Cruisin': Concert Band Conductor Score & Parts

Owens captures that specific energy young bands crave: accessible enough to execute cleanly, fun enough that students stay engaged through rehearsal, and rhythmically interesting enough to hold a concert audience. The rock-and-ragtime fusion gives your band permission to loosen up while still playing real music, and the optional drum set means you can adapt the orchestration to fit your instrumentation without losing the driving spirit of the piece.

Rolling down the highway with the windows down and the radio on. The music bounces and sways with the casual confidence of rock music, then shifts into the syncopated wink of ragtime, creating something that feels both familiar and freshly arranged. It's energetic without being frantic, celebratory without becoming saccharine.

Grade 2 bands looking for an upbeat, modern alternative to traditional light concert fare. This works equally well for younger students who thrive on rhythmic music with clear melodic hooks, and for directors seeking a piece that builds ensemble cohesion through a shared sense of fun.

• Keep the energy consistent across sections; this piece lives and dies by its forward momentum, so resist the urge to slow down when passing melodic material to different parts of the band.
• Balance the rhythmic independence of your rhythm section (especially if you add the optional drum set) with the melodic phrases in the upper voices so neither overwhelms the other.
• Emphasize the syncopated figures that connect the rock and ragtime elements; these rhythmic hooks are what listeners remember and what give the piece its personality.

Program this as an opener or closer on a concert where you want to establish an approachable, energetic tone for your audience. It pairs naturally with other contemporary light concert works or novelty pieces, and it's substantial enough to anchor a shorter concert while leaving room for more substantial repertoire elsewhere on the program.

• Maintaining consistent rhythmic pulse across tempo changes and meter shifts
• Balancing melodic independence when multiple sections carry thematic material simultaneously
• Playing syncopated rhythmic figures with rhythmic precision and confidence
• Responding to stylistic shifts between rock and ragtime idioms within a single piece
• Listening across the ensemble to maintain clarity when melodic material passes between sections