Seitz Student Concerto No. 3 Op. 12 for Viola & String Orchestra

Viola players 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 whole concerto, all three movements, a string orchestra accompaniment written around the viola, so a student can perform it complete 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 and chose the octave of the bass line phrase by phrase, so the viola always has support below it and room around it.

The Adagio was the hardest movement to arrange. Its long singing lines sit right in the middle of the viola's range, exactly where the orchestra's own violas and second violins want to be. I kept Seitz's accompanying lines wherever they could stay, and thinned the texture wherever they couldn't: check the orchestral viola and double bass parts around bars 138 to 141, where they drop out to leave the solo line clear. The Più moto at bar 142 brings the orchestra back with triplet movement under the soloist's ff energico chords, and the movement ends dolcissimo and morendo over pizzicato strings.

The solo part is about ABRSM Grade 7 throughout. The first movement asks for strong chords, running semiquavers and trills; the Adagio asks for sustained cantabile and control at pp; and the finale, an Allegro moderato marked grazioso after a short orchestral Allegro vivace, needs light, clean articulation and moves into treble clef for its higher passages. The movements run on from one to the next, and the orchestra parts sit at around ABRSM Grade 5 to 6.

The complete concerto lasts about twelve minutes, a full concerto slot in a concert or a substantial piece for a recital or festival. This arrangement began when a viola teacher asked for the first movement for a student, and the first movement is also available on its own with a short ending of its own. 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 12 minutes (three movements, played without a break)
• Style focus: chords and semiquaver passagework in the first movement, sustained cantabile in the Adagio, light grazioso articulation in the finale; a thinned, carefully voiced orchestra that keeps the viola clear
• Format: PDF download, full score and all parts

Ideal for a school or youth string orchestra with a Grade 7 violist ready for a complete concerto, and for teachers whose students are preparing this concerto 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.