Strike Up the Band: Concert Band Conductor Score & Parts

Warren Barker's arrangement captures the propulsive energy Gershwin intended without relying on gimmicks or overstuffing the score. The orchestration sits naturally for concert band while preserving those signature Gershwin flourishes, the harmonic colors, the melodic contours, the sense that something exciting is always about to happen. Your students will play with genuine enthusiasm because the music itself demands it.

Energy that arrives fully formed from the first measure. There's sophistication underneath the brightness; the harmonies are richer than they first sound, and the orchestration keeps surprising you with color and dimension. This is music that feels like a celebration.

Bands at the Grade 4 level looking for a concert opener with immediate audience appeal and solid musical substance. Directors who want their ensemble to feel the forward momentum of great American songwriting without program notes or explanations.

• Keep the tempo brisk but controlled; the written tempo marking matters, and rushing this piece sacrifices the precision Barker's voicing requires.
• Balance the melody across sections rather than letting it sit entirely in the clarinets or trumpets; this is orchestral writing, not sectional writing.
• Emphasize the rhythmic precision in the accompaniment figures, especially the syncopated passages typical of Gershwin's style.
• Shape the dynamic contours distinctly; the contrast between sections and the build toward climaxes will feel flat if dynamics are approximated.

Open a concert with this and you've set the tone for everything that follows. The piece works equally well as a festival opener or as the anchor of a program celebrating American composers. At 2:58, it fills exactly the space you need without overstaying.

• Ensemble balance in multi-melodic textures
• Rhythmic precision in syncopated accompaniment figures
• Dynamic contrast and phrase shaping
• Reading and executing quick articulation changes
• Understanding jazz harmony and blues-inflected voicing