Youth String Orchestra

Every Olympian dreams of achieving their best performance by setting a goal and working hard toward it. This stately piece evokes a feeling of pride and accomplishment, and is perfect for reinforcing...

Cellos in Charge! In the uplifting piece, your beginning cello section gets a chance to shine! The cello section plays first, introducing the main theme for the other sections and then introduces the...

It’s Raining Cats and Dogs is perfect for your beginning orchestra’s spring concert! It is based on a familiar old joke: “When it is raining cats and dogs, be careful you don’t step in a poodle!” This...

Beware the black hole! This fun and dramatic piece is perfect for beginning ensembles. All sections get to play the minor melodies, and with too many opportunities to play in the rests, students will...

Floating in a Dream: Close your eyes and imagine you are floating while you are dreaming, best accomplished with the help of a beautiful melody accompanying the dream. This piece uses legato style bow...

Spiders on the Loose: Students will love this easy piece which portrays spiders insidiously creeping and crawling up their arms, represented by eighth notes. Each section gets to play the exciting mel...

In a stately march tempo, Nobles of the Sword features tonal centers in A minor and C major, and is written in tutti style with ample opportunities to teach common rhythms (including dotted quarter/ei...

An elegant dance in 3/4 time, this Beethoven minuet is a great vehicle for teaching about rondo form. The episodes between the refrains are short - just four measures in most cases - so students hear...

Mozart's exquisite writing is evident in every measure of this minuet. This easy level arrangement will give your students a perfect introduction to playing in a leggiero (light) classical style.

This charming piece from the Album for the Young (a set of beginner pieces written by Schumann for his three daughters) is perfect for teaching/reinforcing dotted quarter-eighth note patterns. Its che...

Dvorák was extremely interested in Native American and African American melody, and his Symphony No. 9 (From the New World) included influences of both. This easy arrangement wonderfully includes the...

Easy yet tasteful writing is a feature of this new teaching piece from Stephen Bulla. Set in a gentle 3/4 waltz style, it has a good blend of music detail and accessibility for your developing string...

Based on the famous Canon in D by Pachelbel, March and Canon for Strings helps students to reinforce basic rhythms that use half, quarter, and eighth notes in well-designed ensemble setting.

Performer Level (correlates with Book 1, p. 34)

Explorer Level (correlates with Book 1, p. 20).

Here's a strong teaching piece, well-suited for 1st or 2nd year players and a worthy goal toward one of their first performances. The modal harmonies will give students a confident sound and the struc...

A fun, well-crafted ensemble piece for beginning level players that features imitation between sections, simple harmony in parallel lines, and bold, modal sonorities. As always, Kenneth Baird creates...

Here's a terrific showpiece for your students to enjoy many of the great musical effects that only string instruments can achieve. A delightful, slightly sinister sound in a dance-like movement makes...

Here's an effective work for beginning level players that features solid teaching material in a setting that is also terrific concert programming. Skilled part writing for all players, bold modal harm...

Composer Steven L. Rosenhaus has crafted a charming new work for young String players! The title is both captivating and a little puzzling, but just like the music itself - will keep them coming back...

Composer Steven L. Rosenhaus has crafted a charming new work for young String players! The title is both captivating and a little puzzling, but just like the music itself - will keep them coming back...

Composer Matt Arnett is known for vivid fantasy storytelling in his music. In this piece, treasure-seeking adventurers clash with a fearsome dragon! Who will emerge victorious? Students can draw their...

Composer Matt Arnett is known for vivid fantasy storytelling in his music. In this piece, treasure-seeking adventurers clash with a fearsome dragon! Who will emerge victorious? Students can draw their...

Composer Matt Arnett is known for vivid fantasy storytelling in his music. In this piece, treasure-seeking adventurers clash with a fearsome dragon! Who will emerge victorious? Students can draw their...

Composer Matt Arnett is known for vivid fantasy storytelling in his music. In this piece, treasure-seeking adventurers clash with a fearsome dragon! Who will emerge victorious? Students can draw their...