Cole Porter Classics: Full Orchestra Conductor Score

Wagner's arrangement captures the essential charm of three Porter standards while keeping the orchestration lean enough for Grade 2.5 ensembles to manage. The medley format lets you program substantial Porter repertoire without requiring separate rehearsal time for three different pieces, and the option to perform with strings alone gives you flexibility in mixed-instrumentation orchestras. These are tunes your audience will recognize and hum on the way out of the concert hall.

Urbane and sophisticated without pretension. These three standards carry the warmth and elegance of mid-twentieth-century Broadway, with that particular Porter blend of tuneful melody and subtle harmonic color. The medley pacing gives you moments of swagger alongside passages of genuine tenderness.

Conductors leading full orchestras or string orchestras at the Grade 2-3 level who want substantial, recognizable repertoire that feels professional and polished. This works equally well for school orchestras, community orchestras, and youth ensembles where mixed instrumentation and varying section sizes are the norm.

• Balance the melody across your first violin section and principal wind players; Porter's tunes depend on clear, singing lines that the audience can follow through the orchestration.
• Shape phrases with slight ritardandos at cadences to allow the harmonic language to breathe; Porter's harmonies often contain chromatic movement that needs space to register.
• Lock the rhythmic precision between your string section and any syncopated figures in the winds or percussion to maintain the swing character these standards demand.
• Attend to intonation in sustained chords, especially in the fuller sections; Porter's chromatic voice-leading exposes tuning problems quickly.

Program this as a substantial single work on a pops or American songbook concert, or pair it with other Great American Songbook arrangements to build a thematic program that celebrates the musical theater tradition. It also works well as a confident closer to an orchestral concert, leaving audiences with familiar, joyful material.

• Singing through orchestration (maintaining melodic clarity across changing instrumental colors)
• Phrasing in tonal, lyric-driven music (understanding breath points and cadential gestures)
• Chromatic voice-leading and harmonic color (recognizing Porter's sophisticated chord movement)
• Balance in mixed orchestration (managing melody, countermelody, and accompaniment across heterogeneous sections)