American Anthem

High or low voice & piano; Choral arrangements for SATB, SAB, SSA • 4’
Featured in Ken Burns' powerful PBS Series The War, beautifully performed by Norah Jones. Sung at three presidential inaugurations, the lyrics speak to the sacrifice, selflessness, and bravery of the men and women who fought on the front lines and the home front during World War II.

Read coverage in The New York Times

Hear Norah Jones in the Ken Burns film The War

See Random House book American Anthem: A Song of Our Nation

Voices from World War II

Baritone & piano • 18’
One day, in Powell’s bookstore in Portland, Oregon, Scheer came across a book entitled Voices from World War II, filled with firsthand accounts from soldiers. He was captivated by the vivid personal stories, and five of them became the foundation for this cycle.

Hear Nathan Gunn on his album American Anthem: From Ragtime to Art Song

Read coverage in Washington Post

Lean Away

Medium voice & piano • 5’
As a kid, Scheer spent a lot of time sailing and loved it. The central metaphor of sailing into the wind, and what it requires, stayed with him from childhood and became the heart of the song.

Hear Nathan Gunn on his album American Anthem: From Ragtime to Art Song

Hear Joyce DiDonato on her album Songplay

Christmas Once More

Medium voice & piano • 4’
Scheer spent much of the 1980s living in Vienna and wrote this piece in an apartment just a few blocks from the Theater an der Wien, where he was performing at the time. He set out to write a sentimental Christmas song – and being in Vienna, how could it not be a waltz?

Another New Voice Teacher

Medium voice & piano • 4’
A classic case of “write what you know” – Scheer took voice lessons for 18 years while chasing the dream of becoming an opera singer. For anyone who shares (or once shared) that same dream, the lyrics will feel all too familiar.