Havana: Concert Band Conductor Score & Parts

Matt Conaway's arrangement captures the essential pocket of the original without demanding exhausting rehearsal schedules. The steamy Latin groove translates seamlessly to concert band forces, giving students a legitimate reason to care about rhythmic precision and ensemble balance.

Confident and sultry. The arrangement glides rather than rushes, with just enough harmonic sophistication to keep experienced musicians engaged. You feel the Latin pulse underneath everything, even in quieter moments.

Directors programming a concert that needs contemporary energy without sacrificing musicality. This works equally well for students encountering Latin rhythmic concepts for the first time and for bands looking to showcase their groove sensibility.

• Lock the clave rhythm in your lowest voices first. Once percussion and bass establish this foundation, melody lines will sit naturally on top of it.
• Bring out the countermelody in the second trumpet or alto sax part. This line drives the energy when the main theme rests, and it's easy to bury.
• Shape the groove by resisting the urge to rush the Latin rhythms. Let the band sit slightly behind the beat to create that sleek, confident feel the original possesses.
• Balance the saxophones carefully during the bridge section. They carry harmonic weight that can overwhelm the brass if not managed with a light touch.

Place this after an opening number with different character to give your band a chance to show range. It works as a concert centerpiece or as part of a Latin-flavored set alongside other contemporary arrangements. The accessible difficulty level makes it viable for early-season programming when ensemble cohesion is still developing.

• Clave rhythm recognition and execution
• Maintaining groove against syncopated melodic lines
• Balancing Latin percussion with pitched instruments
• Phrasing in a contemporary idiom
• Rhythmic independence within a rhythmically dense texture