Irving Berlin's Christmas (Medley): Concert Band Conductor Score & Parts

Michael Brown and Mark Brymer have crafted an arrangement that respects Berlin's original melodies while giving your band real musical substance to sink their teeth into. The optional choir and strings elevate this from a straightforward medley into a full production number, making it an excellent closer for holiday concerts where you want polish without excessive complexity. The Grade 3 level means your students stay engaged with the arranging choices rather than struggling with technical demands.

Nostalgic warmth mixed with elegant sophistication. These five songs carry decades of cultural weight, and the medley format lets you string together moments of pure melodic beauty without overstaying any single song's welcome. The arrangement honors Berlin's gift for singability while giving your band moments to shine with clean harmony and articulate passage work.

Concert bands looking for a holiday closer that works for audiences of all ages and doesn't require specialized vocal training. Directors who want their students playing genuine standards rather than generic holiday arrangements, plus any program that could benefit from optional ensemble expansion.

• Balance the melody between woodwinds and brass as sections trade Berlin's memorable lines; clarity here determines whether the audience recognizes each song.
• If you're using the optional choir and strings, rehearse them separately first so the band isn't waiting through vocal warm-ups, then integrate once both groups know their material independently.
• Keep consistent articulation across the ensemble during transitions between songs; the medley form lives or dies on how smoothly you move from one tune to the next.
• Lean into the lyrical sections (particularly "Count Your Blessings") with genuine legit tone rather than concert band brightness; this repertoire rewards warmth.

Reserve this for your final piece on the holiday concert; at 6:40 with optional additions, it has the musical weight and commercial appeal to send the audience out happy. The medley concept also makes it flexible for partial performance if programming demands it, allowing you to use just 3-4 songs if a full 6-minute closer doesn't fit your timeline.

• Balancing melody against harmonic accompaniment across multiple sections
• Maintaining stylistic consistency while transitioning between contrasting song tempos and characters
• Reading and executing rhythmic figures common to American popular song idiom
• Phrase shaping and legit tone production in slower passages