Symphony for Young Audiences
How it All Began
Dandi Productions was established in 1997 by Canadian performers Doug McKeag and Onalea Gilbertson to develop new and innovative programming for orchestras.
Together with master puppeteer Judd Palmer, McKeag and Gilbertson developed a brand new kind of performance concert, which features strong comedic acting, unusual puppets (by the Old Trout Puppet Workshop) and a great respect for the highly original scores and entertaining scripts.
Since then, the company has adapted and created FIVE delightful concerts for Young Audiences. They have commissioned original stories and scripts, as well as full orchestra scores. Dandi's concert productions feature top-notch acting and all-ages comedy. All of the music is professionaly prepared and published. Technical requirements are quite reasonable.
"These concerts are as much fun to watch as they are to play."
- Calgary Philharmonic Principal Trombone Dave Reid.
We've got a nice little video clip featuring excerpts from all the shows.
The Twins and The Monster
The young twins Azizi and Aziza work together to outwit a gruesome monster and bring peace to their devastated village. Based on a traditional African folk tale, this triumphant story travels through dark forests, vast plains and spooky swamps to deliver a thrilling tale of family unity and courage. The exciting original score uses the rhythms of Africa to drive the fast-paced presentation, and the twins use their own song (in Swahili) to find each other just when things look hopeless.
The story is acted out to the accompaniment of a full orchestra-score, by a solo performer using beautiful carved masks, singing and movement. Dramatic lighting and costuming create an exotic atmosphere, as powerful music sweeps the young audience to a faraway land.
- Story by Tololwa M Mollel | Adapted by Doug McKeag
- Original Score by John Estacio (35 minutes)
- Educational music demo (optional, 10 minutes)
- Educational teacher's package
- Adapted for orchestra by Doug McKeag
- Masks by The Old Trout Puppet Workshop
- Originally Commissioned by the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra
- 1 Performer
More on The Twins and the Monster : Includes instrumentation/music samples, publicity, technical and booking information.
The Mysterious Maestro
The Mysterious Maestro is a concert-story about a little girl who loves to sing… who moves to a town where music is forbidden; a town named Hamelin, about thirty years after the infamous Pied Piper has led all of Hamelin’s children away. Hannah breaks this musical silence with the help of a gossipy rat and her own passion for grand music. Eventually, she melts the heart of a desperate conductor and frees his imprisoned orchestra. Music is restored to Hamelin, and the orchestra regains its central part in the town’s new life.
Fuelled by the music of Verdi, Mendelssohn, Liszt and Villa-Lobos, as well as original compositions by Canadians Dave Pierce and Donovan Seidle, The Mysterious Maestro races through dark nights and hidden caverns, and explores the nature of musical perfection… and obsession. This is a bewitching concert featuring great music and top-notch performances. Puppets and the Maestro's carved hands by The Old Trout Puppet Workshop.
- Story and Script by Judd Palmer ( Commissioned by Dandi Productions)
- Original Music and Orchestrations by Dave Pierce & Donovan Seidle
- Music selected by Doug McKeag
- Puppets by The Old Trout Puppet Workshop
- Performed by Dandi Productions (3 performers)
- Classical repertoire and Original Compositions 43 minutes)
More on The Mysterious Maestro : Includes instrumentation/music samples, publicity, technical and booking information.
Roald Dahl’s Little Red Riding Hood
Take a symphonic walk through Roald Dahl's magical, terrifying, hilarious forest.
Dandi Productions bring Roald Dahl's bizarre imagination to life in sparkling presentation with skilful lighting, bold costuming, incredible puppets and clear, broad acting.
Rest assured, the familiar cast of characters are here: there’s a wolf, a grandma and a little girl in a red cape. But Dahl, author of such children’s classics as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and James and the Giant Peach, has twisted things around and spiced things up. Dahl's feisty Little Red can certainly take care of a dim-witted wolf by herself!
- Text by Roald Dahl
- Adapted by Donald Sturrock
- Original Score by Paul Patterson (40 minutes)
- Performed by Dandi Productions (3 performers)
More on Little Red Riding Hood : Includes instrumentation/music samples, publicity, technical and booking information
Roald Dahl’s Jack and The Beanstalk
This concert-story, based on Dahl’s Revolting Rhyme features a cast of four actors, outrageous puppets and a stunning 60-foot beanstalk, which rises from the stage to the ceiling in a matter of seconds. There's still a cow, a giant and an ambitious boy with a pocket full of beans, but in Dahl's telling of the tale, getting rich depends on getting past that giant's highly developed sense of smell. With a 45-minute, full-orchestra score, this wildly entertaining concert-story provides for plenty of unexpected twists, and a constant parade of inspired theatrics.
- Text by Roald Dahl
- Adapted by Donald Sturrock
- Original Score by Georgs Pelécis (45 minutes)
- Performed by Dandi Productions (4 performers)
More on Jack and the Beanstalk : Includes instrumentation/music samples, publicity, technical and booking information.
Roald Dahl’s Snow White
This 40-minute concert-story, based on Dahl's Revolting Rhyme, features four performers, a challenging, modern score and a truly twisted take on the classic fairy tale. Snow White is here, and an evil stepmother, but when Snow White is led into the woods by a reluctant huntsman, Roald Dahl provides for a unique intervention by seven height-challenged heroes. (In Dahl's world, they are ex-race-horse jockeys!) This production careens wildly through dark forests on the wings of a truly inspired score.
- Text by Roald Dahl
- Adapted by Donald Sturrock
- Original Score by Eleanor Alberga (40 minutes)
- Performed by Dandi Productions (4 performers)
More on Snow White : Includes instrumentation/music samples, publicity, technical and booking information.
