Little Big Top
Little Big Top
Brass, Percussion, and Toy Percussion
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
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
Edited or Arranged by: Margaret Fisher
Authored (or revised): 1970
Published: 2026
Duration (minutes): 4
Book format: Score + 8 Parts
SKU
ACA-HUGH-026
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