Stompin' on the Housetop: Concert Band Conductor Score

Michael Story's arrangement transforms a beloved 19th-century melody into an ideal first concert experience for young band students. The Grade 0.5 setting ensures that players just weeks into their instruction can handle the parts confidently while still sounding polished and festive, making it perfect for building ensemble confidence early in the school year.

Bright and bouncy, this arrangement captures the playfulness of the title while maintaining the traditional warmth of the original melody. The march-like accompaniment patterns create forward momentum that even young players can maintain, resulting in a performance that feels accomplished and celebratory rather than tentative.

This score is designed for conductors leading beginning concert bands, typically in their first 2-3 months of the school year. It works equally well in full band settings or smaller ensembles where instrumentation is incomplete, since the Grade 0.5 scoring is forgiving of missing parts.

• Balance the melody across your front sections so the tune stays clear; younger players often bury the tune under the harmony parts.
• Keep a steady pulse throughout. This march-like treatment thrives on consistent tempo, especially during the rhythmic figures that give the piece its character.
• Shape the dynamic arc gently. Even at this accessible level, small crescendos and diminuendos prevent the piece from sounding flat.
• Rehearse entrances deliberately. With a developing ensemble, isolated starts in different sections need extra attention to stay together.

Schedule this as a holiday opener on your first winter concert, or use it as a standalone piece at winter assemblies and community performances. Its accessibility and immediate audience appeal make it ideal for building student morale and demonstrating progress to families early in the season, while the concert band setting gives the arrangement more sophistication than a classroom arrangement might offer.

• Playing sustained notes with consistent tone quality
• Responding to conductor cues and cutoffs
• Balancing melody and accompaniment within the ensemble
• Maintaining steady rhythm in march-like tempos
• Coordinating rhythmic figures across multiple parts