Emmanuel

Back in 2016, Tom Mensch, the former orchestra director at Green Acres Baptist Church in Tyler, TX, called me and asked about creating a unique Christmas overture for the orchestra. He left it up to me to decide which songs to use in it. However, his one request was to give the woodwinds something challenging to play because he had some great woodwind players.

One of the more contemporary Christmas songs that I really like is "Emmanuel" by Michael W. Smith. I like it because harmonically and melodically it's very catchy, and it has a great hook to it! I felt like it should be the core song of the arrangement.

I also included the classic carol, "O Come O Come Emmanuel", and the other "Emmanuel" by Bob McGee, which seemed to fit nicely in the arrangement. It felt like a climactic song to work towards the ending of the arrangement. The piece came together with some challenging woodwind parts. I just love the energy of this overture.