A Star Is Born: Concert Band Conductor Score & Parts

This medley taps into music that genuinely moves students because they hear it outside the band room, creating an immediate emotional connection to the score. Story's arrangement respects the dramatic sweep of these songs while keeping the Grade 3 texture transparent enough that your band can actually deliver the passion without getting buried in technical complexity. Programming this signals to your audience and your students that concert band repertoire includes the stories that matter to them right now.

Cinematic and intimate. The arrangement captures the dramatic vulnerability of the film's music while maintaining the directness and energy that made these songs resonate with listeners. You're conducting heartfelt melody over supportive harmonic color, with moments that swell into full ensemble texture before pulling back into quiet reflection.

Concert bands at the Grade 3 level looking for engaging, modern repertoire that speaks to student musicians and audiences alike. Directors programming a concert that needs contemporary popular music without sacrificing musical substance or instrumentation accessibility.

• Balance the melody between upper and lower woodwinds during the transitions between songs; these moments define the medley's forward motion and deserve clarity in rehearsal from the start.
• Shape "Shallow" with intentional dynamic control in the final section. The emotional weight of this song comes from restraint and gradual buildup, not from playing loud early.
• Use the rhythm section to anchor tempo during key changes between medley segments. Mark those moments in rehearsal so percussion and low brass lock in before full ensemble entries.
• Allow the soloists (typically clarinet or soprano saxophone on the main melody) space to phrase through the lines rather than mechanically following the beat. This is contemporary music that benefits from rubato.

Position this in a concert where it can anchor a "film and stage" set or close the first half with a contemporary shift in tone. The three-song structure gives you programming flexibility; you can pair it with other pop arrangements or contrast it with classical works to show range. This medley works especially well as an audience connector between rehearsal-heavy concert works and as a reminder to your students why they joined band in the first place.

• Balancing melody and harmony within a multi-melody medley structure
• Managing tempo and rhythmic precision during key and style transitions
• Phrasing contemporary popular music with appropriate expression and restraint
• Sustaining focus across a longer composite work with distinct sections