Charting the Course Christmas Collection, Score Book: Conductor/Teacher Method Book

Familiar holiday melodies reimagined with swing sensibility and genuine jazz phrasing. There's warmth in the writing and a conversational quality to the solos that makes these arrangements feel less like exercises and more like real tunes your ensemble is learning to interpret.

Jazz ensemble directors working with developing high school and middle school players who need holiday repertoire that actually teaches jazz language, not just mechanics. Your students should be comfortable reading chord charts and basic jazz notation, but they don't need to be advanced improvisers.

• Study the mini-clinic breakdowns before rehearsal. Understanding the chord progression spelled out note-for-note will help your soloists hear what they're improvising over, not just reading.
• Have students spend time with both the transcribed and suggested solos. The transcribed versions show what's possible; the suggested versions build confidence for those not ready to improvise from changes alone.
• Rotate which students take featured solos across the six tunes. These arrangements give every player a moment, but you'll need to plan ahead to keep it fair and keep everyone engaged.
• Use the play-along tracks sectionally during rehearsal before running through with full ensemble. Rhythm section players especially benefit from locking in with the recording before blending back in.

Front-load these in November rehearsals if you're performing in December, or save them for a winter concert that doesn't demand a month of preparation. The six-tune collection also works well as a take-home unit where students can tackle one chart at a time during the holiday season, then perform them all together at a winter pops concert.

• Reading and performing from chord changes
• Jazz articulation and phrasing conventions
• Solo construction using both transcribed and theme-based approaches
• Listening to recorded models and internalizing jazz vocabulary
• Flexible ensemble balance when shifting between melody, harmony, and solo roles