Rejoice With Exceeding Great Joy: Concert Band Conductor Score & Parts

Warm, open, and genuinely joyful without leaning into kitsch. The arrangement breathes with the text, creating moments of reflection balanced against brighter orchestral colors. It feels like walking into a space where something genuine is being celebrated.

Band directors programming a holiday concert who want something the audience recognizes alongside pieces that challenge the ensemble musically. This works equally well as the centerpiece of a school holiday celebration or a community church program. Grade 4 means your musicians have enough technique to make it sing without being overwhelmed.

• Balance the melody between upper woodwinds and brass so the tune rings through without overshadowing the harmonic depth Davis built into the accompaniment.
• Let the tempo breathe slightly during phrase endings; this isn't music that benefits from rigidity.
• If you're combining band and chorus, use rehearsals to establish the tempo before they meet, so the ensemble feels unified from measure one.

Open your holiday concert with this as a statement of purpose, or use it as the finale if you want the audience leaving with something they already love. The optional choir component means you can program it with your choral director as a genuine collaboration rather than a tacked-on arrangement. At 3:50, it holds enough musical substance to anchor a concert without eating up rehearsal time.

• Balancing melody and countermelody across sections
• Sustaining tone quality in slower, hymn-like passages
• Maintaining ensemble blend when switching between solo and tutti textures
• Responding to text-driven phrasing when combined with choir