ORCHESTRAL » The Twins and the Monster

Instrumentation: *2 *2 2 2/ 4 2 3 1/ timp + 3 perc/ hp/ narrator/ strings
Duration: 35'

Programme Notes

This imaginative tale by award-winning author Tololwa M. Mollel is set in a forest in Africa, where two twins must outwit a fierce monster and heal their devastated village. John Estacio’s magical score sets the scene as an actor brings the story to life using carved masks, singing and movement.


Audio Samples

The Monster and the Parrot
Funga fungua hodi
The Birds and Conclusion

Synthesized orchestrations by John Estacio.
Althea Cunningham, Narrator


Premiere

February 13, 2001
EDMONTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Conductor: David Hoyt
Narrator: Althea Cunningham
Winspear Centre
Edmonton, Alberta
Canada
The Monster Mask
A mask used in the production of
The Twins and the Monster
Althea Cunningham
Althea Cunningham as the Narrator
in The Twins and the Monster
premiere performance with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra
in January 2001
Althea Cunningham
Althea Cunningham
performing a scene from
The Twins and the Monster
Tololwa M. Mollel
Storywriter
Tololwa Mollel

The Cast
(l to r) Onalea Gilbertson (Director), Tololwa Mollel (writer), Althea Cunningham (Narrator)
John Estacio (composer), Doug McKeag (producer, DANDI Productions)

Subsequent Performances

FORT WAYNE PHILHARMONIC
November 2, 3008

Conductor: Bradley Thachuk
VANCOUVER SYMPHONY ORCHETRA
December 2, 2007

Conductor: Evan Mitchell
GRAND RAPIDS SYMPHONY
Februarly 18, 2007

Conductor: David Lockington
EDMONTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
October 28, 2006

Conductor: William Eddins
Winspear Centre
Edmonton, Alberta
Canada
TORONTO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
February/March 2006

(9 performances)
Conductor: Gary Kulesha
Narrator: Norma Lewis
Roy Thomson Hall
Toronto, Ontario
Canada
EDMONTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
April 29, 2005

Conductor: Michael Massey
Narrator: Norma Lewis
National Arts Centre
Ottawa, Ontario
Canada
EDMONTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
April 2005

(5 performances)
Conductor: Michael Massey
Narrator: Norma Lewis
Winspear Centre
Edmonton, Alberta
Canada
TORONTO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
January 29, 2005

(2 performances)
Conductor: Gary Kulesha
Narrator: Norma Lewis
Roy Thomson Hall
Toronto, Ontario
Canada
CALGARY PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA
March 2004

(4 performances)
Conductor: Rosemary Thomson
Jack Singer Concert Hall
Calgary, Alberta
Canada
KITCHENER-WATERLOO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
February 2004
(5 performances)
Conductor: Dan Warren
Narrator: Onalea Gilbertson
Centre-in-the-Square
Kitchener, Ontario
Canada
VICTORIA SYMPHONY
January 25, 2004

Conductor: Giuseppe Pietraroia
Narrator: Onalea Gilbertson
Royal Theatre
Victoria, B.C.
Canada
EDMONTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
October 2003

(6 performances)
Conductor: David Hoyt
Narrator: Althea Cunningham
Winspear Centre
Edmonton, Alberta
Canada
ORCHESTRA LONDON
May 2003

Conductor: Timothy Vernon
Narrator: Onalea Gilbertson
London, Ontario
Canada
EDMONTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
May 2002

Conductor: David Hoyt
Narrator: Althea Cunningham
Winspear Centre
Edmonton, Alberta
Canada
OSHAWA SYMPHONY
October 2001

Conductor: Marco Parisotto
Narrator: Onalea Gilbertson
Calvary Baptist Church
Oshawa, Ontario
Canada

Reviews

 


Score/Parts Rental

For more information on score and parts rental for The Twins and the Monster, contact John Estacio
For more information about Dandi’s production of The Twins and the Monster, please visit www.dandiproductions.com.