Christmas band music?

[IceePirate]

Sleigh Ride is always a favorite of mine. Might have to improvise if no percussion

[leo_plays_tuba]

Minor alterations is a bunch of Christmas songs in minor keys. You should definitely check it out.

[Mike C855B]

What level? Grade 3.5 and better will get into more musically interesting arrangements (not to mention less trite).

My wife runs out of the auditorium all but screaming at the mention of Sleigh Ride. She just whimpers and exits slightly less briefly at A Christmas Festival.

[leo_plays_tuba]

It’s a grade 5. Here’s the link https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/mi ... c/19084551" target="_blank" target="_blank

[rodgeman]

I always enjoyed Russian Christmas - http://windliterature.org/2017/09/14/ru ... fred-reed/ . I do not hear it very often.

[ronr]

Eighth Candle, for a little Hanukkah variant

[BrassedOn]

Vivaldi winter
https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/ensemble ... 59+1800137" target="_blank

Themes from the Snowman animated film.
http://www.howardblake.com/music/Brass- ... D-BAND.htm" target="_blank

Fum Fum Fum
Less often sung Christmas carol, but lively.
https://www.jwpepper.com/Fum%2C-Fum%2C- ... 9RDsSdOmf0" target="_blank

[Three Valves]

What level? Grade 3.5 and better will get into more musically interesting arrangements (not to mention less trite).

My wife runs out of the auditorium all but screaming at the mention of Sleigh Ride. She just whimpers and exits slightly less briefly at A Christmas Festival.

My wife does that to 12 days of Christmas. I like playing it, but hate listening to it also!!

[TheGoyWonder]

Every Xmas compilation-type piece MUST have lots of "Joy To The World" quotes in the tuba part. BUM bah-bu BUM!

[Mike C855B]

I always enjoyed Russian Christmas - http://windliterature.org/2017/09/14/ru ... fred-reed/ . I do not hear it very often.

Our college director loves this piece (as do I). Both of us keep it on our smartphone playlists. We have five tubas, six trombones and a full horn section this year, so he programmed it for our December concert. Only two rehearsals so far this quarter and it's shaping-up very nicely already.

And let's not mention I'm our sole oboe/English horn guy. (Bring it on!)

[Mike C855B]

It’s a grade 5. Here’s the link https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/mi ... c/19084551" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank

That's wonderful. Much appreciated, I've noted it to acquire for the library for next year. Main challenge I see for our particular group is I'm the only double-reed, and juggling oboe, EH and bassoon for the solos is going to be... uh... interesting.

[FreeBandMusic]

Here are three concert band pieces for Christmas I have written. They are now on sale on the Pepper's MyScore website.

https://www.jwpepper.com/10946676.item#/submit
March of the Kings is the tune "Three Great Kings", also known as Faradole.
its nice and and fairly simple: about a grade III.

https://www.jwpepper.com/10946714.item#/submit
Angels! is a flashy arrangement of Angels We Have Heard on High. This one is
maybe grade 3 1/2 - 4.

And since someone asked for something interesting...
https://www.jwpepper.com/10960287.item#/submit
A-Wassailing is what happens when a Christmas party gets out of hand. Really fun... and funny.
Grade IV. My wife calls the ending Christmas Disco. I'll be taking it to my community band next week...

John Thompson
Composer and Arranger
Mirafone 186

[Mike C855B]

It's going to be difficult to ask this question without offending some people, but here it is:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As long as wind band music is "graded", how are its consumers expected to elevate it - in their minds - to "art"...rather than it remaining (in the opinion of many) at the "craft" level? Would Barber's "Adagio for Strings" be rated as a "Grade 2", due to it's rhythmic complexity and range? ...

A legitimate observation. Speaking for myself (and local co-conspirators), quality works of "lesser"-rated difficulty are perfectly fine for filling holes in concert programs when more difficult pieces are not coming together in time. There is some awful Grade 2-2.5 stuff clearly targeting junior high level, but there is fortunately some very good music at that level of easy finger-wiggling that is tonally interesting and very lush when performed by a capable ensemble who can handle the expressive nuances.

Your Barber example is absolutely something that is not necessarily challenging when evaluated on note-to-note basis, but it takes a really good college or professional group to do it justice (i.e., not sound like crap). Eric Whitacre works are good examples of easy notation but very challenging intonation and expression.

My main complaint - naturally! - about the grade system is anything below a Grade 4 automatically assumes "typical" modern U.S. band instrumentation and makes no use of double-reeds. Parts will be there, but only doubling other sections. Didn't used to be that way.

[TWTuba]

Try some of the works by Julie Giroux--particularly Jingle Them Bells and Three Wise Guys. She has other holiday music(and non-holiday music) that is also excellent. She is published by Musica Propria. Google for the link.

[Mike C855B]

Our college director works pretty hard at avoiding the hackneyed arrangements. Truthfully, he has worked hard in the past to not program any... well, maybe one... Christmas-y arrangements for our first-week December concert. However, the administration pressured him into fully holiday-themed concerts starting last year.

This year's program is not finalized, but higher-quality candidates in the folder most likely to be programmed:

Patapan, Shelley Hanson
Christmas Legends, Gary P.Gilroy
Russian Christmas Music, Alfred Reed

There are three others, but (IMO) they are iffy, including one arrangement ending with the ensemble singing. I think everybody here knows how well bands sing.

[windshieldbug]

AND Minor Alterations No. 2: Carols from the Dark Side, David Lovrien (Pepper)
https://www.jwpepper.com/sheet-music/me ... D=10427264" target="_blank

[Mike C855B]

AND Minor Alterations No. 2: Carols from the Dark Side, David Lovrien (Pepper)
https://www.jwpepper.com/sheet-music/me ... D=10427264" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank

Thank you! Just bought both versions. With only four rehearsals remaining, not enough time to work them in this year, but next year... watch out!

BTW, these have to be roughly equivalent to your tomato in a fruit salad.