String Orchestra Arrangements
Grade .5
Perfect for the first holiday concert, this new work, in the style of a “Cha cha”, has ample teaching opportunities. Using only the first 6 notes of the D-major scale, Cha Cha Christmas is perfect for your first concert.
Take lots of familiar Christmas tunes, mix them all together, and you have a Christmas Mash-Up. The setting is ideal for beginning players with the most difficult rhythm being a quarter note. This piece is perfect to highlight your first year orchestra at their very first holiday concert after as little as ten weeks of study.
Grade 1-1.5
Beautiful! The tune so many beginners plod through in method books now becomes "real music." In this lush arrangement from Larry Clark, all sections play a vital role in the harmony and balance of the piece. It's sure to build the expressiveness and ensemble playing of your group.
Drawn from Bartok's "For Children" piano collection, this charming suite is an elegant choice for your young players. The four movements are all very short and very pleasant to listen to, while still displaying the individuality of Bartok's writing. Each movement is in its original key and uses authentic melodic and harmonic material for an authentic musical experience!
Here's one of the holiday's most-loved classics scaled down for beginning string groups! While making the most of the simple repetitive melody, this version avoids tricky accidentals and keeps the integrity of the original composition. There's also a clever quotation of God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen as an extra added touch. Very well done!
Intertwining folk songs and Christmas carols gives this piece a unique voice! Great for expressive playing, this work includes Silent Night, Away in a Manger, Greensleeves, and Amazing Grace. This piece will be a certain winner with such a line-up of well-known tunes!
magine, if you will, if Bach decided to infuse popular Christmas carols into the fabric of his famous Brandenburg Concerto No. 3. That is the idea behind this arrangement, to seamlessly meld together the popular carols by arranging them in the style of this famous Bach work. Composer/arranger Larry Clark has done it again!
Veteran composer and arranger Larry Clark has crafted a masterful mashup of familiar carols and holiday songs in this easy medley. Your students and audience will enjoy this engaging and entertaining combination of familiar music.
This wonderful folk song has been beautifully arranged for string orchestra. On top of a melody that you won’t be able to get out of your head, there are ample opportunities to work on lyrical playing and phrasing. Every concert needs something musically expressive, and this arrangement is sure to impress musicians and audiences alike.
Now this glorious work is available for your young string orchestra! Larry Clark's ingenious arranging presents Promenadeand The Great Gate Of Kiev using only whole, half, and quarter notes. Your students will improve their tone and gain more control of the bow as they pull out the big sound this music inspires! A rehearsal piano part is included and the optional second violin doubles as viola treble clef if needed.
magine what it sounds like in Santa's workshop while the elves are building all of those toys: noisy! The technical demands of the arrangement are suitable for the beginning orchestra, but the cuteness factor is off-the-charts! The piece has simple optional percussion that can be played by members of the orchestra or brought in from the band.
Ever wonder what Santa does the rest of the year? Give your students something fun to play with this clever combination of popular carols with Vivaldi’s famous Spring movement from his piece The Four Seasons. Of course, the piece is intended to be fun, and make the audience smile, but also a great way to introduce younger students to the famous Vivaldi work.
Combining the popular Shaker tune Simple Gifts with holiday favorites, Larry Clark has created a wonderful novelty piece that is perfect for the holidays. The piece incorporates the positive essence of this truly American song and unites it with well-known holiday favorites.
Grade 2
As the title implies, this unique piece combines the beauty of Gustav Holst’s “In the Bleak Midwinter” with the popular “Angels We Have Heard on High.” Lush and stunningly gorgeous, Angels We Have Heard on High.” Lush and stunningly gorgeous, Angels in the Bleak Midwinter manages to be simple and elegant at the same time. This work can be performed alone or with a choral setting and concert band setting. What a great opportunity to include the whole music program!
From the Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach come three melodies that for generations have charmed audiences of music lovers. These themes have found their way into a multitude of genres. Although it is very possible that Johann did not write the entire contents of the notebook, his name has become the one that occupies the masthead. Larry Clark has fashioned this charming suite with delightful contrasts in textures. Includes Minuet In G (2:01); Bis Du Bei Mir (2:25); Musette (1:05).
Johann Pachelbel's Canon in D has long been one of the most popular classical pieces. In this arrangement, the Canon is combined with popular Christmas carols, such as Hark, the Herald Angels Sing and The First Noel, whose melodies fit nicely over the harmonic progression of Pachelbel's famous canon. This arrangement will work nicely with strings alone or with the optional choir (CM9401).
No other secular holiday song has meant so much to so many people! In this treatment, the song is presented in contrasting moods. First in a lush chorale introduction, next in an upbeat swing style. The piano is not required, but really adds to the overall effect.
Larry Clark takes two of the most well-known songs for the holidays and cleverly combines them into a seamless new musical experience. The famous Dona Nobis Pacem tune is merged with The First Noel into an exquisite arrangement with the title suggesting that we all have "Peace for Christmas." Your students will feel the spirit of the season while playing this heartwarming work for the holidays, ideal for a holiday concert.
Every budding pianist gets to know this lively piece, and your audience will recognize it right away! It's in rondo form with contrasting major and minor sections, and works fabulously for string orchestra! Almost all of the difficulty is in the 1st violins.
In this sweetly impressionistic holiday piece, Larry Clark has arranged the beloved carol Silent Night in the style of Eric Satie's celebrated Gymnopédie No. 1. The lovely added counter melodies and radiant string writing will make this selection a fine addition to seasonal programs, and the limited technical challenges will make it easy to prepare.
This popular Welsh folk song has been used in TV and movies over the years, but you have never heard it like this! Larry Clark's stunning setting contains lyrical countermelodies, a lush harmonic perspective, and just plain beautiful writing. Stretch the musicianship of your students with this wonderful arrangement.
Turkey in the Straw is an old time favorite and this arrangement does a bang-up job of portraying the sound of the old Bluegrass jug bands. Every section has an equally fun nd important part to play, and there's a chance for the first violin to solo, too! This is a good old-fashioned hoedown for your orchestra, fun to play and entertaining for the audience as well.
Grade 3
Larry Clark cleverly combines two of the most popular Christmas carols into a seamless symphoinc style composition. Why not play a Christmas piece this year which will challenge your students and delight your audience. One of the best Christmas arrangements we have heard in quite sometime.
Tchaikovsky's melodies are among the most beloved of all time and this choice, (scene 8 in the Nutcracker) is a gem that has been perfectly adapted to strings alone. The setting is truly lush and honors the lyrical heritage of the composer. Ideal for any occasion, this is a perfect way to improve the lyrical skills of your orchestra.
A unforgettable melody from Gabriel Fauré for string orchestra! All the splendor of the impressionistic masterpiece is retained in this excellent arrangement and your first chair players even get brief solos for another captivating change of texture in this well-done version.
Full Orchestra Arrangements
Grade 2
Although often associated with the holidays, this delightful selection from "The Nutcracker" would fit into any concert situation. Larry Clark's arrangement is perfect for developing orchestras, and it works with both full and string orchestra. Simply enchanting!