Mitchell Fund Music

03/14/2026

I was just reminded of this piece I composed a while ago. I was talking to a director asking about music for social justice. It's my setting of Ozymandias, the famous poem about hubris.

This beautiful poem, written by the husband of the author of the classic novel FRANKENSTEIN and himself a notable English romantic poet, tells of Ozymandias, best known as the Egyptian Pharaoh Ramesses II. Once a mighty statue, from a mighty ruler, from a mighty empire, now crumbled and wasting away in the sands of the desert.

"Ozymandias" can be performed with mixed chorus or with either men's or women's voices alone. Sopranos and/or Tenors take part I in divisi, while Altos and/or Basses take part II.

Free sheet music at www.mitchellfundmusic.com/ozymandias

https://youtu.be/F7Yo1lLiwuU?si=pVSckyi41_6GkyC3

Free sheet music at https://www.mitchellfundmusic.com/ozymandiasThis beautiful poem, written by the husband of the author of the classic novel FRANKENSTEIN a...

03/10/2026

I'm happy to present a new release. Beclouded for SSAA a ca****la chorus.

Emily Dickinson wrote this short, but sharp text personifying nature when it's less than perfect. It's mean, it's complaining, it's stuck in a rut. In short, just like us, it has off days.

Free sheet music can be found at: https://www.mitchellfundmusic.com/beclouded

12/26/2025

I'm very pleased to present my latest choral work, There Will Come Soft Rains. This is one of my all time favorite poems and I have attempted to set it to music over a dozen times in a dozen different ways over a dozen years and was never quite pleased with how it turned out, until now.

The poem, written in the midst of WWI, has a stark clashing between the beauty of nature and its complete indifference at humanity's violence or even our very presence. I tried to capture Sara Teasdale's antiwar sentiments by setting it as a marching song - relentlessly marching off to our own destruction.

I was very glad to have Sarai Kent Pratt's amazing vocals on this recording.

Free SATB sheet music for this piece can be found at:
https://www.mitchellfundmusic.com/there-will-come-soft-rains

Dozens of other free choral pieces can be found at:
https://www.mitchellfundmusic.com

11/27/2025

I will be leading the Morton Community Choir on Tuesday December 16th at the Roxy. We've been working hard since September and I think we've got a very solid set prepared. Hope to see you there!

CC East will be hosting a Community Concert on December 16th at 7 pm at the Roxy Theater in Morton, with performances by the community choir and orchestra. Enjoy!

08/03/2024

07/20/2024

On September 15th, 2017, after nearly 20 years in space, 13 of which were spent meticulously researching Saturn and its moons, the extremely successful Cassini space probe, running out of fuel, was deliberately crashed into Saturn to prevent any contamination of its moons. (Titan and Enceladus have the potential to have life., but if there is, we want to make sure we didn't accidentally put it there first!). Cassini's final orbits captured some of the most stunning photos of Saturn and her rings that we have ever taken.

This choral piece is about that final sacrifice that Cassini made in the sake of science. It is designed to be a challenge for a choir, trying to see how many layers of counterpoint you can get before the choir falls apart. A good goal to work up towards through a season.

Cassini is part of my choral shorts series - pieces only one or two pages long that are cheap to print out and help choirs build skills. The sheet music can be found for free at https://www.mitchellfundmusic.com/cassini along with dozens of other choral pieces.

Thank you for listening!

06/29/2024

I love composing canons. They are fun little counterpoint puzzles, like a musical crossword or sudoku. Changing one note in the melody ripples and changes the harmony in multiple places down the road. This can be incredibly frustrating when one note unravels the entire sweater, but very satisfying when all the pieces of the puzzle come together.

Saved Me is a three part canon about how those who are no longer in our lives can still have such an impact in who we are as a person. To quote one of the best duets on Broadway, "Because I knew you, I have been changed for good."

Free sheet music for this piece and dozens of other choral works at: https://www.mitchellfundmusic.com/saved-me

If you'd like to learn how to compose a canon, I can help you learn. No musical experience is needed to start composing. Information about remote composition lessons can also be found on my website.

Thanks for listening!

11/28/2023

I know what my heart is like, since your love died
It is like a hollow ledge, holding a little pool
Left there by the tide, a little tepid pool
Drying inward from the edge.
~Edna St Vincent Millay

Thanks for listening,
Free sheet music at mitchellfundmusic.com

01/05/2022

The poet Edna St. Vincent Millay often wrote about her desire to be outdoors and I picture her reluctance to leave it. The text is about simply spending an afternoon on a hill. Feeling the wind, touching the flowers, and getting some distance between yourself and the rest of the world, until it starts getting a little too late that is.

This piece has some fun harmonies and swirling polyphony, written in a way that should be approachable for most choirs.

Thanks for listening! Free sheet music for this and other pieces can be found at mitchellfundmusic.com

08/10/2014

Piano Recital today at Toast in Ballard at 3:00! It should be a great time! Even though it's summer, these students have been practicing hard!

01/10/2014