Summer Of '69 (The Music Of Woodstock): Concert Band Conductor Score & Parts

This medley captures the raw energy of one of music history's most pivotal moments while staying playable at the Grade 4 level. Ricketts has woven together seven iconic performances into a coherent 6-minute and 40-second journey that feels organic rather than patchworked, giving your band a legitimate concert closer that audiences genuinely want to hear.

Three days of cultural revolution distilled into six and a half minutes. You get the psychedelic shimmer of Hendrix, the gospel-fueled soar of Jefferson Airplane, the tight groove of Santana, and the singalong catchiness of Creedance, threaded together with enough instrumental flash to keep your band engaged from first rehearsal through performance night.

Directors programming concerts for audiences beyond the concert band core, or teaching in settings where students need validation that their musical interests matter in the ensemble room. High school bands at all experience levels will find this both playable and genuinely cool.

• Balance the lead voices across sections as each song cycles through different instrumental colors; the arrangement asks different players to carry the melody, so mark those solos clearly in rehearsal.
• Anchor the rhythm section early and often. The rock and soul grooves depend on locked time between percussion and low brass, so isolate these parts before bringing in the ensemble.
• Lean into the stylistic shifts without over-explaining them. Students grasp the Hendrix swagger, the Santana percussion break, and the CCR groove intuitively if the basic pulse stays solid.
• Let the recorded accompaniment breathe during rehearsals; use it to establish the historical context and energy, then gradually move away from it as the band internalizes the feel.

Close out a spring concert with this as your final selection before bows, when your band has warmed up and the audience is primed for something with real momentum. It also works beautifully as a welcome-back feature in early fall when you're rebuilding ensemble sound and need repertoire that energizes without demanding textbook perfection.

• Stylistic flexibility across rock, soul, and psychedelic idioms
• Rhythmic precision in funk and shuffle grooves
• Balancing sectional independence with ensemble cohesion across multiple song transitions
• Expressing intensity and dynamics within high-energy popular music contexts
• Ensemble communication without relying on a conductor's beat (especially in groove-heavy passages)