, has been a keyboardist and singer in both rock bands and in small jazz groups.  She also sang dramatic soprano roles with the Seattle Experimental Opera in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

She is currently on the faculty at the University of Utah School of Music, where she teaches courses in 20^th-century music, American music, jazz history, and opera literature.  Her articles on Joni Mitchell’s avant-garde jazz music and George Gershwin’s early music and career appear in noted scholarly journals.

Please check out:  “Wondrous Love.”

Rock Oakeson – Composer/Arranger

We welcome Rock Oakeson to HolySheetMusic.com.  Here’s a little introduction to Rock (What a great name, eh?!!)

Rock Oakeson is a pianist, composer, piano teacher, woodwind player, college music professor and school administrator with 43 years of teaching experience.  He has appeared on nationwide PBS-TV as piano soloist with the Mormon Youth Symphony and Chorus, has performed as soloist and ensemble pianist and woodwind player with the BYU Philharmonic, the BYU Symphonic Wind Ensemble, and the North Texas Philharmonic.  He received his Bachelor of Music degree in composition from Brigham Young University in 1978, and his Master of Music degree in composition from the University of North Texas in 1983.  Besides composing much music for different vocal and instrumental ensembles, Rock has also written music for ballet and dancers, for television and radio, and has scored music for film and video.  After seeing a need for good educators, he elected to make a life-long career as a devoted teacher and administrator at several colleges and universities in California and Utah.  Besides music and humanities, he also taught classes in business, finance and general education.  Currently Rock teaches piano, composition and theory at his private home studio in Eugene, Oregon, where he is enjoying his retirement.  Rock also continues his life-long mentoring relationship with his past college students who continue to learn and to be inspired by his knowledge, wisdom and life experiences.

Please take a look and listen to Rock’s “An Irish Blessing” for TTBB Voices.