Flute choir meets heavy metal!

Avenged Sevenfold is one of my absolute favorite heavy metal bands. I don't usually hear a flute choir when I listen to their songs, or mostly any heavy metal songs for that matter, but A Little Piece of Heaven is so creative, so musical, and so funny, that I couldn't help it. Also, Oingo Boingo headed up the instrumental parts of the original song, which is evident.

If you are unfamiliar with heavy metal, you don't need to know anything about this song, other than it's incredibly unique and has to be played with an attitude. Accentuate the down beats, lay off the full vibratos, keep pushing the tempo - it never should slow down, and channel your inner rocker.

This song was the brainchild of the late James "The Rev" Sullivan. With the help of Oingo Boingo musicians, the song was scored to include an orchestra, full wind section, and choir. This arrangement is less than half the length of the original song, but it still clocks in at around 3 1/2 minutes.

This arrangement is scored for 4 flutes, alto, bass, contrabass, and upright string bass or keyboard. It is essential that there is a strong bass line. The upright bass part could also be played by any bass clef C instrument, like a euphonium, trombone, or tuba. If you are lucky enough to know a drummer, that would help a great deal too. I did not include a drum part, only because I am not knowledgeable enough at writing for drums and would rather leave it out than mess it up!

I hope you and your group will enjoy playing this song as much as I enjoyed arranging it. And I hope your audience will like it too!

Handel's Messiah is one of the most popular musical works of all time, and choirs around the world perform Part 1 of Messiah every Christmas season.

His Yoke is Easy would be a great closer for your Christmas concert. It is the last movement in the Christmas section of Messiah. The Hallelujah Chorus is usually what is sung after this.

This arrangement is for the more advanced choir, however, parts 5 & 6 could be used for those who aren't as advanced.

Scored for 6 C flutes, alto, bass, and optional contrabass. There is also a cello part, which can also be played by any C instrument in a similar range, such as a bassoon.

Of all the Irish folk tunes, Danny Boy is the most well-known of them all. This arrangement is based on the adaptation of the tune sung by the King's Singers by Peter Knight and Philip Lawson.

This is a straight forward arrangement of Danny Boy that has beautiful harmonies and is rhythmically simplistic. This is a great closer for your recitals.

Scored for 3 altos, 3 basses and contrabass flutes. There are optional contra-alto in G and cello parts that double the Bass 3 & Contrabass parts.

Duration: 3 minutes

This absolutely fabulous song comes from the 1965 slapstick comedy film, The Great Race. I first heard it on James Galway's album, In the Pink, which features Galway playing 13 of Henry Mancini's songs.

This piece just screams fun in the middle of a gazillion notes just flying by. Filled with arpeggios, this is a workout for the fingers and requires quite a bit of precision for the song to sound really good. As with most of my arrangements, I have tried to give every part something interesting to play, with the exception of the contrabass flute and optional upright bass, which could also be played by any C instrument in the bass clef range. These lower parts are important in helping maintain good downbeats.

Scored for 5 C flutes, alto, bass, contrabass, and optional upright bass. There are 2-part divisis in flutes 1 - 4. This piece is for the more advanced flute choir and would be a great opener or encore for your recitals.

Duration: 2.75 minutes

This arrangement of Gershwin?s famous Rhapsody in Blue includes all of the main musical themes from the original piano composition, but carefully arranged to suit this group. It features most of the instruments at various points and is exciting and challenging to play across the whole ensemble. This arrangement has been performed many times and is an impressive concert item. Parts are provided for 2 piccolos, 5 flutes, 2 alto flutes, 1 bass flute plus optional timps, glockenspiel and drum kit.