today at jw pepper we have 10 brand new string orchestra titles hot off the presses that
you should know about for the upcoming holiday season these are some of our editors favorite
picks and some of them have already been taking off in sales for 2022 so if you need holiday
string orchestra ideas jw pepper's got great ones in store let's get started
the holiday season is fast approaching as it does every year it seems and this year
jw pepper's editorial team has a fantastic batch of choices from our editor's choice
selections if you're not aware pepper does not just throw a bunch of music out there
for directors to guess and see what will work for each specific group each year publishers
send us thousands of new titles literally thousands and our editorial team goes through
all of them they pick out the best ones that they think will work for your groups of all
ages and musical styles if you want to see the entire full crop of this year's editor's
choice including non-holiday titles go to jwpepper.com editor's choice or click in the
link in the description below here you can browse full scores with audio to make great
choices for your students today's list has some specific criteria that all of these pieces
meet these are all brand new titles for 2022 giving you some really fresh options these
are all picked to go with holiday programming some are directly related to christmas and
others are for the winter season these pieces range from beginner all the way to medium
advanced so we're trying to give options for all skill levels we have a variety of composers
and publishers and of course these are all editors choice selections this list is in
no particular order all of these titles are great options for the holidays and there are
many more again links in the description to all the editors choice titles and all of the
songs that we're going over in this list and remember if there's a specific list that you
would like to see us cover in a future video definitely let us know in the comments below
and we'll get that made now let's get to this music
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fantastic grade two and a half thunder snow from katie o'hara labrie is a great way to
start out your show with its driving eighth notes tense melodies and sudden impacts the
picture here is you're in the midst of a blizzard and boom thunder snow which is a very rare
meteorological event the turbulent nature of the storm is contrasted with the rise and
fall of dynamics along with pops of accents to represent the thunder this could be a great
one to also add some science facts to your show as well another real great and accessible
option from excelsior music publishing
is a popular 16th or 17th century christmas carol from catalonia in northeast spain this
arrangement by michael story is an energetic and well-scored theme and variation of the
carol providing lots of spanish flair a perfect change of pace for a holiday concert the piece
is written for strings alone but there are optional piano and percussion parts the percussion
parts really add some of that authentic flavor to the piece these are written for castanets
but you can substitute using just sticks on the rim of a drum or a wood block this is
a grade two and a half and the melody is shared so everybody gets a turn at the fun on this
one [Music]
this is a great moving work that's edited by jay cameron law for grand mesa music a
good seasonal selection for a winter concert not necessarily holiday related so giving
some programming flexibility here this piece paints a scene of a dark evergreen forest
after a winter snowfall the lyrical main theme is an a minor which transitions to a contrasting
staccato section before returning to the theme there are easy tempo and meteor changes and
this piece is great for younger string orchestras to work on tone balance and blend a great
choice for your winter program [Music] hello excuse me put that cell phone away no matter
how many times you say it no matter what you do there's always going to be that parent
or sibling or friend who forgets to silence their phone at the concert it never fails
and this is awkward using ringtone effects and a script for the director this clever
work flips the script on that interruption and makes it part of the show christmas ringtones
is written for a beginning orchestra's first holiday program and what better way to lighten
up the mood than with this little tongue-in-cheek performance this does include a medley of
holiday favorites including jolly old saint nicholas up on the housetop and jingle bells
a great way for your young string groups to steal the show with a crowd [Music] so
[Music]
this exciting and fresh arrangement weaves the melodies of we three kings and okamo come
emmanuel cooper ford's arrangement here is great for studying syncopation as well as
6 8 and 3 4 time signatures this piece gives each of the sections moments with the melodic
themes and provides a great and engaging listening experience from start to finish this is a
carl fisher publication and is listed as a grade two and a half another great challenge
for a young ensemble [Music]
this very clever mashup is arranged by matthew putnam for winger jones publications part
of their achievement series which is listed for grade one and a half this is introducing
some new concepts for the players who are now out of the beginner range the two classics
woven together here are paco bell's canon and jolly old saint nick a great moment to
introduce students to orchestra classics while also providing a fun holiday setting for the
crowd
[Music] [Applause] this grade one piece from katie o'hara labrie evokes a snow day when
you wake up and there's snow up to the windows schools out and you just get to enjoy the
snow all day all instruments get a turn with the melody on this one which is great for
younger players and what's really cool here the whole piece is designed using only notes
from the d major scale making it highly accessible with bright melodies and jingle bell percussion
accompaniment which is optional and this is another piece that celebrates the winter season
not just the holidays so it makes it very flexible for programming
[Music] [Applause]
climbing up the difficulty ladder here is a great piece inspired by a line from the
classic carol what child is this arranger chris thomas has created a very cinematic
score for advanced orchestras this is listed as a grade 4 and would be great to feature
a star violinist or even a soprano recorder the arrangement is an opportunity to explore
legato boeing technique and rubato and every section gets to play expressive melody lines
the piece also incorporates thick string voicings in the style of ralph von williams this is
a great challenge for an advanced group [Music]
the sleigh ride is the third and final number from mozart's set of three german dances composed
in 1791.
the piece opens with a series of celebratory gestures then depicts a relaxing sleigh ride
through the country featuring pizzicato for the second violins violas and bases also there's
an optional sleigh bell part to carry the mood along this is from the achievement plus
series from wenger jones which is a grade two and a half and starts to incorporate some
advanced techniques this version has been transposed to d major and can be played entirely
in the first position with the exception of the bases which go to third position another
great holiday selection that introduces classical styles to work on [Music] [Applause] [Music]
and finally this last one is just pure fun rockin old saint nick adds a drum set and
a great backbeat to allow your string players to rock out a little in their holiday concert
this piece offers the opportunity to practice easy chromatic finger patterns with foot stomps
finger snaps and even bass spins for extra excitement it's a great change of pace and
one that your students can really have fun with and maybe even get the crowd involved
the drum set is optional if you don't have a drum set or a drum set player but come on
don't pass up on the drum set for this awesome holiday piece as you can see there are many
ways to keep your holiday concert educational and challenging for your performers while
still entertaining the crowd with jw pepper's editor's choice selections for the holidays
hopefully you found something useful that you can program for your winter or holiday
concerts as we said in the beginning of this video these are not all the choices out there
just some of our favorites if you would like to see the entire crop of 2022 editor's choice
go to jwpepper.com editor's choice or click in the link in the description below there
you can browse full scores along with full audio tracks to make better choices if there
is a specific style or arranger or composer or anything in particular you would like to
see a list of repertoire selections for strings please take a moment and comment below and
let us know our editors would love to curate a specific list for you to get you some awesome
ideas for your concerts if you did find this video helpful please give us a thumbs up you
can engage us on social media wherever you are you can even call us and talk with a real
person in 2022 believe it or not and don't forget to subscribe so you don't miss any
of the new content that we have coming out at jw pepper [Applause]
[Music]
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