Favorite Christmas and Holiday Collections for Orchestra
I’m sure most school orchestras and music directors are in the midst of preparing music for a winter concert. Undoubtedly, we push and put so much energy and work into that winter performance. Following the performance, we might have a week or two before winter break, right? There is a lot we can do in class before students leave for break - reflect, review concepts, introduce new topics, celebrate success, and build on the joy the students are feeling after a successful performance.
With that in mind, we’ve developed somewhat of a tradition right before break in my program where we gather up our music stands and set up in one of the main hallways of the school. We perform our winter pieces as well as some short holiday favorites and carols. It has become something the students and staff really enjoy. Perhaps you have a similar tradition.
Do you have any “go-to” holiday collections?
In this post, I want to share with you a few great resources for easy (and fun) Christmas carols and winter favorites your students will really enjoy playing.
Christmas and Chanukah Ensemble by John O’Reilly
I recently got this collection and have started using it this year. My students are really having fun playing these short, well arranged carols. Each instrument has the chance to play the melody (A line) or a harmony part (B line). They are perfect for a small chamber group, duet, or large ensemble.
The collection comes with a score and books for violin, viola, cello, double bass, and piano. It features 23 different Christmas and Chanukah favorites
Festive Strings by Joanne Martin
Festive Strings is another collection I’ve used during the holiday season. Joanne Martin has a few different instrumentations available - string ensemble, string quartet or string orchestra, and solo instruments. I only have experience with the edition for string orchestra.
Festive Strings includes many holiday favorites like Jingle Bells, Joy to the World, Jolly Old Saint Nicholas, and more. The melody is passed around between the different sections and each piece is written in a string friendly key.
Christmas Kaleidoscope by Robert Frost
Christmas Kaleidoscope is yet another collection of holiday tunes that I have used in the past. The pieces are accessible and feature a melody line and two harmony lines. The collection includes 14 different Christmas carols. You can also combine any harmony line you like and mix and match instrumentation.
Holiday Play A Long
Holiday Play A Long is a collection I developed for my students last year during the pandemic. While my students were on remote learning I wanted them to be able to get the experience of playing along with others even though we couldn’t physically be together. Therefore, I created these backing tracks for them and they loved it.
The Holiday Play A Long features 5 different holiday favorites each with an accompanying backing track. The melody to each song is featured and written out for each instrument. All of the tunes are written in a string friendly and accessible key. Each song has a super fun backing track that students can play along with.
The collection includes these holiday classics:
- Jingle Bells, transposed to D major
- It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year, transposed to C major
- The Christmas Song, transposed to D major
- Deck the Halls, transposed to D major
- Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas, transposed to G major
Interested?
You can buy in on my Teachers Pay Teachers store with a few easy steps. Just click the "Buy Now" button below and it will take you directly to my store.
Conclusion
I hope you enjoy these recommendations. Let me know if you have used these resources also and if you have others that you and your students enjoy!