Festival Pieces for String Orchestra Monday, January 24, 2022
recommended by Megan W., Orchestra Specialist
Electric Sinfonia by Lauren Bernofsky, Grade 0.5-2.5
This festival arrangement of “Electric Sinfonia” allows students from your entire strings program to play together! The set includes the required grade 2.5 parts along with easier grade 1 parts and a very easy grade 0.5 level, which uses only pizzicato. In a modal A minor, the piece has hints of rock music and a white-hot intensity that runs through the entire work. Perfect for building confidence – the individual parts are quite easy to play, but all together as a group…sensational!
A Festival Rondo by Richard Meyer, Grade 1.5-3.5
This work features all of your school district’s string orchestras at once and was written to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Freeport, Illinois orchestra program. The piece combines elementary, middle school, and high school string orchestras each playing age-appropriate material, making for the perfect closer to an “All-City,” multi-level concert. During the course of this energetic rondo, each group is featured on their own melody. As the piece unfolds, the melodies are creatively combined, keeping all the players “on their toes” and active at all times. Grade levels for the three groups are: Elementary – Grade 1.5; Middle school – Grade 2.5; High school – Grade 3.5.
Greater Than by Brian Balmages, Grade 1-3.5
Commissioned by the National String Project Consortium, this gorgeous lyrical work can be performed alone as an intermediate level piece, or with multi-level supplemental parts (available separately) for beginning and developing string students. Orchestrated to celebrate inclusion and diversity, the multi-level option is designed to sound far “greater than” the intermediate version alone. Not your traditional festival orchestra piece by any means.
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About the Author:
Megan W., originally from Pittsburgh PA, is happy to call Columbus and Stanton’s Sheet Music “Home.” As a musician, Megan has played in marching and concert bands, youth orchestras, full orchestras, small ensembles, and a few choirs. Her interests include fiddling, reading, writing, martial arts and yoga.