Seitz Student Concerto No. 3 Op. 12, 1st Movement for Viola & String Orchestra

Viola players may know Seitz's Student Concerto No. 3 from Book 7 of the Royal Conservatory viola series, where it sits in C minor, a fifth below the violin original. This arrangement gives the first movement a string orchestra accompaniment written around the viola, so a student who has learned it with piano can play it as a concerto with their school or community orchestra.

Most viola editions of violin pieces move the solo part down a fifth and the piano part up a fourth. It's quick, but it leaves the accompaniment higher in relation to the soloist than Seitz wrote it, so the piano often sits on top of the viola instead of underneath it. For this arrangement I revoiced the whole accompaniment in C minor, opened out the chords and chose the octave of the bass line phrase by phrase, so the viola always has support below it and room around it. The aim was an orchestra part that sounds as though Seitz wrote the piece for viola and strings.

The solo part is about ABRSM Grade 7. Alongside the broad opening themes it asks for strong chords at the ff energico in bar 46, running semiquavers from bar 92 and trills in bars 99 and 100, with the clef moving to treble only for short high passages. In the Meno mosso at bar 50 the orchestra drops to pianissimo pizzicato, and from bar 54 only the first desks play arco under the soloist, so a quiet viola tone still carries. Check the Violin 1 and cello parts from bar 54 to see how the desks divide. The orchestra parts sit at around ABRSM Grade 5 to 6.

The first movement normally runs straight into the second, so I've added a short closing tutti that lets it stand on its own. It lasts about four minutes, a full concerto spot in a concert without taking over the programme. This arrangement exists because a viola teacher asked for it for a student. If there's a piece you need, you can ask too.

Check the score and parts preview images above, then watch the complete score video below. They'll give you a clear picture of the engraving quality and overall difficulty before you buy.

Key Features

• Instrumentation: solo viola and string orchestra (Violin 1, Violin 2, Viola, Cello, Double Bass)
• Difficulty: solo approximately ABRSM Grade 7; orchestra approximately ABRSM Grade 4 to 5
• Duration: approximately 4 minutes
• Style focus: sustained cantabile in C minor, chords, semiquaver passagework and trills for the soloist; divided first-desk passages and pizzicato in the orchestra
• Format: PDF download, full score and all parts

Ideal for a school or youth string orchestra with a Grade 7 violist ready for a concerto spot, and for teachers whose students are preparing this movement for an exam, a festival or a recital and want to perform it with orchestra. No performance licence is needed, and you are welcome to record your performance.