Welcome to the online home of the Naomi Crellin score catalogue. Browse here for vocal ensemble scores, request a commission, or receive advice about writing for vocal groups.
With a background in classical piano and a bachelor degree in jazz voice, Naomi's eclectic musical experience and her presence in the vocal scene combines to produce singable, original arrangements and compositions to suit many a palate.
Naomi is the musical director, alto and chief arranger for The Idea of North – Australia's premier contemporary a cappella group. Over the past twelve years she has been a prolific contributor to the group's repertoire, and a selection of those scores are available on this website alongside her own arrangements and compositions.
As well as her role as musical director and chief arranger for The Idea of North, Naomi has been commissioned to write many arrangements and compositions for vocal groups and choirs worldwide, including Amarcord, Young Adelaide Voices, and the Sydney Vocal Project, to name a few. Also included in her catalogue is a number of set pieces written for vocal competitions and she is regularly commissioned by secondary and tertiary institutions to write for their choirs.
Here is the current catalogue of available scores. For any further information, or to discuss a commission with Naomi, please email naomi@idea.com.au, or get in touch via the contact form.
Naomi has conducted private masterclasses for many vocal ensembles, schools, organisations and vocal festivals. She has also been an adjudicator for a number of festivals and competitions, including recently being appointed
Head Judge for SingFest 2014 (Queensland). To engage Naomi for a masterclass or adjudication, or to discuss options, email naomi@idea.com.au or use the contact form below.
1. Arrange for the specific voices in the ensemble —
— Rather than a generic soprano/alto/tenor/bass (or whatever your group's line up may be). Highlight any strengths and avoid any weaknesses you know about. This may be someone's break, a style they don't sound as comfortable in, a part of their range that isn't as sonorous as another. These can't always be avoided altogether, but they can be unhighlighted — put in a backing part, for example.
2. Do something to put your group's stamp on it.Choose a song you have an idea about how you may want to reinvent. Don't just choose a song you like and create a cover.
3. Aim for a balance of simplicity and complexity.If something is too interesting, people will get overwhelmed. If it's too uninteresting, people will fall asleep (or go to a different gig next time).
4. Find people who can try out your ideas.
It's great to be able to arrange for people and give you feedback. Do this at all stages — ask their opinions before you arrange something, get them to sing things you want to hear during the arranging process, and really listen to their feedback and suggestions.
5. Eliminate ego from the process as much as possible.
This is probably the hardest. It's confronting to have people express their opinions about your work to you, especially when you feel you've done as good a job as you can possibly do. Think of your arrangement as a child you create and raise, but then send out into the world to have other influences and experiences. Let yourself be flexible — it's actually going to do more justice to the finished product, even though it may not feel like it at first. That said, if someone makes a suggestion that goes against your gut feeling, and you still feel that way after it's been tried out by the ensemble (a vital step — always try it before knocking it), then you need to trust your instinct and either revert to the original or think about yet another possibility.
Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form :(
