Youth String Orchestra

Combining themes from two Bartok piano pieces from his collection 'For Children

The techniques of pizzicato and quick back-and-forth imitation bring to mind a spirited table-tennis match in this unique easier string work. The rhythmic challenges this piece presents will seem fun...

This stirring, stately march from Handel's opera 'Scipione' could be a joyful introduction to baroque music for your students. The optional timpani part for two timps adds weight to this majestic work...

Working with a classic keyboard composition, the arranger has done an admirable job of making this esteemed work accessible to the young string orchestra. Use this excellent setting of a familiar piec...

The ground is covered with snow and it is a perfect time to hook up the horses to a sleigh. Snow Ride captures the enjoyment of taking a sleigh ride on a snowy day, with musical images created by an a...

Using melodic and harmonic material from two marches by G. F Handel, the arranger has created a stirring 'classical' concert opener. This fine arrangement has great musical integrity, yet is very play...

Generations is a meditative tribute to all the fathers and mothers who pass on intangible and priceless gifts to their children, grandchildren, great grandchildren... In this very original work, the c...

This lovely tune gives the listener a feeling of waking up on a sunlit spring day, with pleasant temperatures and perhaps a light breeze. As is typical of Springtime, towards the end of the piece, a s...

From the onset, the light Latin percussion in this delightful easy string work puts the mind of the listener or player squarely in the Southern Seas! All of the sections have easy but fun syncopated m...

Take your students and audience back to the late 1800's in this arrangement of a song that was very popular in its day. All of the turn of the century charm and harmonies have been retained to give an...

This piece brings us back to the days of the traveling circus! Picture the trapeze artists, performing elephants, the organ grinders with their monkeys, and the excitement on the children's faces! Wri...

Haydn Suite for string orchestra is a three movement arrangement of various works by the Austrian composer, Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809), including the 'Surprise Symphony' theme, a piano Minuet, and...

Escape is an exciting rhythmic journey in B minor. A recurring motif is introduced in the cello and bass parts and is eventually passed around to every section. This allows the director to teach the l...

No matter how old you are, change is inevitable. Sometimes change is scary, sometimes exhilarating, always emotional. This piece runs through the gamut of feelings through the use of dynamics, tempo c...

Images of gypsies in celebratory dance around a campfire are easily conjured up when listening to this delightful work that hearkens to eastern Europe. Contrasting the dance-like opening, a more serio...

The three sections of this piece can be said to describe a celebration of a close community of like-minded peoples. Their dedication and singular purpose is represented in the music by just a few simp...

La Mariposa, or The Butterfly in English, gives students exposure to Latin music in the form of the Mambo. The Mambo is a syncopated style of music and dance that originated in Cuba in the early 1900s...

From a plaintive and prayerful opening in solo violin, this arrangement of a well-known spiritual builds in power and emotion with each successive verse. The melody passes between voices, and frequent...

A nebula is an interstellar cloud where new stars are formed, and this piece captures the beauty and mystery of this cosmic body. Stark motives are presented in simple forms early on in the piece, and...

This famous folk song originated in County Derry in Northern Ireland in the mid-1800's, first published in 1855. Though there are other settings for strings of this beautiful ballad already in print,...

In this well-known Scottish ballad, a rider rides his horse away from home one sunny day. Later, his horse returns, but he does not. The melody of this ballad depicts his bride's emotional reaction to...

Written for the composer's son, Wondrous Flight alternates between insistent syncopated rhythms and flowing melodic passages. As the piece progresses, an increase in tempo drives the melodies through...

A New Dawn is a lilting and joyful work that celebrates new life, growth, and new beginnings. Written in a Neo-Classical style, this melodic piece spreads the wealth among the different sections of th...

Sunset Overture is an original non-programmatic allegro work for young string orchestra. With abundant 21st century counterpoint, the piece offers multiple layers of excitement as the melodies are pas...

Full of engaging melodies and driving rhythms, this first publication by a new writer to the Grand Mesa catalog paints a vivid musical picture of how it must have felt to be headed west in a covered w...