New Christmas Music for Community Bands Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Add some sparkle and holiday cheer to your community Christmas concert with these festive new titles recommended by Stanton’s band staff.
Designed as a companion, or alternative, to Leroy Anderson’s enduring favorite, A Christmas Festival, Christmas Spectacular features popular carols not found in the Anderson arrangement including The First Noel, Here We Come a-Caroling, O Little Town of Bethlehem, I Saw Three Ships, Once in Royal David’s City, and more gift-wrapped in a variety of styles – march, swing, Latin, and more!
Dynamic and jubilant, From the Realms of Glory! is ideal to ring in the holiday season as an opening fanfare or as a celebratory closer to your holiday concert! Intertwining three well-known carols (Angels from the Realms of Glory, Angels We Have Heard on High, and Hark! The Herald Angels Sing), Patrick Roszell has crafted an uplifting arrangement that is a worthwhile addition to your Christmas music library!
Originally recorded by David Foster with Natalie Cole, it was the 1992 version by Amy Grant that is largely responsible for Grown-Up Christmas List’s continued popularity. This inspiring ballad will add a special lift to any holiday concert, and Michael Brown’s brilliant arrangement can be performed effectively with or without a vocal soloist.
There are a good many ‘mash-up’ arrangements of Christmas songs, but Holiday Collage is a superb arrangement that is a joy to play as well as listen to! This cleverly arranged concert centerpiece features Over the River and Through the Woods and Jingle Bells with quotes from Deck the Halls and O Tannenbaum.
Familiar Christmas favorites are always crowd-pleasers. Why not brighten up your Christmas concert with Paul Lavender’s festive, true-to-the-original rendition of the popular holiday classic Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!
With a fanfare emphasis on the brass and percussion section, David Shaffer has woven 4 classic Christmas carols (God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen; Angels We Have Heard on High; Coventry Carol ; Ding Dong, Merrily on High) into an energetic medley full of holiday cheer! ‘Twas the Night Before… is perfect as an opening holiday fanfare or dramatic closer, and the optional antiphonal brass will put your performance over-the-top!
Your percussionists will have the chance to shine playing varied styles on the appropriately titled Yuletide Tapestry, an enjoyable medley of five Christmas favorites: Sing We Now of Christmas, God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen, The Holly and the Ivy, and Deck the Halls.
Be sure to watch your mailbox in 2013 for more new recommendations specifically for community bands! In the meantime, visit the concert band page at Stantons.com – click on Stanton’s Staff Selections, then Community Band. Find some arrangements you like? Create a Wish List to keep track of them! You can organize it any way you want (by concert program, theme/style, performance year, etc). We wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!