It's Holiday Time: Concert Band Conductor Score & Parts

O'Reilly strips away complexity without sacrificing character. Four beloved melodies woven together create immediate familiarity and forward momentum, and the writing ensures every section feels essential rather than filler. Your students walk off stage knowing they've made real music together.

Bright and unpretentious. The medley format creates momentum through recognition rather than complexity; audiences hear familiar joy transformed into something bands have earned through their own ensemble work. It sparkles without requiring technical fireworks.

Beginning concert bands ready to tackle a full ensemble arrangement without the independence demands of scattered parts. This works equally well for sixth-grade programs establishing their first concert repertoire or for bands recalibrating after transitions in instrumentation.

• Balance the melody carefully between clarinet and trumpet sections; this arrangement asks both to lead at different moments, so mark those transitions in rehearsal so the handoff feels intentional rather than accidental.
• Keep the tempo steady and energetic. Young bands naturally drag when learning parts, so a brisk, confident tempo actually helps sections lock together more easily.
• Shape each melodic phrase as a complete musical thought rather than note-by-note. Even at grade 1, students respond to the suggestion of breathing and direction in four-bar phrases.
• Use the recorded accompaniment during sectionals so students rehearse against the actual tempo and harmonic foundation they'll hear in concert.

Reserve this for the holiday concert where you want a centerpiece that lets every beginning player contribute meaningfully. Pair it with one or two contrasting pieces to show range, but this arrangement is sturdy enough to anchor the program on its own. The alignment with Accent on Achievement Book 1, Page 25 makes it an obvious fit if you're already using that method sequence.

• Sustaining steady tempo across sectional coordination
• Identifying and transferring melody between instruments in the same register
• Balancing harmonic parts while keeping them subsidiary to the lead voice
• Responding to simple but clear phrase structure in ensemble context
• Maintaining rhythmic precision in unison passages shared across multiple parts