“Good Folks Club” is a raw cry of satirical lament over how the Church often excludes the same people Jesus attracted - people who clearly don’t have it all together. It came out of wrestling with my own urge to exclude others with different convictions, and my fear that I might actually be the one who is in the wrong. Featuring lots of brass and culminating in an organ-and-church-bells-filled “cacophony of hypocrisy,” it gives space for Christians to grieve how we’ve failed to love like Jesus. As a recovering legalist, I often see things in very stark terms of black and white, right and wrong, and grace is a slippery concept for me to apply both to myself and others. While I personally tend to be morally conservative and fairly traditional, I wrestle with the fact that Jesus attracted people easily recognized in His time as immoral, while the Church tends to repel them in ours. This song, therefore, is not an abandonment of Christian morality, but rather a cry of “Why?! How!? Jesus, what has become of your Church to make it a place of keeping out rather than welcoming in?”more

Midnight Euphonium - Goff Richards / tr. Natalie Colegrove Written for Riki McDonnell and transcribed by Natalie Colegrove, “Midnight Euphonium” is a wonderfully crafted piece by Goff Richards. This short work starts with a free section, and then moves into a metered legato that stays for most of the piece. An extended cadenza provides time for the soloist to shine, and ends just as sweetly as it began. Natalie immediately fell in love with the tranquility of this piece and wants to share the same feeling through the album. more

Nearer My God to Thee - arr. Zach Peycha This arrangement of this Christian hymn “Nearer My God to Thee” based on BYU Vocal Point's performance creates a feeling that is less about peace and more about the struggles in life that bring us closer to God. This song is also associated with the sinking of the RMS Titanic, as some survivors later reported that the ship's string ensemble played the hymn as the vessel sank. Here are the associated texts: “At the moment of death My strength is from heaven God helping, nothing should be feared For ever Direct us, O Lord To high places by narrow roads Such is the path to the stars Ever upward”more