Sleeping Beauty Waltz: HybridNOW Full Orchestra Conductor Score & Parts

Richard Meyer's arrangement removes the intimidation factor while preserving everything that makes this waltz irresistible. The orchestration choices ensure that every section gets a moment with the iconic melody, which means your students won't spend the whole piece watching from the sidelines. At Grade 3, students can actually play Tchaikovsky without the arrangement feeling watered down.

Elegant and effortless. The waltz floats on a bed of shimmering accompaniment while the melody rises with ballroom grace. There's a lightness here that feels celebratory without being frivolous, and students will feel the satisfaction of playing music that sounds polished and professional from the first rehearsal.

This arrangement opens the Sleeping Beauty ballet to ensembles at the early intermediate level who want to perform a recognizable, genuinely beautiful work. It works equally well for concert bands and orchestras, making it flexible for schools with combined or separate programs.

• Bring out the elegant phrasing of the melody by ensuring your first violins (or principal wind) play with a singing tone rather than rushing through the line. This melody rewards a slightly generous rubato.
• Balance the waltz feel by keeping the accompaniment light and rhythmically clean. If the accompanying voices push too hard, the characteristic lilt vanishes.
• Give the secondary melody lines (especially when woodwinds carry them) the same attention you'd give the main tune. Meyer wrote these parts to shine, not to pad the harmony.
• Use the minor alteration that gives tuba and lower brass the melody as a confidence builder. Celebrate this moment with your students; it's not every day tuba gets the tune in a masterwork arrangement.

Program this as a curtain raiser to establish your ensemble's musicianship early in a concert, or pair it with other ballet excerpts to build a thematic program. It also makes an excellent festival selection precisely because it's so recognizable to adjudicators and audiences alike. Consider it for spring concerts when programming lighter, more accessible fare.

• Phrasing long melodic lines across phrase boundaries
• Maintaining steady waltz rhythm while playing expressively
• Balance between melody and accompaniment in orchestral texture
• Sectional playing when the melody passes between instrumental families
• Intonation and blend in sustained harmonic support