Enemy: Concert Band Conductor Score

Chris Bernotas has captured the relentless energy of this track without overloading young players. The Grade 2.5 chart keeps the driving rhythm and intense dynamics that made the original chart-topping, while the sectional writing gives every part something engaging to play. Your students will recognize the song immediately and feel the payoff when they nail that chorus.

Propulsive and unapologetic. The piece charges forward with the kind of relentless drive you hear in the original, powered by a hypnotic rhythm and sudden surges of intensity. It has attitude without demanding technical gymnastics.

Concert bands working at the early intermediate level who want to connect with their students through contemporary music. This arrangement works equally well for students new to pop/rock in the concert band setting and for programs looking to add energy to a mixed concert.

• Anchor the pulse in the rhythm section early. The groove is the foundation here; lock that in before layering the melodic content on top.
• Shape the intensity arc across the whole piece. This isn't a song that sits at one dynamic level; build toward peaks and pull back strategically to let the climaxes land harder.
• Balance clarity in the upper parts against the bass line. The melody drives the song, but the low end needs to punch through to give the arrangement its backbone.
• Bring out the rhythmic details in the accompaniment figures. Even background parts have personality; clean articulation in the supporting voices makes the whole texture pop.

Slot this into a concert that needs a modern counterweight to traditional literature, or use it as a pop culture bridge in a concert celebrating music from film and television. Its energy also makes it an ideal opener or closer when you want to leave audiences energized.

• Maintaining steady pulse under syncopated melodic lines
• Dynamic control across a wide range (soft groove sections to full ensemble climaxes)
• Rhythmic precision in contemporary pop/rock idioms
• Sectional balance in an arrangement with layered, independent parts
• Ensemble cohesion in driving, repetitive groove-based structures