Christmas and December Concert Repertoire: The MMS Guide

Every December concert has the same shape. You need something to open with, something that lets your strongest players shine, a quiet moment before the end, and a finale that sends the audience home happy. What you usually do not need is a fourth carol medley.

This guide is for conductors, teachers and section leaders putting together a December programme for strings. Every piece below is in the MyMusicScores catalogue, so you can preview it, download it today and have parts on the stand at your next rehearsal. None of it needs a performance licence, and permission to record is included, which matters if you plan to film the concert for parents or post it online.

One honest note before we start. We do not publish carol arrangements. What we do publish is music that belongs in December: the Baroque "Christmas concertos", sacred pieces that sit beautifully in a carol service, lullabies and winter pieces, and a little Viennese sparkle for the New Year. Put two or three of these alongside the carols your choir is already singing and the whole programme lifts.

How this guide is organised

The pieces are grouped by where they work in a concert, not by composer:

1. The real Christmas concertos: the centrepiece
2. Openers: bright, confident, short
3. Reflective pieces: the candlelit moment
4. Feature a soloist: from Grade 2 to Diploma
5. Finales: something to send them home on
6. Small groups and younger players: quartets, trios and first solos

A note on grades. We give a grade (ABRSM equivalent) for solo parts and small ensembles. Full string orchestra pieces are not graded, because the right fit depends on your players, so for those we describe the level in plain terms instead.

1. The real Christmas concertos

Corelli: Concerto Grosso Op. 6 No. 8, "Christmas Concerto"

This is the piece most people mean when they say "Baroque Christmas music". Corelli's Op. 6 was published in 1714, a year after his death, and No. 8 carries the inscription Fatto per la notte di Natale: made for Christmas night. The final movement is the famous Pastorale, a gentle 12/8 lilt that imitates the shepherds' bagpipes over long held bass notes.

Our arrangement is for viola quartet (Grade 7), which makes it a lovely feature for a viola section or a teachers' ensemble, and a rare chance for violas to own the tune.

Corelli: Christmas Concerto for Viola Quartet

Locatelli: Concerto Grosso Op. 1 No. 8 in F minor

If your audience already knows the Corelli, this is the one to surprise them with. Locatelli was Corelli's pupil, and his Op. 1, published in Amsterdam in 1721, includes his own Christmas concerto. Like his teacher's, it ends with a Pastorale. The minor key gives it a darker, more candlelit colour before the Pastorale arrives, and it suits an orchestra with confident section leaders who can take the concertino solos.

Locatelli: Concerto Grosso Op. 1 No. 8

2. Openers

An opener has one job: make the orchestra sound good in the first thirty seconds. Choose something bright, rhythmic and not too long, so nerves settle quickly.

• Mozart: Overture to Il re pastore K. 208 (string orchestra). The Shepherd King, written in Salzburg in 1775. Bright, festive and in a comfortable key, and there is a quiet joke for anyone who spots the shepherds. View the score
• Vivaldi: Concerto alla rustica RV 151 (string orchestra). Three short movements, full of energy, and over in a few minutes. Ideal for a group that likes to get going. View the score
• Handel: Overture to Judas Maccabaeus (string orchestra). Handel is never far away in December. This has the ceremonial weight to open a more formal concert or a carol service. View the score
• Grieg: Morning from Peer Gynt (string quartet). A gentle sunrise of an opener for a quartet or a staff ensemble playing before the main event. View the score

3. Reflective pieces

Most December concerts need one moment where the hall goes still. These pieces are slow, but they are not easy to play well: sustained bow strokes, quiet dynamics and tuning that has nowhere to hide. Rehearse them early.

• Bach: Sheep May Safely Graze (string orchestra). Strictly speaking it comes from a secular birthday cantata for a duke who loved hunting, but the pastoral calm has made it a December favourite. Achievable for most school and community orchestras. View the score
• Fauré: Cantique de Jean Racine (string quartet). Written while Fauré was still a student, and one of the most beautiful pieces he ever composed. A natural fit for a carol service. View the score
• Franck: Panis Angelicus (string quartet). Familiar to almost every audience, and short enough to place between readings. View the score
• Mozart: Ave verum corpus (cello quartet). Forty-six bars of pure Mozart, and a superb tuning exercise for a cello section. View the score
• Fauré: Pie Jesu (cello quartet, Grade 5–6). From the Requiem, and one of the kindest things you can give a cello group at this level. View the score
• "Caccini": Ave Maria (cello and string orchestra, Grade 6–7). A quick piece of trivia for your programme notes: this much-loved melody is not by Caccini at all. It was written around 1970 by the Russian guitarist and composer Vladimir Vavilov. It remains a beautiful vehicle for a cellist with a singing tone. View the score

4. Feature a soloist

Putting a student out front with the orchestra behind them is one of the best things a December concert can do. It gives the soloist a goal for the term, and it gives the rest of the orchestra a real reason to listen. Here are options across the grades.

Kuula: Joululaulu (Christmas Song) Op. 22 No. 1 (violin and string orchestra, Grade 6)

This is the find of the list. Toivo Kuula (1883–1918) was one of the leading Finnish composers of his generation, and Joululaulu simply means "Christmas Song". He wrote it for violin and piano around 1910 to 1912: a warm, songful melody in E major that sounds like a Nordic carol without being one. Almost no one in your audience will have heard it, and almost everyone will want to hear it again.

Kuula: Joululaulu for Violin and String Orchestra

More soloist options, by level

5. Finales

End on something that lets everyone play out and leaves the audience smiling.

• Dvořák: Scottish Dances Op. 41 (string orchestra). Lively, short dances that work as a closer or an encore. Particularly good at a Scottish St Andrew's or Hogmanay-themed concert. View the score
• Johann Strauss II: The Blue Danube (string quartet, Grade 5–6). The waltz the Vienna Philharmonic plays every New Year's Day. An easy win for a quartet at a December concert or a New Year reception. View the score
• Kreisler: Miniature Viennese March (violin and string orchestra, Grade 7). Charm, wit and a tune the audience will hum on the way out. View the score

6. Small groups and younger players

Not every December performance is a full orchestra. These suit quartets, trios, staff ensembles, and younger players taking their first steps in public.

• Dancla: 6 Petits Trios Op. 99, Book 1 (3 violins and piano, Grade 3). Short, tuneful and genuinely three-part, so no one is left playing only the accompaniment. View the score
• Yanshinov: Variations on an Estonian Folk Song Op. 38 (violin trio, Grade 4). A folk tune with a wintry northern feel and plenty of variety. View the score
• Bach: Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring (violin and piano, Grade 4–5). A December staple for a student solo spot or a church service. View the score
• Telemann: Concerto for 4 Violins (Grade 7). No accompaniment needed, which makes it ideal for a foyer performance or a pop-up quartet at a Christmas fair. View the score

A sample December programme

Here is how a 30 to 40-minute school or community string concert might fit together using the pieces above, with carols from a choir or audience in between:

1. Opener: Mozart, Overture to Il re pastore
2. Centrepiece: Locatelli, Christmas Concerto Op. 1 No. 8
3. Soloist spot: Kuula, Joululaulu, with a Grade 6 violinist
4. Small group: Fauré, Cantique de Jean Racine, played by a string quartet
5. Reflective moment: Bach, Sheep May Safely Graze
6. Finale: Dvořák, Scottish Dances

That gives you a confident start, something substantial in the middle, a featured student, a quiet moment and a lively ending, with a change of texture every few minutes so the audience stays with you.

Frequently asked questions

What can a string orchestra play at a Christmas concert besides carols?

Baroque Christmas concertos by Corelli and Locatelli, sacred pieces such as Fauré's Cantique de Jean Racine and Franck's Panis Angelicus, pastoral pieces like Bach's Sheep May Safely Graze, and Viennese waltzes and marches for the finale all sit naturally in a December programme.

What is the "Christmas Concerto"?

It usually means Corelli's Concerto Grosso Op. 6 No. 8, published in 1714 with the inscription "made for Christmas night". It ends with a gentle Pastorale imitating shepherds' bagpipes. Locatelli, Corelli's pupil, wrote his own Christmas concerto: Op. 1 No. 8 in F minor.

Do I need a performance licence to play these arrangements?

No. Every MyMusicScores arrangement can be performed without a performance licence, and permission to record is included. You can film your December concert and share it with parents without any extra paperwork.

When should I choose music for a December concert?

Ideally by early November. Most groups need five or six rehearsals to make a new piece secure, and reflective pieces often take longer than fast ones. Because every score is an instant PDF download, there is no waiting for the post once you have decided.

Ready to plan your programme?

Every piece above is available as an instant PDF download with full score and parts included, so you can print exactly what your group needs and get started at your next rehearsal. Browse the full catalogue by level at MyMusicScores.com, and if you are looking for something for your group that is not here, get in touch. Many of our arrangements began as a request from a teacher.