Tutued Toucan Can-Can

Erika Svanoe

General Info

Year: 2021
Duration: c. 5:15
Difficulty: IV (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Swan Maiden Press
Cost: Score and Parts - (digital) - $70.00

Instrumentation

Full Score
Piccolo
Flute I-II
Oboe I-II
Bassoon I-II
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III
B-flat Bass Clarinet
E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Trumpet I-II-III
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II-III
Euphonium
Tuba
Piano
Timpani
Percussion, including:

Bass Drum
Bells
Crash Cymbal
Snare Drum
Triangle
Xylophone

Errata

None discovered thus far.

Program Notes

The majestic and noble toucan dons its tutu and prepares for its grand entrance. What will the toucan ballet entail? Nimble hops on delicate legs? Short but graceful flights across the stage? Rousing kicks? Dramatic splits? Perhaps the grand movement of its large, brightly colored beak would be the most effective use of its greatest asset. The toucan, inspired by other great birds of ballet, enters the stage, and begins to dance.

Tutued Toucan Can-can draws inspiration from several sources, including many melodies heard while watching cartoons and eating breakfast cereal in my youth. Walt Disney’s Fantasia depicted the Dance of the Hours from Amilcare Ponchielli’s opera La Gioconda with animated ostriches. Jacques Offenbach’s Galop Infernal from Orpheus in the Underworld has worked its way into the public consciousness through multiple uses in popular culture, and might be better known now simply as “the Can-can.” Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake and Stravinsky’s Firebird also make brief appearances. If you listen carefully and follow your nose, you might find a few other musical nods to birds of note.

- Program Note by composer

Media

Audio: Reference recording. University of New Hampshire Symphony Band (Andrew Boysen Jr., conductor)

State Ratings

None discovered thus far.

Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

Miami University (Oxford, Ohio) Wind Ensemble (Gary A. Speck, conductor) - 17 April 2023
Purdue University Fort Wayne (Ind.) Symphonic Band (Daniel Tembras, conductor) - 8 December 2022
Mercer University (Macon, Ga.) Wind Ensemble (Brittan Braddock, conductor) - 14 November 2022
Michigan State University (East Lansing) Spartan Youth Wind Symphony (Arris Golden, conductor) - 1 May 2022 *Premiere Performance*

Works for Winds by this Composer

Adaptable Music

Mary Shelley Meets Frankenstein (Flex instrumentation) (2014/2020)
Steampunk Scenes (Flex instrumentation) (2015/2021)

All Wind Works

Band of Heroes (2018)
Baskerville (2019)
Category 4 (2021)
Claremont Triumphant (2011)
Clocktower Fanfare (2016)
Echoes (2018)
El Salon Mexico (as arranger) (2009)
First Suite Fanfare (2020)
Florence & Alice (2021)
Four Grainger Songs (as arranger) (2003)
The Haunted Carousel (2015)
A Journey in Time (2020)
Mary Shelley Meets Frankenstein (2014/2019)
Mary Shelley Meets Frankenstein (Flex instrumentation) (2014/2019/2020)
She Dares, She Leaps (2022)
Springtime Ride (2018)
Steampunk Scenes (Flex instrumentation) (2015/2021)
Steampunk Suite (2015/2017)
Symphony in Blue & Gold (2023)
The Town Band (2022)
Tutued Toucan Can-Can (2021)
Where no one has gone before (2023)

Resources

Erika Svanoe website – Accessed 15 July 2022