The arrangements are featured in a new holiday album, videos and concert tour by the indie rock trio.
The Baldwin Wallace University music composition program has fingerprints all over the latest release by the indie rock trio The Accidentals, with six current or former students helping to arrange pieces for the album.
The BW Composition program, under the leadership of composer-in-residence Dr. Clint Needham '04, collaborated with the highly acclaimed Kaboom Studio Orchestra on The Accidentals' new album, "Sonus Borealis - A Holiday Winter Collection."
After admiring the "exceptional work" of Kaboom founder Liza Grossman for years, Needham says he's been honored that BW has been invited to take part in projects like "Sonus Borealis."
"We're incredibly fortunate to be part of Cleveland's vibrant musical community," Needham notes. "Few undergraduate programs offer the chance to compose for commercial, professional projects, and our students have delivered exceptional results."
The project marks the second partnership between BW composers and The Accidentals, and the third collaboration with Kaboom.
This 13-track, holiday winter collection is described as "filled with soaring three-part harmonies, a powerhouse horn section, and breathtaking orchestral arrangements that light up every song."
Those "gorgeous scores" are where BW composers shine. They were created by Needham and BW alumni Jordan Timmins '25, currently a graduate composer at Longy School of Music at Bard College, and Jacob Lisiewski '25, now a graduate composer at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, as well as current music composition students Hank Temple '26, Michael Sejka '26 and Nicholas Stanick '27.
For the young composers, the experience was extraordinary.
Sejka, who orchestrated "Christmas Eve Sarajevo," says, "Hearing my music come to life by professional musicians during rehearsals and then the recording process is a very unique opportunity that is not easy to come by.
The discovery of my compositional process and the opportunities to write for large ensembles during my composition lessons at Baldwin Wallace prepared me to orchestrate for the Kaboom Studio Orchestra's Christmas collaboration with The Accidentals!"
Timmins adds, "I loved being able to write for a group that combined orchestral sounds with popular music, and loved listening to my work through streaming, and sharing it with my family and friends! BW really helped me feel ready by having the opportunity to write for the BW Symphony Orchestra in the previous spring, as well as taking orchestration classes about writing for larger ensembles."
The Accidentals and the 27-piece Kaboom Studio Orchestra will play six live shows featuring the arrangements on a tour in Ohio and Michigan from December 17 -21.
Get a taste of the music via the band's YouTube Channel, where several music videos like the ones above and below have already collectively garnered more than 40,000 views.
You can stream the entire album on Spotify.
