This collection spans 691 holiday piano titles across all levels, from beginner arrangements to advanced solo repertoire. Dan Coates's The Professional Pianist: Solos for Christmas anchors the advanced end, while Willard A. Palmer's Alfred's Basic Piano Library: Merry Christmas series dominates the early-level market with multiple books covering levels 1A through 2. You'll find sacred and secular arrangements, jazz interpretations, folk traditions, and Jewish heritage music, with nearly 600 titles centered on Christmas and another 53 for Chanukah, plus scattered Advent, Thanksgiving, and Easter options.
Highlights
Teachers return consistently to Palmer's Alfred's Basic Piano Library: Merry Christmas books, particularly the 1A and 1B volumes, which serve as reliable anchors for early-level holiday programming. Dan Coates's The Professional Pianist: Solos for Christmas remains the top seller across all levels and formats. Gayle Kowalchyk, E. L. Lancaster, and Dennis Alexander's Premier Piano Course, Christmas 1B is another perennial favorite, offering pedagogically sound material that bridges early and intermediate study.
Recently added
Recent additions include Jennifer Linn's We Wish You a Merry Mash-Up, Tracey McKibben's Easy Christmas Trios, Volume 2, and Kevin Costley's Follow the Star, along with The Faber Music Winter Piano Anthology and Tim J. Spencer's The Big Book of Traditional Carols. Carsten Gerlitz's Weihnachtslieder für Klavier addresses teachers working with German-language materials.
Composer & Author Spotlight
Carol Matz has composed and arranged over 300 published titles, drawing on her background as an experienced piano teacher and presenter of pedagogy workshops across the United States, Canada, and internationally. Her Famous & Fun series (published by Alfred Music) remains widely adopted, with Famous & Fun Pop Christmas, Book 3 a consistent seller in this collection.
Dennis Alexander brings nearly four decades of association with Alfred Music and over 400 publications to his work. His reputation as one of the world's most prolific composers of educational piano music spans all levels, and he remains active in piano pedagogy after his tenure at the University of Montana. His contributions to the Premier Piano Course Christmas materials reflect his deep understanding of student progression.
Dr. E. L. Lancaster and Dr. Gayle Kowalchyk, both faculty members at California State University, Northridge, bring university-level pedagogy expertise to their collaborative work on the Premier Piano Course Christmas series. Lancaster's former role as Executive Editor for Piano at Alfred Music and Kowalchyk's doctoral training in piano pedagogy from Teachers College, Columbia University ensure these materials reflect current teaching best practices.
