Give your concert the touch of "The Last Night of the Proms"! This piece - some people call it the "Real Hymn of England" - will satisfy your audience. The soprano part should be set with a chorus, perhaps your listeners will sing along. Whether as final piece or as an encore, all will be enthusiastic.

Level: medium

Mendelssohn wrote this music in 1836 for the funeral of his friend, composer colleague and contemporary Norbert Burgmüller, who had died in a tragic accident.
It is in A-B-A form, the martial main movement in the tutti is interrupted by a lyrical subsidiary movement with solo woodwinds and repeated at the end.
Here is a version for youth orchestra, the original was composed for harmony music to suit the occasion. The two high trombones were replaced by two alto saxophones and are also available as horn 3 & 4.

level: medium

The world-famous harmony sequence - set for 3 high instruments by Pachelbel - in a little changed version for youth orchestra. Extended instrumental colours by winds and brass, more akzentuated rhythms by timpani and triangle. Facilities in melody and key make this popular composition in a new version also playable for your group. 

Level: medium

The grand finale from Moussorgsky's piano cycle in a facilitated version for youth orchestra. Inspired by the brilliant instrumentation of Maurice Ravel, reinforced by numerous percussion instruments a magnificent sound creation is formed. The choose of the keys and other details make this movement also playable for your orchestra.

Level: medium.

Perhaps the best known piece from Puccini's "Trittico" in a version for soprano or choir and small youth orchestra in the key of F major. The instrumentation is based on the original, but adds new aspects and facilitations in places.

A German text version is available because the original one is still under copyright.

Level: medium

Gioacchino Rossinis "La Carità" - original for 4 female voices & piano - in a very well sounding version for solo soprano, three-part female choir and youth orchestra.

Level: medium.

The first promenade powerful introduces the cycle and underlines the unusual phrases and change of time by means of the instrumentation. The following "Bydlo" - an image of a heavy oxcart - starts with loudness, increases again and ends with a pianissimo.
The special keys and the not too difficult kind of voice leading let these movements being playable also by your orchestra.

Level: medium.

The second promenade in lower pitch and soft dynamic level points to "The Old Castle". The painful main theme in minor is drawing through the piece easily modified. Chordal counterparts create a colourful harmony partly full of tension. An ostinato over the root G in six-eight time provides stability, but is also pressing forward.
The version is well playable and will inspire your orchestra.

Level: medium.

The Grand Chacony in GMin and the associated Pavane in a version for youth orchestra. The originally four-part piece - probably composed for a quartet of viole da gamba - was colourful differentiated and tonally enhanced by addition of winds and brass. An effective contribution to your Christmas concert!

Level: medium

Three pieces from the composer's probably most famous stage work, the ballet opera "Les Indes galantes". The originals from 1735 were arranged for small youth orchestra and represent a beautiful example of elegance and euphony of French baroque music.

Last picture from the famous 'Le Carnaval des animaux' for youth orchestra. The piece starts with the galop, cancelled were the 10 introducting bars. Built in were only the sequences of the "Wild Asses" and the roaring of the lion. The original piano passages were substituted by adequate instrumental figurations. The scoring for chamber-music ensemble was extended to an orchestra. The result is an arrangement, which is in color and vitality equal to the original, but much more easy to play.

Level: medium

Bucolic light-heartedness and joy of playing are the main trends inside this movement of the early work of the great french composer. Many things are reminiscent of Mendelssohn or Schubert. Two catchy themes are processed und confronted in multiple forms. The key was retained, the fine-grained instrumentation was facilitated to the skills of a youth orchestra.

Level: medium

The title "Annen-Polka" refers to the popular 'Annenfest' in Vienna on the occasion of St. Anne's Day on July 26th. Johann Strauss (jr.) composed a polka for this occasion in 1852 and dedicated it to the then empress of Austria, Maria Anna (1803 - 1884). Here is a version for youth orchestras, facilitated by new keys and instrumentation.                                         

Key: CMaj, Level: medium

A selection of 8 suitable pictures and finale for youth orchestra. The original piano passages of high virtuosity were substituted by adequate instrumental figurations. The scoring for chamber-music ensemble was extended to an orchestra. Timpani and percussion instruments can be conveniently played by three players. The result is an arrangement, which is in color and vitality equal to the original, but much more easy to play. Your orchestra and the audience will be excited!

Following extracts are contained: Introduction and Royal March of the Lion, Wild Asses, Tortoises, The Elephant, The Cuckoo in the Depths of the Woods, Aquarium, Fossils, The Swan, Finale.

Level: medium

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Not only at the wedding ceremony, but also a popular piece in your concert! Very suitable in combination with other extracts from "Summernight's dream".

Level: medium.

Impressive composition of the younger brother of Johann Strauß II. With a lot of brass ( 4 horns, 4 trumpets, 3 trombones and tuba) and an arsenal of percussion (snare drum, base drum, anvil, gong, tamtam and timpani) the piece will continue to fulfill its name.

Level: medium

Josef Strauß: Feuerfest!

The fast-polka "Leichtes Blut" was composed for the carnival revue 1867 in the Vienna Volksgarten. Here is a version for youth orchestra in original key with some facilitation.                                

Level: medium

The cheerful  Polka in a version for youth orchestras. Strauss composed his work on a concert tour to St. Petersburg in 1858 and completed it in Vienna, where the premiere took place. A new key and a slightly modified instrumentation make the piece easier without losing its freshness and originality.

Key: GMaj, Level: medium

The most famous composition of Johann Strauß (Sr.) in a more facilitated key.

Level: medium.

Here a new arrangement of all 8 parts of the suite. In comparison to the original you find facilities by new keys, lower pitch ranges, other kind of instrumentation and orchestral setting. The spectrum of the level is from easy to advanced, every movement is also available as single piece. There you will find more descriptions.
This version will surely provide great pleasure to your and your orchestra members.

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A buoyant piece with rural charm. Offen it is given by an improvisated vocal event of the strings.

Level: medium.

Johann Strauß: Bauern-Polka

The light-hearted march full of cheerful melody and tight rhythm in a version for large youth orchestra. The piece in the typical A-B-A form comes from the end of the operetta and does without the use of a four-part choir. The original key has been preserved, some facilitations in the instrumentation are present.

Level: medium

You can find the piece in many transcriptions, here a version for youth orchestra. Particularly attractive is the songlike main theme in unconventional rhythmical design. It is contrasted by a second, more conventional theme with an accompaniment in ostinato technique. The instrumentation (little symphonic orchestra) underlines these elements of composition and creates atmosphere. The piece is facilitated by the new key.

Level: medium

A Furiant is a rapid and fiery Bohemian dance in changing 2/4 and 3/4 time. Here it is in 3/4 with frequently shifting accents (hemiolas) and the central of the three dances inside the opera.

Level: medium.

Éljen a Magyar! (Long live the Hungarian!) is a polka composed by Johann Strauss II. It was first performed at the Redoutensaal building in Pest in March 1869. The work was dedicated "to the Hungarian Nation." It is characterized by fiery musical subjects and typical Hungarian rhythms.The coda of the work features a fleeting quotation from the Rákóczi March.

This version is facilitated by choosing new keys.

Level: medium.

The so called "Krapfenwaldl" is a hill and a forest in Döbling, the19th district of Vienna. He describes the idyllic mood of the natur with cheerful melodies by using cuckoo's call and other birdcalls. Therefore a treble recorder and a bird's whistle are necessary.

This version is facilitated by choosing a new key.

Level: medium.

Johann Strauß: Im Krapfenwaldl

Two excerpts from the famous ballet: Scene - with the wellknown Swan's Theme - and the dance of the swan maidens. The keys were adapted (half tone upwards). Therefore the pieces can be also played by a middle youth orchestra. The instrumentation is similar to the original. The important part of the harp is integrated into the piano part.

Level: medium.

The well-known Russian Dance in 2/4 time signature in a version for youth orchestra. Little facilities make this piece more playable, the original key was retained.

Level: medium

The well known march is facilitated by a new key and some details of instrumentation. Therefore it  is well suitabele for a youth orchestra.

Level: medium

Carl Maria von Weber used a Chinese theme from Jean-Jacques Rousseau's Dictionnaire de musique for his Chinese overture, written in 1805. Weber's friend, the composer Franz Danzi, employed as Kapellmeister at the Stuttgart court, encouraged him to write some music for a performance of Schiller's play at the court theatre. The result was his 1809 drama music for Turandot, in which the Chinese overture was integrated