Big Band Christmas II: Jazz Ensemble Conductor Score

Strommen captures the essence of what makes holiday jazz special: enough familiarity that audiences recognize these songs immediately, but enough arranging craft that your ensemble stays engaged. The medley structure lets you deliver a complete holiday statement in under four minutes, making it ideal for rehearsal-constrained December schedules without sacrificing musical substance.

You get four beloved holiday melodies woven together through shifts in style and energy, moving from the driving energy of 'Here Comes Santa Claus' through the warmth of 'Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas' to the nostalgic close of 'Auld Lang Syne.' It's festive without being novelty, commercial in the best sense of the word.

Jazz ensembles at the intermediate level seeking genuine holiday repertoire that doesn't demand months of rehearsal time. Directors building a winter concert from the ground up will find this answers a real need: it covers substantial musical ground while leaving room in your schedule for other winter programming.

• Balance the ensemble sections carefully during the tutti moments; the four melodies can blur together if the saxophone section overwhelms the brass on the tutti hits.
• Nail the tempo transitions between songs. Strommen's style shifts do the heavy lifting musically, but a crisp, confident cut keeps the medley feeling like one cohesive piece rather than four separate charts.
• Let the short trumpet and tenor sax solos breathe. These aren't technical showcase moments; they're chances for personality, so encourage your soloists to play with character rather than speed.
• Shape the final statement of 'Auld Lang Syne' with a slight ritardando. It gives the audience the reflective moment they're expecting without needing a written marking.

Reserve this for early December when you want to establish your holiday identity quickly. It works equally well as an opener that sets the season's tone or a closer that sends the audience home with seasonal warmth. Pair it with a non-jazz holiday piece or a standard from your big band book to create a balanced first half.

• Reading through stylistic and tempo shifts within a single performance
• Executing ensemble blend across multiple simultaneous melodic lines
• Supporting and balancing featured solo voices
• Maintaining rhythmic precision during medley transitions