Music of Childhood
We recommend pairing one or more of the following works curated from Wise Music Classical’s music rental catalogue with The Snowman in Concert to create a full-evening program.
Shorter Works (14 minutes and under)
Description: A “contest piece,” a sort of Concerto for Orchestra in which first desk players and entire sections vie with each other in displaying their virtuosity.
Composer: John Corigliano
Duration: 12 min
Orchestration: 2+pic.2+ca.2+bcl.2+cbn/4231/timp.3perc/hp.pf/str
Description: A medley of traditional nursery rhymes subtly woven together, such as “Baa! Baa! Black Sheep,” “I Saw Three Ships,” and “The Mulberry Bush.”
Composer: Roger Quilter
Duration: 13 min
Orchestration: 2.2.2.2/4.3.3.1/timp.3perc/hp/str
Description: A medley of themes from the 1939 film, The Wizard of Oz, based on the children’s novel by L. Frank Baum. The suite includes excerpts from the songs “Over the Rainbow,” “If I Only Had a Brain,” “Jitterbug,” “Merry Old Land of Oz,” “We’re Off to See the Wizard,” and “Miss Gulch.”
Composers: Harold Arlen, Edgar Yipsel Harburg and Herbert Stothart
Arranger: Jeff Tyzik
Duration: 11 min
Orchestration:2+pic.22+bcl.2/4331/timp.3perc/hp.pf/str
Suite from To Kill a Mockingbird
Description: Suite from the 1962 film adaptation of Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel, starring Gregory Peck, Mary Badham, and Phillip Alford.
Composer: Elmer Bernstein
Arranger: Peter M. Bernstein
Duration: 8 min
Orchestration: 2(II:pic).3.2(II:bcl).2/4.2.3.0/timp.perc/pf.cel.hp/acn[syn]/str
Tom Sawyer Overture (California Overture)
Description: An up-tempo romp through a few adventures with Mark Twain’s Tom— Antheil exploits the orchestra’s full forces to deliver a power-packed portrayal of a favorite childhood character.
Composer: George Antheil
Duration: 7 min
Orchestration: 2+pic.2+ca.2+bcl.2+cbn/4331/timp.3perc/pf/str
Overture to “The School for Scandal”
Description: An engaging miniature tinged with Rossinian wit, masterful use of counterpoint, and vivid musical references to Sheridan’s 18th-century satire.
Composer: Samuel Barber
Duration: 8 min
Orchestration: 2+pic.2+ca.2+bcl.2/4331/timp.perc/cel.hp/str
Description: An upbeat suite featuring music from classic Tom and Jerry cartoons, including “Smitten Kitten,” “Sufferin’ Cats,” “The Framed Cat,” “Cat Fishin’,” “The Mouse Comes to Dinner,” and “Mouse for Sale.”
Composer: Scott Bradley
Duration: 6.5 min
Orchestration: 3(III:pic).3.3(III:bcl).3.2asx(2cl).2tsx.barsx/6.4.3+btbn.1/timp.5perc.dmkit/pf.hp/gtr/str
The Great American Bicycle Race
Description: A race to the finish with descriptive tempo markings ranging from fanfare to galop and featuring solo turns by the tuba, trombones, horns, trumpets, and flutes.
Composer: Eric Knight
Duration: 6 min
Orchestration: 2+pic.2+ca.2+bcl.2+cbn/442+btbn.1/timp.2perc.traps/hp/str
Description: A tranquil and hushed depiction of clouds that highlights flute, harp, and celesta timbres as well as the gentle contrapuntal play between them.
Composer: Charles T. Griffes
Duration: 5 min
Orchestration: 3333/4000/perc/cel.2hp/str
