Description
"A Disturbance at the Concert Hall" was commissioned by The Gulfport High School Armada Percussion Ensemble for their 2017 competitive concert season. They went on to place first in their circuit with the highest score in their ensemble's history!
PROGRAM NOTES:
"A Disturbance at the Concert Hall" is a fun, tongue-in-cheek concert percussion ensemble that requires equal parts musicianship, humor, and showmanship. Starting with narration welcoming the audience to the concert hall, the performers are dressed in regular concert attire. A quick performance of Bach's Minuet in G major, followed by an eloquently orchestrated rendition of Mozart's Eine Kleine Nachtmusik start the program off without a hitch. After the final note of that section, things start to go haywire! Out of nowhere a man dressed in tattered jeans and a tie-die shirt appears on the stage with an electric guitar. After stern warnings from the announcer fall on deaf ears, a drumset kicks off a howling rendition of Mozart's Rondo Alla Turca featuring virtuosic melodic lines from the guitar player. After the guitarist is escorted off stage, all is calm again with a soothing rendition of Chopin's Nocturne in E-Flat Major. Just when everyone thought everything was back to normal, the marching band storms the stage! Featuring a drumline instrumentation in the auxiliary percussion parts as well as sampled woodwind and brass instruments in the synthesizers, the piece concludes with a clever march rendition of Nocturne. Just when things are back to normal again, a custodian suddenly appears on stage sweeping with his broom. After being notified by the announcer that the concert isn't over yet, he continues to sweep, which eventually turns rhythmic. Suddenly, two members of the ensemble, on a pvc pipe marimba, perform Tchaikovsky's Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies to accompany the custodian's rhythmic broom part. The other members of the ensemble quickly take their concert attire off to reveal the same clothes that the rebellious electric guitar player was wearing. Each member then grabs a bucket and drum sticks and proceeds to end the concert with a stomp-type bucket routine with the pvc marimba players performing Tchaikovsky's Finale from 1812 Overture.
The piece offers a variety of performance opportunities for players utilizing found instruments as well as an opportunity to continue to wet their whistle with rudimental percussion. Although designed as an A-Class concert ensemble, this piece would work well for any high school or college ensemble looking for another fun, crowd pleasing piece to add to their repertoire.
TOTAL PERFORMANCE TIME: 5:40