Holiday Arrangement for Children’s Choir (SA) & Orchestra

Duration: approx. 8:00

Instrumentation: 2 Flutes, 2 Oboes, 2 Clarinets, 2 Bassoons, 4 Horns, 2 Trumpets, 2 Trombones, Tube, Timpani, Bass Drum, Glockenspiel, Cymbals, Finger Cymbals, Tambourine, 2 Harps, SA Chorus, Strings

Commissioned by the Fort Worth Youth Orchestra (FWYO) for their 2014 holiday concert, Hanukkah! is an arrangement of traditional Hanukkah songs. My first large-scale work, this piece is regularly performed by the FWYO during the holiday season. I was first approached by the orchestra manager, Willa Dunleavy, and she mentioned that every holiday concert there was always a lack of representation for the Jewish holiday. She said there were many arrangements of Hanukkah songs, but they were all too simple and didn’t challenge the children. This piece incorporates 3 traditional songs: Shalom Chaverim, Sevivon sov sov sov, and the blessing Baruch Atah, Adonai as well as original interludes.