So, you’ve decided to have a summer choir. 😊

You’ve invited your current choir members and put the word out to others in the congregation who might be interested.

Now, it’s time to figure out what you’re going to sing each week.

Depending on how you structure your summer choir, you may have a general sense of how many people you’ll have each week (and how many parts you’ll have covered).

But, if you’re leaving it more open and letting people show up without RSVPing ahead of time, choosing music can be a bit more complicated.

Related post: Three Ways to Have a Summer Choir (+ How to Make the Most of Your Time Together)

You need anthems that are:

• singable and intuitive

• written in an accessible way

• easy to learn

Today, I’m sharing 28 anthem collections, each featuring anywhere from five to 66 anthems you can use with your choir. Some include simplified part-writing (2-part, 3-part mixed, SAB, and SATB); others include flexible voicing options so you can adapt them to the group you have on a given week.

Most of the anthems in these collections come out to be $1 (or less) apiece, which can be a significant saving over buying individual octavos for your singers.

In addition, two of the collections included here are reproducible, which means you can buy one and make as many copies as you need for your choir.

Ready to get started? Here are 28 anthem collections to you with your summer choir, organized by voicing:

28 Anthem Collections to Use with Your Summer Choir

*Disclosure: I get commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

2-Part Choir

• Simple Songs for Slim Sundays (various) - 7+ anthems for 2- and 3-part mixed choir

• Sunday Savers (Jay Althouse) - five instant anthems for 2-part mixed choir

• Sunday Savers No. 2 (Jay Althouse) - five 2-part pieces for the church year (with rehearsal suggestions!)

• Easy Choir, Vol. 2 (various) - 10 classic hymn settings now arranged for 2- and 3-part choir

• One Rehearsal Wonders, Vol. 3 (various) - 11 SAB and 2-part anthems for any occasion

• Instant Anthems of Praise (Larry Pugh) - six 2-part anthems for mixed voices

• Partners in Spirituals (Jean Anne Shafferman)* - six well-crafted, 2-part partner songs that can be sung by children’s/youth/adult choirs during the year and used as fun, easy-to-learn anthems for your summer choir

• Partners in Spirituals… Again! (Jean Anne Shafferman)* - six more partner songs to sing with your summer choir

• Read, Rehearse, and Rejoice! (Stan Pethel) - 10 classic hymns arranged for 2-part choir

• 12 Anthems for About 12 Singers (various) - a dozen 2- and 3-part anthems for small choirs

• 10 Anthems for About 10 Singers (various) - have fewer than 12 singers? Here are ten 2- and 3-part anthems you can sing

*These collections are reproducible, meaning you can buy one and make as many copies as you need for your choir.

3-Part Mixed/SAB Choir

• Sunday Savers for SAB Choirs (Jay Althouse) - five SAB pieces for the church year

• The Pick-Up Anthem Book (Stan Pethel) - nine hymn arrangements for 3-part mixed choir

• Simple Songs for Slim Sundays (various) - 7+ anthems for 2- and 3-part mixed choir

• Easy Choir, Vol. 2 (various) - 10 classic hymn settings now arranged for 2- and 3-part choir

• One Rehearsal Wonders, Vol. 3 (various) - 11 SAB and 2-part anthems for any occasion

• One-Rehearsal Anthems, Vol. 2 (ed. Larry Pugh) - a collection of 10 general-use anthems for SAB choir

• Ready, Set, Sing! (Jay Althouse) - five SAB anthems for any time of the year

• 8 Anthems for About 12 Singers (various) - eight Gospel and Spiritual arrangements for small SAB choirs

• 12 Anthems for About 12 Singers (various) - a dozen 2- and 3-part anthems for small choirs

• 10 Anthems for About 10 Singers (various) - have fewer than 12 singers? Here are ten 2- and 3-part anthems you can sing

SATB Choir

• More Sunday Savers (various) - five easy-to-learn anthems for SATB choir

• The Pick-Up Anthem Book (Eugene Mccluskey) - a collection of 14 SATB anthems for general use

• The Instant Worship Choir Collection (various) - 20 SATB arrangements

Mixed or Flexible Voicing

• One Rehearsal Wonders, Vol. 1 (various) - eight 2-part, SAB, and SATB anthems, plus a bonus benediction

• One Rehearsal Wonders, Vol. 2 (various) - 2-part, SAB, and SATB arrangements of a few classic hymn favorites

• 5 Getty Anthems for About 10 Singers (Keith Getty/arr. various) - simplified settings of five Getty favorites for 2-part, SAB, and opt. SATB choir

• The Oxford Book of Easy Flexible Anthems (ed. Alan Bullard) - 66 anthems for the church year, ranging from unison/2-part to SAB to SATB. Flexible scoring options mean anthems can be easily adapted to your choir.

• The Oxford Book of Flexible Anthems (ed. Alan Bullard) - 66 anthems for the church year. Flexible scoring options mean anthems can be easily adapted to your choir.

I hope you find a few new resources on this list and that it’s helpful to you with your summer planning.

Looking for more anthem ideas? See these posts:

• 12 Easy Anthems to Sing with Your Summer Choir

• How to Choose Music for Your SAB Choir (+ 18 Anthem Ideas)

What are your favorite anthems/collections for summer choir? I’d love to hear what’s worked for you in the past!