This well-known holiday song performed by Elvis is given a stylistic face-lift with this creative arrangement from Ted Ricketts. In an infectious Latin style it can give your holiday performance a unique twist.

Grade 2-3 Veteran arranger Lloyd Conley has arranged this beloved folk ballad in a new setting that is ideal for teaching lyrical style including sections to feature the low strings all accompanied by a gentle Celtic-style background. Dur: 2:20

Here is the haunting main theme from the blockbuster movie New Moon the second installment of the Twilight saga. This sensitively scored arrangement builds to a dramatic full ensemble climax before returning to a quiet finish.

The composer writes:Pilgrim was inspired it will be no surprise to learn by reading Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress - Vaughan Williams's great opera on the subject had fascinated me from its first performance yet it was a long time before I caught up with this essential item in any well-stocked library of English classics. It made a great impression not least because of its theme of a journey of self-discovery and a rediscovery or renewal of faith. These are ideas which have a strong interest for me not in religious terms but in their application to every aspect of human life (including great journeys) and this piece reflects my response in musical terms to this concern. The tempo of the whole piece which lasts about 18 minutes is basically slow. There are two quick episodes but these act somewhat like the trio sections of a classical scherzo save that the tempo relationships are inverted (the classical trios would have been slower not quicker) and the canvas is much larger being that of a single substantial slow movement. The form of the whole is perhaps fantasia-like rather than having any relationship to classical forms such as sonata or rondo - some motifs and themes are varied as the work develops and the opening chords are of primary importance throughout the work. There has been no attempt to convey any pictorial elements deriving from Bunyan's great book. There is however one feature which upon completion of the score struck me with some force which is that almost all the thematic material is essentially striving upwards - there is a constant upward movement (sometimes over a lengthy period) throughout the work. Pilgrim was commissioned by the Luton Music Club for the Raphael Ensemble with funds provided by the Eastern Arts Board and Bedfordshire County Council and is dedicated to the Luton Music Club. The first performance was given in Luton on February 10th 1997 and followed as part of a joint scheme by performances in the same week at the Music Clubs of Bedford and Leighton Buzzard.

Charles E. Carryl's A Capital Ship carefully arranged by Carrie Lane Gruselle for String Ensemble. The homophonic texture and straightforward rhythms and harmonies let students focus on style and musicianship. Students will also develop various articulations (staccato accent pizzicato) and watching skills (fermata ritardando tempo changes and a caesura). Excellent writing by an excellent teacher!

Rich musically and approachable technically your orchestra will feel like professional symphony performers with this sampler of tunes from Dvorák?s most famous symphony. Representing three of the four movements this masterful arrangement makes full use of all the sonorities available to the orchestra. Simply outstanding!

Vintage rock-n-roll that appeals to all audiences. With easy rhythms for first year players.

These arrangements were written for string ensembles in primary and secondary schools music centres prep schools and for various ensembles at Charterhouse. They grew out of a need for playable yet musically challenging arrangements where maximum 'effect' is obtained by using naturally resonant keys and idiomatic bowings - and have been used and honed over many years. They also recognise the fact that in many schools Viola players are scarce; most of the easier arrangements are therefore in three parts with optional Viola and optional double bass.

School String Ensemble-Three movements from 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'.Individual parts for all Spartan Press ensembles are available separately quickly and inexpensively. DO NOT PHOTOCOPY.

from The Lemon Drop Kid-John Moss' holiday arrangements have become the choice of directors everywhere and his newest is sure to please as well. His sparkling version of this gentle Christmas waltz is holiday programming at its very best. Dur: 2:30