Novelty / Comedy / Fundraisers

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MP3 Title Composed (Arranged)
The April Fool Concerto   (Over 8 minutes of total plagiarism and musical and visual jokes.) Robert Wendel
Baroque Festival Overture   (A medley of famous Baroque melodies. Name that tune, perhaps?) (Robert Wendel)
Orfeo's "Rockatta"   (Monteverdi's famous Toccata in a new rock vernacular.) Robert Wendel
Parade Of The Percussionists   (A march for the percussion accompanied by the orchestra!) Robert Wendel
The Poltergeist Polka   (A novelty work full of bumps and noises and spooky sounds.) Robert Wendel
Rock Around The Clock   (The original rock and roll song with some Mozart, Beethoven and Tchaikovsky.)   (Robert Wendel)
Romp For Orchestra and Celebrity Triangulist   (A laugh-fest for your audience and great for fund-raisers.) Richard Chiarappa
Swing, Ludwig, Swing!   (Beethoven a la Benny Goodman's Sing, Sing, Sing!) (Robert Wendel)
That's It, That's All... The End!   (7 famous symphony endings for New Years or a farewell concert..)   (Robert Wendel)
Under The Big Top   (A trip to the circus as it used to be: Under a tent!) (Robert Wendel)
The Wolf Was Framed!   (A new retelling of the well known child's story. Great for fund-raisers.) Robert Wendel

Detailed listings

THE WOLF WAS FRAMED!

by Robert Wendel
New!
Description: The "adult version" of a musical tale you grew up with, this one is definitely NOT for the youngest children. Add a local "celebrity" narrator, and you have a fun work for your orchestra and audience perfect for a pops concert, April Fool's Day, Halloween or "First Night" concert. The music and narration are all new and original, and the orchestration exactly matches Prokofiev's orchestration.
Instrumentation:1/1/1/1 - 3/1/1/0 - timp, perc and Strings.
Duration:About 9:30
Rental Fee:$200/+$100/+$50 - ($1st perf/+$2nd perf/+$3rd perf or more each).
Notes:Premiered by the Cherokee Symphony, 10/30/11
Notes:"...wanted to tell you that it was a terrific hit with both the players and the audience last Sunday. We played to a standing room only house that laughed all the way through. Thanks for writing this."
Lee Thorson, The Cherokee Symphony

UNDER THE BIG TOP"

by Robert Wendel
Watch YouTube Video
Description: Bring on the trapeze artists, the elephants, dogs and ponies and, of course, the clowns! They are all here in this new medley that's sure to be fun for all!
Instrumentation:2+picc/2/2/2 - 4/2/3/1 Timpani, 3 percussion, and strings
Duration:6:25
Rental Fee:$200/+$100/+$50 - ($1st perf/+$2nd perf/+$3rd perf or more each).
Notes:Commissioned by The Houston Symphony and Michael Krajewski. Premiered May 24th, 2006.

THE APRIL FOOL CONCERTO aka "The Instant Concerto"

by Robert Wendel
Description: What can be said other than that this work lasts over 8 minutes, yet it doesn't have a single original theme in it! It's loaded with quotes Tschaikovsky to Sousa, from "Chop-Sticks" to Happy Birthday, and many "sight-gags" from a wedding to a cowboy gun fight! Truly a piece of comic relief. Mod easy solo piano part.
Instrumentation:2+picc/2/2/2 - 4/2/2/1[opt] - Timpani, 2-3 percussion, and strings
Duration:8:15
Rental Fee:$200/+$100/+$50 - ($1st perf/+$2nd perf/+$3rd perf or more each).
Notes:New version commissioned by Erich Kunzel for the Cincinnati Pops

THE POLTERGEIST POLKA

by Robert Wendel
Description: Poltergeist: noun: "a ghost or other supernatural being supposedly responsible for physical disturbances such as loud noises and objects thrown around." Well, this piece certainly fits that definition, with loud noises, whistles, bangs and more. Great fun for any audience.
Instumentation:2+picc/2/2+ B Cl/2+CBsn - 4/3/3/1 - Timpani, 2-4 percussion, opt banjo, and strings
Duration:3:00
Rental Fee:$190/+$95/+$47.50 - ($1st perf/+$2nd perf/+$3rd perf or more each).
Notes:New for 2011

PARADE OF THE PERCUSSIONISTS

by Robert Wendel
Description: A new, original march FOR the percussion section accompanied by the orchestra. A great surprise for any Pops concert, and perfect for Young People's Concerts. Exactly how many percussionists you use depends on how "athletic" they can be...which can make for good "visuals" too!
Instrumentation:2+picc/2/2/2 - 4/3/3/1 and strings PLUS Timpani, Trap Drums, 3-4 percussion, opt. piano
Duration:3:50
Rental Fee:$200/+$100/+$50 - ($1st perf/+$2nd perf/+$3rd perf or more each).

ROMP FOR SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA AND "CELEBRITY" TRIANGULIST

by Richard Chiarappa
New!
Description: A comic "mini-concerto" for triangle and orchestra that can be a great way to raise funds by auctioning off the solo spot, or just to draw attention and audience to a concert by featuring a local "celebrity" like your Mayor, TV Weather Reporter, or Business or Civic figure. In any case, it's all in good fun.
Instrumentation:2/2/2/2 - 4/3/3/1 - timp, perc and Strings.
Duration:About 2:30
Rental Fee:$120/+$60/+$30 - ($1st perf/+$2nd perf/+$3rd perf or more each).
Notes:A video performance can be viewed HERE

THAT'S IT, THAT'S ALL... THE END!

by Robert Wendel
Description: For your "First Night" concerts, the perfect way to end the year, a medley of 7 famous Symphony finales! Auld Lang Syne is mixed with Schubert, Brahms, Dvorak, Mahler, and Beethoven. A nice way also to say goodbye to a retiring board member, or musician. You can also easily cut the 2 Auld Lang Syne references for a comic turn the rest of the year.
Instrumentation:2+picc/2/2/2 - 4/3/3/1 - Timpani, 2-3 percussion, and strings
Duration:5:40
Rental Fee:$200/+$100/+$50 - ($1st perf/+$2nd perf/+$3rd perf or more each).
Notes:The "shortened" version can be heard HERE.

THE CLASSICAL JUKEBOX

by Leroy Anderson
Description: Here is Leroy's famous "take" on the pop tune "Music, Music, Music" by Weiss & Baum... all mixed up with famous classical tunes, and a sticky needle in the Victrola! Newly edited from manuscript with errors corrected, the "stuck" section re-barred for easier playing, and fully engraved for the first time. Premiered by Leonard Slatkin & The National Symphony in May of 2007. Just in time for the Leroy Anderson Centennial in 2008!
Instrumentation:2+picc/2+EH[opt]/2+BCl[opt]/2 - 4/3(+4opt)/2(+3opt)/1 - Timpani, 2 percussion, harp [opt], and strings
Duration:3:00
Rental Fee:$200/+$100/+$50 - ($1st perf/+$2nd perf/+$3rd perf or more each).

BAROQUE FESTIVAL OVERTURE

by Robert Wendel
Description: A celebration of famous Baroque melodies by Bach, Vivaldi, Handel, Clark, and others in overture format. Can your audiences name those tunes, from "Masterpiece Theater" to "Hallelujah?"
Instrumentation:2/2/2/2 - 4/3[1st picc in D, 2&3 in C]/2/0 - timp, SD and Strings.
Duration:4:45
Rental Fee:$200/+$100/+$50 - ($1st perf/+$2nd perf/+$3rd perf or more each).
Notes:Commissioned by The Houston Symphony and Michael Krajewski. Premiered June, 2007.

ORFEO'S "ROCKATTA"

by Monteverdi
Description: 2007 marked the 400th anniversary of what is considered to be the first "modern" opera, so I've "updated" the Toccatta from Monteverdi's "Orfeo" for the pop/rock generation, complete with a development section. Terrific for Pops AND Young People's Concerts, ESPECIALLY if you open the concert with the first 14 bars [as Monteverdi wrote it] then close the concert with the FULL work. Four hundred years then comes full circle!
Instrumentation:2+picc/2/2/2 - 4/3/3/1 - Timpani, Trap set, Chimes, Glock, Tam-Tam, Piatti and Bass Drum, and Strings
Duration:2:45
Rental Fee:$200/+$100/+$50 - ($1st perf/+$2nd perf/+$3rd perf or more each).

ROCK AROUND THE CLOCK

arranged by Robert Wendel
Description: The song by Bill Haley and His Comets that started the whole Rock-and-Roll phenomenon, with comical interruptions by Mozart, Beethoven, and the 1812 Overture!
Instrumentation:2+picc/2/2/2 - 4/3/3/1 - Timpani, Trap Drums, 2-3 percussion, and strings
Duration:3:00 [ASCAP]
Rental Fee:$200/+$100/+$50 - ($1st perf/+$2nd perf/+$3rd perf or more each).

SWING, LUDWIG, SWING!

by Robert Wendel
Description: Here is a salute to Beethoven's 5th and 9th Symphonies in the style of Benny Goodman's swing classic "Sing, Sing, Sing." For some 2 decades now, this selection has never failed to bring audiences to their feet yelling and cheering (and asking where they can buy the track!) which is now available on Amazon.com.
Instrumentation:2+picc/2/2/2 - 4/3/3/1 - Timpani, Trap Drums, 2-3 percussion, and strings
Duration:3:20
Rental Fee:$200/+$100/+$50 - ($1st perf/+$2nd perf/+$3rd perf or more each).
Notes: A CD quality download of this work from the album "American Reflections" is available at CDBaby, iTunes, and Amazon.com

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