The Roaring Twenties: Concert Band Conductor Score & Parts

Strommen captures the infectious energy of the Jazz Age without oversimplifying the harmonic language or rhythmic sophistication your students need to engage with. The mix of well-known hits and the strategic placement of a tender ballad gives you a complete performance arc that holds an audience; you're not just stringing together novelty tunes. At Grade 3.5, the parts stay manageable while still requiring real musicianship around style, ensemble balance, and swing feel.

This music radiates the optimism and vitality of 1920s popular culture. The upbeat selections sparkle with syncopation and tight rhythmic energy, while the ballad offers a moment of genuine reflection and lyrical beauty, creating a program that breathes and gives your ensemble room to show range.

Directors programming a concert around American music history or seeking repertoire that energizes younger bands while maintaining musical substance. Students at the Grade 3.5 level who are ready to explore jazz style and rhythm without extensive prior exposure to swing idioms.

• Listen closely to professional jazz recordings of these standards to internalize the characteristic swing articulation and phrasing. Your students will hear the difference between metronomic playing and authentic stylistic delivery.
• Balance the melodic layers carefully in ensemble sections. With popular melodies this recognizable, clarity of countermelody and inner voices becomes essential to the overall texture.
• Work the rhythm section (percussion and bass parts if your band includes them) as a cohesive unit. The groove underneath these tunes will anchor the entire band's confidence in the style.
• Shape the dynamic contours generously, especially during the ballad. These songs thrive on expressive phrasing, not just playing the written notes.

Program this as a complete medley-style set during a pops or American music themed concert. The five-minute duration fits cleanly between larger works, or consider it as a standalone feature that showcases the lighter side of your band's repertoire without sacrificing musical credibility.

• Swing articulation and jazz phrasing appropriate to 1920s style
• Reading and executing syncopated rhythmic figures with precision
• Balancing melody and countermelody in ensemble textures
• Dynamic shaping and expressive control in both uptempo and ballad contexts
• Understanding the musical characteristics of the Great American Songbook