The Wizard of Oz, Highlights from: Concert Band Conductor Score & Parts

Michael Story's arrangement captures the theatrical immediacy of these melodies while respecting the Grade 2 level. The medley structure gives you concert programming flexibility without requiring extended rehearsal time, and the selection of tunes ensures instant audience recognition and engagement. This is the rare piece that satisfies both pedagogical and performance goals simultaneously.

Nostalgic and bright, moving from wistful introspection to rollicking adventure without ever losing its gentle heart. The arrangement respects the drama of the original film while keeping the energy buoyant and fun.

Bands with limited rehearsal time but strong interest in audience appeal. This works equally well for groups building confidence with concert repertoire and for experienced ensembles wanting a reliable show-opener or closer.

• Keep the phrasing conversational and lean slightly away from the page for "Over the Rainbow." Student bands sometimes over-sentimentalize this tune; clarity and simplicity serve it better than interpretation.
• Balance the woodwind choir carefully in "If I Only Had a Brain." The melody passes between voices, and muddy doublings will blur the hook that makes the tune memorable.
• Lock the tempo transitions between movements. These songs have different characters and your tempo map needs to be deliberate and marked in parts so there's no drift between sections.
• Use articulation as a way to delineate the lighter, more comedic moments (the witch death, the departure to see the wizard) from the more lyrical passages. Precision here carries the humor without overdoing it.

Program this as an opener to set a warm, accessible tone for a concert, or use it as the centerpiece of a themed program celebrating film music and American songwriting. It also serves well as a standalone performance piece at pops concerts or family-friendly events where immediate melodic impact matters.

• Reading and executing smooth, singable melodic lines across section transitions
• Maintaining stylistic consistency across contrasting tempos within a single work
• Balancing ensemble voicing when the melody distributes across multiple instruments
• Shaping phrases that land naturally rather than mechanically