O Sing A New Song – 2 Part Mixed

A lovely, lilting setting adapted from Psalm 96, an easy piece for young or inexperienced choir
About Michael Cox, Composer of O Sing a New Song—HMC498

The invitation to “sing a new song” captures something essential about the career of Dr. Michael Cox. An ASCAP award-winning composer, conductor, pianist, and music educator, Dr. Cox has spent decades creating music that gives choirs new ways to proclaim familiar words of faith. His setting of O Sing a New Song, HMC498, brings the joyful message of Psalm 96 to an accessible two-part mixed choral setting with piano accompaniment. Published by Hinshaw Music, the anthem was written for Jeff DiMiceli and the music ministry of First Baptist Church in Saginaw, Texas.

Designed for two-part SA–TB voices, O Sing a New Song reflects Dr. Cox’s practical understanding of church choirs and developing ensembles. The flexible voicing allows soprano and alto singers to share one part while tenor and bass singers form the other, making the piece especially useful for smaller congregational choirs, youth and adult combinations, or ensembles seeking meaningful sacred music without extensive divisi. Its Psalm 96 text places the anthem within a long biblical tradition of praise, worship, and musical proclamation.

That ability to write music that is both purposeful and performable has been shaped by Dr. Cox’s unusually broad musical background. His education includes a Bachelor of Music with honors in piano performance from Oklahoma Baptist University, a Master of Music in orchestral conducting from the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, and a Doctor of Music in composition from Florida State University. These three areas—performance, conducting, and composition—have allowed him to understand a score from the perspectives of the person who creates it, the conductor who interprets it, and the musicians who must bring it to life.

Oklahoma Baptist University became an important setting for Dr. Cox’s early work as a composer, professor, and conductor. After graduating from OBU in 1970, he returned to the university as a faculty member in 1972. During the next 18 years, he taught composition, conducting, music theory, and church music. He also directed the Bison Glee Club for 13 years, contributing to a longstanding tradition of men’s choral singing, musical fellowship, and Christian service.

His years with the Bison Glee Club gave Dr. Cox firsthand experience working with student singers of differing abilities and backgrounds. Former members have remembered the ensemble not only for its powerful sound, but also for the discipline, friendships, and personal growth that developed through rehearsals, concerts, and tours. Recording artist and pastor Joel Engle later described singing under Dr. Cox as a transformative experience and praised him as an exceptional musician.

Dr. Cox’s relationship with Oklahoma Baptist University continued through his compositions. In 2004, OBU presented his Symphonic Psalms as its annual Oratorio Project. The eight-movement work for chorus and orchestra sets texts from Psalms 8, 23, 47, 90, 95, 103, 117, and 148, with the celebratory spirit of Psalm 100 providing a unifying theme. Commissioned by former Cox student and Bison Glee Club member Scott Oyer, the work brought together Dr. Cox’s identities as teacher, composer, church musician, and interpreter of biblical texts.

In 1990, Dr. Cox moved to Fort Worth, Texas, to join the School of Church Music at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He served as Professor of Music Theory and Composition until his retirement in 2009. His work there helped future church musicians understand the structure and craft of music while developing the skills needed to compose, conduct, teach, and lead worship. He also served as director of the Southwestern Seminary Men’s Chorus.

Throughout his academic career, Dr. Cox remained a prolific composer of sacred choral music, piano repertoire, orchestral works, and instrumental music. His catalog contains hundreds of published compositions, including anthems for mixed choir, treble choir, men’s voices, children, congregations, and ensembles of varying experience levels. His choral catalog alone includes psalm settings, hymn arrangements, seasonal music, concert works, prayers, and commissioned pieces created for particular churches and performers.

Many of Dr. Cox’s compositions begin with the needs of a real musical community. Like O Sing a New Song, written for First Baptist Church of Saginaw, his works have often been created for specific congregations, choirs, conductors, anniversaries, and celebrations. This connection to working musicians helps explain the practicality of his writing. He understands that church choir music must communicate clearly, support the text, fit available voices, and remain rewarding for both performers and listeners.

Dr. Cox’s accomplishments have received sustained professional recognition. He has received the Standard Award from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers annually since 1987 and was selected as the commissioned composer for the Texas Music Teachers Association Conference. He has also traveled extensively as a choral clinician, sharing his experience with singers and conductors across the country.

His conducting career has extended beyond university and church choirs. At Oklahoma Baptist University, Dr. Cox conducted the annual Concerto-Aria Competition, which featured student soloists performing with musicians from the Oklahoma City Philharmonic Orchestra. After moving to Fort Worth, he appeared as a guest conductor with the Fort Worth Civic Orchestra and the New Philharmonic Orchestra of Irving.

Dr. Cox has also worked as a professional music copyist and engraver. This exacting work requires a detailed knowledge of notation, score layout, and the way musicians read during rehearsal and performance. It complements his work as a composer: Dr. Cox is attentive not only to the musical idea, but also to the clarity and usability of the page placed before the singer, pianist, instrumentalist, or conductor.

Today, Dr. Michael Cox continues his service to sacred music as Composer-in-Residence at Broadway Baptist Church in Fort Worth. His career represents a rare union of creativity, scholarship, musicianship, and practical ministry. Through works such as O Sing a New Song for two-part mixed choir and piano, he offers church ensembles music that is approachable enough to be useful and substantial enough to remain meaningful.

O Sing a New Song, HMC498, is a fitting example of Dr. Cox’s contribution to church choral music. Rooted in Psalm 96, shaped for accessible two-part singing, and written for a specific worshiping community, the anthem reflects his lifelong commitment to helping singers proclaim enduring sacred texts with freshness, clarity, and joy.