Youth Orchestra Repertoire Suggestions Please

[hornteacher]

Here's the situation: the county in which I work as a band director has no string programs in the public schools.  The local Symphony Orchestra in which I play wanted to sponsor a youth orchestra to give the students who have been taking private string lessons an ensemble in which to play.  Auditions are coming up and we have a lot of students registered.

However, the string section will be modest in size and ability while the woodwinds and brass will be made up of students with very advanced technique.  I need some suggestions for music that will be not too hard for the strings but won't be too easy for the winds.

The strings are NOT beginners.  All have been playing for at least three or four years.

Any ideas for music that is string friendly but has some meat in the winds?

BTW, the website is here:

www.usyo.org

[Brian]

I'd say look at Czech music, for starters.    You'll probably be best off looking at more modern composers - at least in the 20th century, or in the mid-to-high romantic era when the rest of the orchestra stopped being accompaniment for the string section. I listened to a few samples from Roberto Sierra's "Salsa Symphony" last night and it seemed to be close to what you might have in mind (the recording was actually by a youth orchestra), but when I play the whole thing maybe my mind will change. (There was a lot of percussion, btw - problem or not?)

How good are your trumpet players? You could do the Janacek Sinfonietta 

[hornteacher]

How good are your trumpet players? You could do the Janacek Sinfonietta 

Trumpets are great.  I've been looking at some Dvorak.  The orchestrations of some of the Slavonic Dances look doable as does one or two movements of the 8th Symphony (which is rather woodwind heavy).

[Brian]

Trumpets are great.  I've been looking at some Dvorak.  The orchestrations of some of the Slavonic Dances look doable as does one or two movements of the 8th Symphony (which is rather woodwind heavy).

Ooh, yes it is. Spread the Dvorak love!  0:)

[Guido]

Rimsky Korsakov's Scheherazade seems the ideal choice...