Clips from five performances for young audiences.

Example of a typical program
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We first introduce each of the instruments of a woodwind quintet, explain how

the tone is produced and demonstrate how they sound.

 
"Sorcerer's Apprentice"

by Paul Dukas, arranged by James Christensen. This piece was made more famous by

MickeyMouse and his struggle with brooms, water buckets, and magic. It sets the table for

"Hansel and Gretel" where the main concern is not a magician but a witch.

           
"Hansel and Gretel" with narrator

The themes from the opera by Engelbert Humperdinck are masterfully orchestrated for

woodwind quintet by Helen Mills. This fairy tale from the Brothers Grimm tells the story of

two siblings and their scary and nearly disastrous run-in with a witch. Each instrument is

highlighted at different times and the narrator tells the audience what to listen for.

 
"The Ant and the Grasshopper" with narrator

Aesop Fable about a carefree grasshopper and an important lesson learned thanks to an

industrious ant. This wonderful arrangement by Rebecca Oswald features the oboe as the ant

and the bassoon as the grasshopper.


Q&A

The members of the quintet and the narrator set this time aside to answer questions about

any part of the performance.
 

"Swingin' in the Hall of the Mountain King"

This arrangement for quintet by Jeanie Murrow is based on "In the Hall of the Mountain

King'' from Edvard Grieg's Peer Gynt Suite #1 and will demonstrate the difference between

"straight" eighth notes, introduced by the clarinet in the first two measures, and "swing"

eighth notes played by the oboe in the next two measures. The "swing" eighths win the

contest and are picked up by all the instruments.
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"Guppies"

The flute starts a lively conversation with the instruments which sets up a playful rhyme

about animal babies. Music by Anthony Plog; Poem by Ogden Nash.