Manhattan Beach Music Under The Big Top - Ticheli - Concert Band - Gr. 1

Composer: Frank Ticheli
Format: Score and Parts
Instrumentation: Concert Band
Level: 1

Under the Big Top evokes images of a three-ring circus with its simultaneous events occuring under a single big top. The first section suggests the joy and anticipation felt by the audience as they view the entrance of the entertainers, animals, and clowns. A lyrical trio section featuring the single reeds and horns suggests the grace of a trapeze artist gilding above. Suddenly, a more feisty section (in march terminology, it's the "dogfight section") suggests something more assertive and risky, such as a mid-air somersault or a mock skirmish between two clowns. This section yields to the climactic closing section in which the brasses are asked to stand up while playing a fanfare obbligato in counterpoint with the lyrical theme.

(Performance by Douglas Anderson School of the Arts Wind Symphony, Ted Shistle, conductor)