News

Lee University’s Dr. John Wykoff recently learned that his choral work, titled “Laudemus cum Armonia,” will be published by Walton Music.

The piece was commissioned by the Tennessee Chamber Chorus for their Christmas 2013 concert.

“The text and the basis [for] part of the melody is a medieval carol I found in the Oxford Book of Carols,” said Wykoff. “Although the music is unmistakably new, it pays homage to techniques first developed in the 10th and 11th centuries, when the sound of ‘organum’ was filling cathedrals.”

“Laudemus cum Armonia” is “vivid, intense and engaging,” said Daniel Gawthrup, well-known choral composer and former music critic for the Washington Post.

“I’m delighted to have this piece published by such a fine and reputable company as Walton, which consistently publishes some of the finest concert choral music available,” said Wykoff. Noted composers in its catalog include Norman Luboff, Z. Randall Stroope, and Eric Whitacre.

Wykoff, an assistant professor of music in the Department of Musicianship Studies, joined the Lee University School of Music in fall 2011. Prior to Lee, he taught music theory and musicianship at the Aaron Copland School of Music, Queens College.

Wykoff has composed works for solo piano, small ensemble, voice, choir, orchestra and more. His chamber music has been performed by the International Contemporary Ensemble, Cygnus, Second Instrumental Unit, and the MIVOS Quartet, and his sacred music, including choral works and congregational song is sung in churches across the United States.

He earned his PhD in music composition from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, his MA in music composition from the Aaron Copland School of Music, Queens College, and his BA in music and philosophy from Covenant College.

“Laudemus cum Armonia” will be published with Walton Music as part of their 2015 Catalog, but may be available for purchase as early as this fall.