Christmas Festival, A

Leroy Anderson

Leroy Anderson

General Info

Year: 1950
Duration: c. 7:05
Difficulty: IV (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Alfred Publishing
Cost: Score and Parts - $87.00   |   Score Only - $15.00

Instrumentation

Piccolo
Flute I-II
Oboe
Bassoon
Eb Soprano Clarinet
Bb Soprano Clarinet I-II-III
Eb Alto Clarinet
Bb Bass Clarinet
Eb Alto Saxophone I-II
Bb Tenor Saxophone
Eb Baritone Saxophone
Bb Cornet I-II-III
Bb Trumpet
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II-III
Baritone (Euphonium)
Tuba
String Bass
Timpani
Percussion, including:

• Bass Drum
• Snare Drum
• Sleigh Bells
• Triangle

Errata

None discovered thus far.

Program Notes

A Christmas Festival includes excerpts from Joy to the World, Deck the Halls, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, Good King Wenceslas, Hark the Herald Angels Sing, Silent Night, Jingle Bells, O Little Town of Bethlehem, and Adeste Fidelis. Listen for the clever ways that Anderson weaves these themes together and his unconventional treatments of one or two of the traditional carols: O Little Town of Bethlehem sounds almost like a military march.

- Program note by University of Houston Moores School of Music Wind Ensemble concert program, 19 December 2012

A Christmas Festival, composed in 1950, is a concert overture built upon traditional Christmas songs. Originally recorded by the Boston Pops, it is the Christmas medley that sets the standard for all others. Anderson has encompassed the joy, celebration, and solemnity of Christmas in his arrangements of Joy To The World • Deck the Halls • God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen • Good King Wenceslas • Hark! The Herald Angels Sing • The First Noel • Silent Night • Jingle Bells and O Come, All Ye Faithful.

- Program Note from Walnut Creek (Calif.) Concert Band concert program, 1 December 2015

Commercial Discography

• Audio CD: Boston Pops Orchestra (Arthur Fiedler, conductor) - 2004
• Audio CD: BBC Concert Orchestra (Leonard Slatkin, conductor) - 2008

Audio Links

Reference recording; ensemble and conductor unknown

State Ratings

None discovered thus far.

Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

• Gustavus Adolphus College (St. Peter, Minn.) Bands (Heidi Johanna Miller, conductor) - 8 December 2020
• Dallas (Tx.) Winds (Jerry Junkin, conductor) – 12 December 2019
• Charlottesville (Va.) Municipal Band (Steve Layman, conductor) – 15 December 2019
• Arkansas Winds (Farmington) (Michael Ferguson, conductor) - 15 December 2019<
• New Orleans (La.) Concert Band (Charles Taylor, conductor) – 15 December 2019
• Lone Star Symphonic Band (Katy, Tx.) (Bob Bryant, conductor) – 15 December 2019
• Encore Concert Band (Mokena, Ill.) (Bill Schuetter, conductor) – 15 December 2019
• Atlanta (Ga.) Wind Symphony (David Kehler, conductor) – 14 December 2019
• Cuesta Wind Ensemble (San Luis Obispo, Calif.) (Jennifer Martin, conductor) – 13 December 2019
• Maybrook (N.Y.) Symphonic Wind Ensemble (Roy C. Coates, conductor) – 13 December 2019
• Mahoosuc Community Band (Bethel, N. H.) (Patricia Boyle Wight, conductor) – 9 December 2019
• Hanover Wind Symphony (Whippany, N.J.) (Matthew Paterno, conductor) – 8 December 2019
• Whitehouse Wind Symphony (Somerville, N.J.) (James P. Sheeley, Jr., conductor) – 8 December 2019
• Indiana University of Pennsylvania (Indiana, Penn.) Holidat Invitational Band (Ricky Fleming, conductor) – 7 December 2019
• Stuart (Fla.) Community Concert Band (Jim LeBon, conductor) - 7 December 2019
• North Jersey (Fair Lawn) Concert Band (Michael Roth, conductor) – 6 December 2019
• Western Illinois University (Macomb) Wind Ensemble (Andrey Cruz, conductor) – 5 December 2019
• Amador County Concert Band (Pioneer, Calif.) (John Lillie, conductor) – 1 December 2019
• Encore Concert Band (Mokena, Ill.) (Bill Schuetter, conductor) – 30 November 2019
• Salt Lake Symphonic Winds (Salt Lake City, Utah) (Thomas P. Rohrer, conductor) – 26 November 2019

Works for Winds by this Composer

• Belle of the Ball (1951)
• Blue Tango (1951)
• Blue Tango (arr. Ployhar) (1951/1980)
• The Bluebells of Scotland (1951)
• Bugler's Holiday (arr. Edwards) (1954)
• The Captains and Kings (1962)
• China Doll (1951)
• A Christmas Festival (1950)
• A Christmas Festival (arr. Smith) (Grade II) (1950/2007)
• A Christmas Festival (trans. Smith) (Grade III) (1950/2007)
• Clarinet Candy (1962)
• Fiddle-Faddle (arr. Lang) (1947)
• Forgotten Dreams (1954)
• The Girl in Satin (1953)
• The Golden Years (1962)
• Home Stretch (1962)
• Horse and Buggy (1951)
• Irish Suite: The Girl I Left Behind Me (1949)
• Irish Suite: The Irish Washerwoman (1947)
• Irish Suite: The Minstrel Boy (as arranger) (1947/1952/2009)
• Irish Suite: The Rakes of Mallow (1947)
• Jazz Pizzicato (arr. Lang) (1938)
• A Leroy Anderson Portrait (arr. Barnes) (1982/2006)
• Lullaby of the Drums (1970)
• The Penny Whistle Song(1951)
• The Phantom Regiment (1951)
• Pirate Dance (1962)
• Promenade (arr. Lang) (1945)
• Promenade (arr. Wagner) (1945/2017)
• Pyramid Dance (1960)
• Sandpaper Ballet (1954)
• Selections from Leroy Anderson's "Irish Suite" (arr. Wagner) (1947/2011)
• Serenata (1947)
• Sleigh Ride (1948)
• Sleigh Ride (arr. Ployhar) (1948/1980)
• Sleigh Ride (arr. Warner) (1948/2006)
• Song of Jupiter (as arranger) (1952)
• Song of the Bells (1953)
• Suite of Carols for Brass (1955)
• Suite of Carols for Woodwinds (1955)
• Summer Skies (1953)
• The Syncopated Clock (1945)
• Syncopated Clock, The (arr. Lang) (1946/1948)
• Syncopated Clock, The (arr. Schubert) (1946/1997)
• Ticonderoga March (ed. Boyd) (1939)
• A Trumpeter's Lullaby (arr. Lang) (1950/1978)
• The Typewriter (arr. Heide) (1950/)
• The Typewriter (arr. Werle) (1950)
• The Waltzing Cat (arr. Lang) (1950)

Resources

• Anderson, L. [1950]. A Christmas Festival for Band [score]. Belwin Mills: New York.