Try to Remember (from The Fantasticks): Full Orchestra Conductor Score

Mike Lewis transforms a beloved standard into a sophisticated light jazz waltz that gives your orchestra something genuinely lyrical to sink their teeth into without overwhelming a Grade 4 ensemble. The arrangement respects the melody while creating engaging orchestral textures that keep every section invested.

Nostalgic yet contemporary, intimate yet fully orchestrated. The waltz meter and jazz harmonies create a dreamy quality that captures the romantic yearning at the heart of The Fantasticks.

Conductors looking to program a sophisticated arrangement of a beloved tune that works for intermediate orchestras. This score is equally at home in a spring pops concert or a musical theatre showcase, and it connects with audiences who know the show and those encountering the melody for the first time.

• Shape the opening waltz with a gentle rubato; the simplicity of the tune invites expressive phrasing rather than metronomic precision.
• Balance the solo lines over the ensemble carefully. The melody should sing warmly without drowning out the harmonic and rhythmic support underneath.
• Let the jazz harmonies breathe. This isn't a classical waltz, so lean into the warmth of the chords and the slight swing that the arrangement suggests.

Pair this with other musical theatre selections for a themed concert, or use it as a lighter piece between heavier orchestral works. Its Grade 4 accessibility and crowd-pleasing melody make it an excellent closer that leaves audiences smiling.

• Balance and blend within jazz harmonies
• Shaping lyrical phrases in 3/4 meter
• Coordinating between melody voices and supporting accompaniment
• Executing light jazz articulation and phrasing