Spirit of the Season: Choral Instrumental Parts
From The Polar Express
Words and music by Glen Ballard and Alan Silvestri / arr. Robert Sterling
Item: 00-PK-0002374
$10.00
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| Product | Price | Quantity |
|---|---|---|
| Spirit of the Season: 1st Percussion: Choral Instrumental Parts | $3.00 | |
| Spirit of the Season: 2nd Percussion: Choral Instrumental Parts | $3.00 |
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Description
A wonderful holiday carol from the new movie The Polar Express. From its opening bell tones to its fa la las, this work truly captures the "Spirit of the Season." You'll want to make this a part of your holiday concerts for many years to come. Robert Sterling's exceptional arrangement captures all the spirit of the original movie score.
Don't just read it, hear it, play along with it, and watch your students grow with it. In MakeMusic Cloud, Spirit of the Season: Choral Instrumental Parts 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:
Alfred Pop Choral Series
Publisher:
Alfred Music
Page Count:
4
SKU:
00-PK-0002374
More about this title
About the Composer: Glen Ballard
Glen Ballard is a composer and songwriter with extensive experience scoring film and television. His work spans commercial entertainment and dramatic underscore, where he excels at capturing emotional resonance through accessible melodies and orchestration.
Why we love this
Robert Sterling's arrangement preserves the cinematic warmth of the original while giving choirs the tools to deliver a polished, engaging performance. The combination of bell tones and fa la las gives your singers concrete musical moments to anchor, and the availability of instrumental parts means you can build the arrangement to fit your ensemble's instrumentation.
What to expect
Warm and inviting, with a gentle sparkle. The piece glides between reflective moments and moments of simple joy, never asking for histrionics but always asking for sincerity. There's real movie-moment magic here, the kind that reminds audiences why they love the holidays.
Who it's for
This works for choirs of all levels looking for an accessible, tuneful holiday selection that connects to a widely known film. It's equally suited to elementary and middle school choirs wanting something straightforward to execute and high school choirs seeking an undemanding crowd-pleaser.
How to get the most out of it
- Let the opening bells establish the mood before the choir enters; clarity in those opening measures sets the tone for the entire piece.
- Balance the fa la las so they sound like a natural part of the texture rather than an overlay; they should integrate with, not dominate, the main melody.
- Use the recorded accompaniment to lock ensemble phrasing if you're rehearsing limited sectional time.
- Shape the dynamics across the full arc rather than treating sections as standalone; the piece gains warmth when phrasing flows continuously.
How to use it
Pair this with other secular holiday selections for a mixed-mood concert, or use it as your closer to send audiences home with something they recognize and love. It also works well as a straightforward opener if you want to establish a warm, accessible tone early in the program.
Skills your students will build
- Blending diatonic harmony with sustained bell tones
- Executing rhythmic interjections (fa la las) without losing focus on main melodic line
- Balancing choir with optional instrumental accompaniment
- Performing accessible, singable melodies with dynamic shape and phrasing