C D B!

A musical puzzle with projected cartoons!
11 minutes, 2222-4230-timp+3-str-narrator
with illustrations by Williams Steig, author of Shrek

C D B! is a hilarious musical puzzle—the narrator reads captions to cartoons that consist of letters, like ‘C D B.’ When read aloud, these letters form sentences: ‘C D B’ becomes ‘See the bee.’ The music provides another hint to the puzzle. After each section of the music is played, Steig’s cartoon is projected so all can see if they figured out the puzzle correctly. Then it’s on to the next puzzle…

For children’s concerts, C D B! can also serve an as introduction to the instruments. Strings, winds, brass, and percussion each take a turn playing a fanfare built on the theme of the piece. These sections can be performed before the piece as the instruments are introduced.