It's Beginning To Look Like Christmas (arr. Mark Hayes): 2-Part Choral Octavo

Mark Hayes captures the warmth and accessibility of Willson's melody in a 2-part arrangement that works for developing choirs without sacrificing musicality. The 13-page length is substantial enough to feel like a real piece while remaining manageable for holiday rehearsal schedules. This arrangement brings genuine musical substance to a beloved tune that your singers will be excited to perform.

Nostalgic and genuinely joyful, this piece carries the cinematic warmth of mid-century American music. The melody is instantly recognizable, and the 2-part writing creates harmony that feels natural rather than labored, allowing singers to enjoy the experience of blending voices around a tune everyone knows.

This arrangement serves choirs at the developing 2-part level, including middle school choirs, beginning high school choirs, and community choirs that want a recognized holiday standard without advanced harmonic complexity. It works equally well for all-female, all-male, or mixed voices at this voicing.

• Emphasize the lyrical quality of the melody line; this arrangement rewards sustained, connected phrasing over rhythmic precision alone.
• Balance the two parts carefully during sections where they move independently so neither voice disappears into the accompaniment.
• Let the familiar tune shine without over-rehearsing stylistic details; singers often nail this piece quickly once they trust their part-singing.

Place this early in your holiday concert where it can set a cheerful, accessible tone and engage audiences immediately with its familiarity. It pairs naturally with other seasonal favorites and works as either a feature piece or part of a longer holiday medley programming.

• Part independence in 2-part writing
• Phrasing sustained melodic lines
• Voice balance and blend in layered texture
• Reading and executing Hayes's clear harmonic writing