A Fiddlin' Christmas: String Orchestra Conductor Score & Parts

Bob Phillips's arrangement strips away pretense and invites your ensemble to have genuine fun. At Grade 2, the writing is clean and confident without condescension; students play real violin parts that sit well on the instrument, not watered-down versions of something else. The country styling gives your holiday concert a personality it wouldn't have otherwise.

Picture a barn dance in December: bright fiddle melodies, driving rhythms, and the kind of infectious energy that makes you want to move. The country arrangement brings warmth and informality to carols your students already know, turning familiarity into discovery.

String orchestras and string ensembles at the intermediate level who want to program something festive, stylistically distinct, and genuinely playable without extensive rehearsal. Directors seeking a Grade 2 piece that doesn't apologize for its accessibility will find solid musicianship here.

• Lean into the rhythmic groove. The foot-stomping character lives in crisp articulation and steady ensemble pulse, not in rushing the tempo. Lock the strings together like a fiddle band would.
• Let the optional piano accompaniment anchor the harmonic foundation, especially in unison passages where third violins cover inner voices. This frees your violins to focus on clarity and intonation.
• Emphasize the contrast between the two melodies. "Jolly Old St. Nicholas" and "Jingle Bells" have distinct characters; differentiate them through dynamic shaping and rhythmic energy rather than treating them as one continuous piece.

This works beautifully as a finale or intermission piece in a winter concert, especially if you're pairing it with more formal holiday fare on the same program. The stylistic shift and high energy make it an ideal palate cleanser between serious repertoire and a lighter closing number.

• Playing with rhythmic precision in driving, syncopated accompaniment patterns
• Maintaining intonation across sustained unison passages
• Balancing melody and accompaniment in a homophonic texture
• Reading string parts with clear articulation markings and dynamic changes
• Executing the technical demands of a country/folk idiom (emphasis on rhythmic clarity over vibrato)