Description
Music Files Below (left click to listen, right click to download)
An homage to the absurd; a celebration of the outrageous; a tribute to the tackiness that dwells within us. Ditch the stuffy suit and tie and leave your sensibilities at the door. It's time to go Over the Top.
The show begins with a traditional arrangement of Bach's minuet in G. A musical and tasteful performance by the tenors and bass drums (utilizing puffy mallets) is interrupted by a squalid, raucous group of snare drummers. Dressed in bright clothes, the snare drummers proceed to play an aggressive solo, fraught with various back-sticking patterns and other fancy tricks to crash the party. Upon completing their solo, Bach rolls in his grave as the minuet in G is turned on its head with a full ensemble moment full of electronics and aggressive playing from all members of the ensemble.
The next segment features the tenors and marimbas in a display of "one-up man ship". Utilizing a hip-hop style arrangement of Tchaikovsky's "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies", the tenors rush to the front of the floor where ramps are staged between the marimba players. The tenors and marimbas proceed to trade licks which culminates in the marimba players joining the tenors on the ramp. Trading off licks turns into a four armed tenor solo with the marimba players playing from behind the tenor drummers.
Utilizing Franz Liszt's "Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2", the next segment starts with the bass drums doing a stick toss down the line as they add in on an ostinato pattern. The drummers also have the option of using suspended and swinging bass drums as the piece starts to accelerando out of control. The culmination of the feature includes a "fire drill" type moment where the performers run around the drums while playing a lightning fast split.
The finale segment continues the rollercoaster energy of Hungarian Rhapsody no. 2. The snare drummers are back to their old tricks again as they perform a crescendo yell raising their right stick high in the air only to fake everyone out by playing at pp at the edge with their left hands. The music reflects this as they continue to play their solo, the keyboards break out kazoos and proceed to buzz the melody through their new instruments. After a brief full ensemble moment the cymbals are featured with split tap and hi-hat techniques as the front ensemble continues the main material from Liszt's masterpiece. During the cymbal feature the snares have now snuck on top of several large props on the back of the floor. An audio sample belts out "Are you asking for a challenge!?" as the snares proceed to play a feature while hoisted high in the air. When the rest of the ensemble comes in all heck breaks loose! Strap the grizzly bears to the tricycles and bring out the dancing elephants! As the show comes to a boisterous close sticks go flying in the air and with one final bass drop the snares trust fall off the back of the props finally going......OVER THE TOP!
Total Performance Time: 4:42