Sweet Suite: 1st Violin
A Symphonius Smorgasbord
By Andrew H. Dabczynski
Grade: 1.5
Item: 00-PC-0014495_VN1
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Description
A particularly pleasant pedagogical potpourri! Here's a light-hearted suite of four dances, each exploring a different musical concept. Creatively composed and designed to be played by students in their first year of study. Your students will shine---and learn---as they enjoy the musical mirth in this clever collection! This title is available in MakeMusic Cloud.
Don't just read it, hear it, play along with it, and watch your students grow with it. In MakeMusic Cloud, Sweet Suite: 1st Violin 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:
Highland/Etling String Explorer
Publisher:
Alfred Music
Page Count:
140
SKU:
00-PC-0014495_VN1
More about this title
About the Composer: Andrew H. Dabczynski
Andrew H. Dabczynski served as Emeritus Professor of Music Education at Brigham Young University, where he founded and directed the BYU New Horizons Orchestra, an ensemble that became both a performance outlet for adult beginners and a training laboratory for string educators. His contributions to string pedagogy earned him BYU's Joseph E. White Fellowship for Teaching and Learning, and Utah ASTA recognized him as their Higher Education Teacher of the Year in 2005 and honored his outstanding contributions to music education in 2014.
Dabczynski's career spans teaching positions at the Eastman School of Music, public school leadership in New York and Michigan, and sustained involvement with the American String Teachers Association. A violist himself, he performed with regional orchestras including the Rochester Philharmonic and Hartford Symphony, and served for six years as a member of the Colden String Quartet at Western Michigan University. He co-authored the comprehensive String Explorer method series with Alfred Music, bringing his deep understanding of string pedagogy to educators nationwide.
Why we love this
Dabczynski writes for first-year orchestras with a conductor's clarity and a teacher's understanding of what actually works in the room. Four distinct dances means four different teaching opportunities in a single rehearsal score, and the musical material lands squarely between musical substance and genuine fun for young players.
What to expect
Four miniature worlds unfold across a single rehearsal file. Light and playful, the suite has the flavor of a folk-inspired celebration, with each dance revealing its own personality without overwhelming young musicians or demanding extended technique.
Who it's for
String orchestra directors working with first-year students who need repertoire that teaches while it entertains. Students who are still establishing bow control, reading accuracy, and ensemble awareness will find each dance manageable yet rewarding.
How to get the most out of it
- Balance the phrasing across sections by having students echo small melodic fragments between first and second violins; the dialogue reinforces ensemble listening without added rehearsal time.
- Mark a clear beat on the &-of-4 before each dance begins to establish the character shift. Students need a conducting cue, not just a count-in.
- Assign a measure number checklist to your section leaders before the first rehearsal. Early orchestras benefit from visible landmarks, and spot-checking helps catch missing entries without stopping.
- Let cellos and basses carry the harmonic weight in the lower dances; they often sound thin when conductors pull dynamic focus to upper strings.
How to use it
This suite works perfectly for a spring concert program featuring early repertoire, or as a contest selection where young ensembles perform better on material that feels approachable yet substantial. Its four-movement structure also suits shorter school assemblies or demonstration performances for incoming strings students.
Skills your students will build
- Recognizing and executing character shifts between contrasting musical ideas
- Maintaining rhythmic precision in simple duple and triple meters
- Balancing sustained harmony lines with melody in the upper voices
- Reading and responding to clear conductor interpretation across multiple short forms
- Listening across sections to support ensemble blend and intonation