Duke Ellington!: Full Orchestra Conductor Score & Parts

Calvin Custer's arrangement captures four iconic Ellington melodies in a single, cohesive medley that lets you program serious Ellington repertoire without requiring four separate charts. The Grade 3.5 level sits at that sweet spot where your orchestra can execute sophisticated harmony and ensemble coordination without getting bogged down in technical gymnastics, leaving room for the swing and style that make these songs matter.

Four of Ellington's most sophisticated melodies unfold in sequence, each one polished and elegant but loose enough to breathe. The orchestration celebrates the warmth of full ensemble sound, from muted brass to tremolo strings, and the writing invites your orchestra to discover just how much personality lives in harmony and orchestral color rather than display.

This is built for a full orchestra program ready to program meaningful jazz repertoire alongside standard concert fare. You need solid fundamentals across all sections, but Custer's orchestration distributes the work evenly so no single section carries the entire load. Directors looking to show how Ellington's compositional craft transcends the jazz/classical boundary will find a winning entry point here.

• Keep the ensemble relaxed through the syncopated passages. Ellington's rhythms demand a loose pulse, not a rigid metronomic one. Your string and brass sections should sit slightly behind the beat rather than pushing ahead.
• Balance the solo voices carefully in each movement. These melodies are designed to sing, whether in trumpet, saxophone, or string section. Let each section's featured moment breathe without drowning in accompaniment.
• Work the swing feel separately from the written rhythms. Custer's notation guides you, but the groove requires feeling the space between the notes, not just reading them. Record a run-through and listen for whether the music actually swings.
• Attend to the sectional independence in this medley. Unlike a through-composed work, each tune can live on its own. Make sure transitions feel natural and that you're not rushing to the next hit just because the chart shows it coming.

This medley works beautifully as a bridge in a concert that mixes classical and contemporary idioms. Pair it with a Mozart or Haydn movement to show how Ellington's harmonic language and orchestral thinking sit comfortably alongside the European tradition, or program it as the closer to a pops concert where it will land with both artistry and crowd appeal.

• Reading and executing syncopated rhythms in ensemble context
• Balancing melody, countermelody, and accompaniment across multiple sections
• Understanding swing feel and jazz style without sacrificing rhythmic precision
• Responding to subtle dynamic and color changes in orchestral arrangement
• Maintaining ensemble cohesion across a multi-movement structure