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Each year at one of my Christmas concerts with an orchestra, there is a matinee version of the evening concert which is geared towards families with children. Towards the end, we play Leroy Anderson's Sleigh Ride probably 10 or 12 times, because a line forms with hundreds of children in it who each have an opportunity to waive a baton for a few bars of the piece. I've seen children as old as middle school age, who are still interested in just getting a hint of what it's like to stand in front of a symphony orchestra and conduct it.
For the evening concert, one of the orchestra patrons conducts the entire piece, and that privilege is auctioned off as a fundraiser. It sometimes is pretty interesting, the conducting has very little if nothing to do with the playing, and that's a good thing.

John Philip Sousa IV conducted my old band at a brass band festival once.

A similarly interesting experience!

NO Sleigh Ride for me this year. :)

I said that to my musician nieces and got dirty looks. They love playing it. It’s not that I dislike it, but after playing it 2.476 bazillion times it’s nice to have a break. I told them to come back in 30 years and tell me they still love it.

They probably will.

Rick “Bah! Humbug!” Denney

Rick Denney wrote: ↑Fri Nov 17, 2023 10:58 am NO Sleigh Ride for me this year. :)

I said that to my musician nieces and got dirty looks. They love playing it. It’s not that I dislike it, but after playing it 2.476 bazillion times it’s nice to have a break. I told them to come back in 30 years and tell me they still love it.

They probably will.

Rick “Bah! Humbug!” Denney

Getting glimpses into hundreds of individual children's personalities (while playing it...and - duh - who should really need to look at the sheet music to friggin' Sleigh Ride...??) turns it into fun.

I’ve arranged it for a brass trio so that I get to play both the downbeats and the upbeats, for twice the fun.