Shivaree: Score
By Carl Strommen
Grade: 5 (Medium Advanced)
Item: 00-PR-0004356
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Description
A "Shivaree" is an elaborate, festive and raucous county wedding celebration. Bringing this spirited event into your concert hall, Carl Strommen delivers a percolating work with pile-driving rhythms, an interesting juxtaposition of mixed meter and memorable melodic material. A velvety slow section contrasts beautifully with what comes before and after. An absolute winner! (4:26)
Don't just read it, hear it, play along with it, and watch your students grow with it. In MakeMusic Cloud, Shivaree: Score comes alive with professional accompaniment, adjustable tempo, and built-in practice tools that turn solo practice into real progress.
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Additional Details
Series:
Belwin Symphonic Band
Publisher:
Alfred Music
Page Count:
220
SKU:
00-PR-0004356
More about this title
About the Composer: Carl Strommen
Carl Strommen stands among the most frequently performed composer-arrangers working across band, orchestra, jazz ensemble, and choral contexts. His music reaches audiences in concert halls, broadcast media, and film, while his consistent output has earned him the annual ASCAP Standard Writers Award throughout his career.
Stromman teaches orchestration and composition as an adjunct faculty member at C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University in Brookville, New York, and remains deeply connected to the academic world. Based on Long Island, he frequently travels to Denver and Boulder, Colorado, for extended time with family.
Why we love this
Strommen captures the genuine chaotic joy of a country wedding celebration without sacrificing compositional craft. The mixed-meter sections feel organic rather than showy, and the strategic slow movement provides genuine breathing room in a piece designed to keep audiences engaged from start to finish.
What to expect
Exuberant and unpretentious, with the energy of a real celebration captured in sound. Strommen's orchestration feels full and bright, then suddenly intimate and warm in the slower section, before the momentum returns to close the party in style.
Who it's for
Grade 5 concert bands ready for medium-advanced material that demands rhythmic precision and rhythmic sophistication without requiring specialized soloists. Directors programming festivals, contests, or concert series will find a work that audiences remember and musicians enjoy performing.
How to get the most out of it
- Lock the rhythmic foundation early. The pile-driving rhythms are the engine of this work; sections need to march together without rushing through the natural swing of the pulse.
- Shape the slow section as genuine contrast. This moment isn't a brief pause—it's a chance for players to explore legato and dynamic nuance before the finale arrives.
- Balance the melodic material across sections. Strommen layers memorable tunes throughout; identify which voices carry the tune at each moment and ensure they project without drowning ensemble color.
- Clarify the meter changes in rehearsal. Write in the specific meter signatures at transition points so players see exactly where the shift happens and land securely on the downbeat of each new section.
How to use it
Program this as a second or third piece on a concert when you want to shift mood and showcase your ensemble's rhythmic chops and dynamic range. It pairs well before or after more serious concert fare, functioning as both audience engagement and a solid contest entry.
Skills your students will build
- Reading and executing mixed meter passages (primarily 4/4 and 3/4)
- Maintaining articulation clarity in rapid, syncopated rhythmic figures
- Balancing ensemble sound across sustained harmonic sections
- Transitioning smoothly between tempo and character changes
- Executing pile-driving rhythmic passages with precision and energy control