Little Big Top

This circus music for flugelhorn, trombone, percussion and toy percussion was composed in 1970 for a children’s film developed by the Amazing Life Games Co., directed by Jim Robertson, former head of Design at the San Francisco Art Institute, and engineered by Richard Beggs at American Zoetrope studios. In its four and a half minutes, the piece passes through the many moods of circus: the grand master’s hyperbolic introduction, the parade of performers, the sad clown, a conundrum, suspense (as in the tightrope act), and a return to the grand finale when all forces gather in the ring to perform at once. The circus-themed music subsequently was synchronized to a one-minute video, “Cowgirl Coffee,” for the Microtheater series produced by earwax productions. It features choreography and performance by Margaret Fisher, who, with co-director Robert Hughes, headed up the performance and production company MAFISHCO based in Emeryville CA. Instruments: Flugelhorn Trombone (doubles perc) Percussion toy xylophone marimba (optional) pro glockenspiel pro snare drum pro bass drum toy snare drum toy bass drum 2 sets of 3 toms 2 suspended cymbals high triangle high, medium & low slide whistles (low occasionally cued in tbn) squawks (assigned to tbn) banya mouth siren kazoo auto horn flower pots or cowbells pitched Gb, Ab, Bb