Smarty Pants and Bubblegum

Description

David Jones

One of the great pleasures of being involved in community music making is the variety of performance opportunities presented to the ensemble. The Brisbane Municipal Concert Band has often performed concerts programed specifically for young children. At some of these events we have shared the stage with Smarty Pants the clown.

In typical clown style, Smarty Pants rides his tiny bicycle across the stage, makes balloon hats and tells terrible jokes that make the kids scream with laughter. He commandeers the band, conducts for a little while with a giant fork and leads a clown conga line around the park. When he’s done, he brings out his star attraction a rabbit called Bubble Gum, for the kids to pat and hold. This work is fun and silly. There are honks, ratchets, glissandi and crazy dissonances.

Smarty Pants and Bubble Gum was premiered on a beautiful Brisbane spring afternoon at Mt. Coot-tha Botanical Gardens stage with Smarty Pants in his finest form.

Grade: 3