Music Theatre Works for Children: Volume 2, Part 1: the Earth - Environment - Animals

By Geoffrey D'Ombrain

The book consists of three parts. The first is the background story providing a detailed context surrounding the writing of the works. It also gives details of methodology and the origins of each work. The second part of the book is made up of the scripts for each of the works and the third section is the scores for all the original music. The themes in Part 1 of Volume 2 focus on the earth, what we must do to save it, the environment and animal life on our planet. When "Save our Earth" was produced in a primary school in St Paul, Minnesota, a senior teacher described the experience as the most exciting of her teaching career.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Balboa Press AU
• Release date: Sep 7, 2021
• ISBN: 9781504322072

Geoffrey D'Ombrain

Geoffrey d’Ombrain has lived a very long life, turning 90 while completing this book. He has engaged fully in all aspects of the life that he has encountered. Creativity in education and musical performance/composition has been the hallmark of his career. Growing up in the great depression he became conscious of the sharp divides in life. He describes himself as a socialist. He was old enough to experience the horror of World War 2, be it at a distance. Geoffrey is famous for telling stories; but Geoffrey’s stories are about real people and real happenings in life. He has a remarkable memory and eye for detail. More than this research skills honed in the field of education are expertly applied to historical stories so that authenticity is diligently sought. Geoffrey still attends reunions with former students from the course he established in music at Melbourne State College and they never cease to sing its praises. When Geoffrey first went overseas to American 1972, he asked himself what he could be proud of in being an Australian? He had and still has only one answer to this question, the remarkable cultures of our now appropriately called, First Nations’ Australians. Geoffrey is very fortunate. He can still exercise his passion for singing folk songs from around the world and improvise on the flute with virtuosic prowess. Geoffrey’s life has displayed a passion for music, literature, visual arts, theatre and dance.

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MUSIC THEATRE

WORKS FOR CHILDREN

VOLUME 2, PART 1: THE EARTH - ENVIRONMENT - ANIMALS

Geoffrey D’Ombrain

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Copyright © 2021 Geoffrey D’Ombrain.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or

mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the

written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a form of

treatment for physical, emotional, or medical problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or

indirectly. The intent of the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest

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which is your constitutional right, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.

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and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

ISBN: 978-1-5043-2197-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5043-2207-2 (e)

Balboa Press rev. date: 09/15/2021

CONTENTS

The Background Story

Save Our Earth

Save Our Earth, American Version 1992

Earth’s Blood

Earth’s Blood (The Sea)

Clean

The Sea (Artists in Schools)

Environments

Footprints

Caring for Australian Birds and Animals

Animals

Dreaming of Animals

Save the Trees

Wattles Everywhere

The Big Tree

Caring

A Day at the Farm

Dinosaurs

Appendices: Song and Dance Scores - Preamble

Song of the Builders, Appendix 1

Questioning Song 1, Appendix 2

Song of the Miners and Manufacturers, Appendix 3

Song of the Questioners 2, Appendix 4

Song of the Hitechs, Appendix 5

Save Our Earth, Finale, Appendix 6

Song and Dance of the Builders, Appendix 7

Dreaming’s Song, Appendix 8

Circle Song and Dance, Appendix 9

The Blood of Earth

One World, One People, Appendix 11

Can you see any Fish?, Appendix 12

The Fishermen, Appendix 13

Just Put it in the Sea, Appendix 14

Come Look for Shells, Appendix 15

Let’s Build Castles, Appendix 16

The Seashore and Beyond, Appendix 17

The Depths of the Sea, Appendix 18

Ships, Appendix 19

The World Has Many Habitats, Appendix 20

The Sea, Appendix 21

The Desert, Appendix 22

The Forest, Appendix 23

The City, Appendix 24

Footprints, Appendix 25

Pelicans, Appendix 26

Kangaroos, Appendix 27

Cape Barren Geese, Appendix 28

Emus, Appendix 29

The You Yangs, Appendix 30

The City, Footprints, Appendix 31

Two Lights, Appendix 32

Poor Bird, Appendix 33

Animal Totems, Song and Dance, Appendix 34

Birds, Appendix 35

Kangaroos, Song and Dance, Appendix 36

Elk, Appendix 37

Llama, Appendix 38

Zebra, Appendix 39

Emus, Appendix 40

Wondrous Creatures, Finale, Appendix 41

Dance of Destruction, Appendix 42

Tree Planting, Action Song, Appendix 43

Save the Trees, Appendix 44

Hymn of Peace, Appendix 45

Fire, Fire, Appendix 46

Song of Desolation, Appendix 47

Wattles Everywhere, Appendix 48

Sing and Dance, Appendix 49

Song of the Birds, Appendix 50

Song of the Axemen, Appendix 51

Song of the Future, Appendix 52

The Gardiners, Appendix 53

Rain, Appendix 54

Song of the Gang, Appendix 55

The Song of the Rosewall Kids, Appendix 56

Finale, Caring, Appendix 57

Milk all the Cows, Appendix 58

The Blacksmith’s Forge, Action Song, Appendix 59

Equestrian Dance, Appendix 60

We are the Shearers, Appendix 61

Harvest Song and Dance, Appendix 62

Palaeontologists’ Song, Appendix 63

Song of the Bones, Appendix 64(a)

Dance of the Bones, Appendix 64(b)

Song of the Dig, Appendix 65

Dinosaurs, Finale, Appendix 66

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THE BACKGROUND STORY

As I begin the second volume of my works, I am reminded of the fact that it had never been my intention to follow a career in music. Untutored as a child I had a natural love for classical music, poetry, theatre and dance. I well remember being at one of Sir Bernard Heinz children’s orchestral concerts in the Hawthorn Town Hall when I was in grade 5. I couldn’t understand why children were talking during the concert and found it difficult to deduce why the music didn’t speak to them as I found it clearly did to me. I was so inspired that I sold my snare drum at the end of grade 6 and bought a simple system flute for £2,5/-. I had been captain of the Deepdene State School drum band and somehow or other my mother and father had managed to buy me the drum. I commenced lessons with Stanley Baines at Allan’s Music and the next year attempted a childhood symphony on visits to my Uncle Clem and Aunty Shirley’s place, where there was a Lipp piano. My music teacher at Box Hill High School, Vincent Kelly showed this juvenile work to Sir Bernard Heinz and he suggested I study harmony. I had joined Madame Smyth’s orchestra as a flute player and the conductor Peter Andry became my teacher of flute, harmony and counterpoint.

Peter, who later became International Director of EMI in London, was an inspiration to me. Without any instruction though, he sent me home to do a figured bass. I had absolutely no idea what that was, so I purchased a book on harmony by Ebenezer Prout to answer this question. The figured bass was fine, but Peter looked at the book with disdain. We followed the syllabus for the second top grade of theory and Peter was delighted when I scored a high 90. For some reason counterpoint came very naturally to me and Peter often showed my work to Valerie Fawcett, his tutor at the conservatorium.

Now all of this would appear to be at variance with my opening statement. In terms of a career some branch of chemistry had been my first choice. I spent all my pocket money on equipment for my laboratory which occupied our back sleep-out. The peak achievement of this chemistry phase was succeeding in the synthesis of water. My partner in crime, Howard Fern-Wannan and I hid behind the bed fearing there may be an explosion. Howard went on to an outstanding career in science and education, but I found first year science at school such a let-down that I lost interest in that career choice. These were war years and equipment and teachers were in short supply. We spent the first half-year of science studying pumps. Perhaps that was all the equipment we had.

My interest turned to butterflies, beetles and the all living things in the creek at the bottom of our street. Despite their being a natural history section at the back of our science book in the second and third forms, it was never a subject for our study. I also loved microscopy and enjoyed dissecting all manner of things to view under the microscope. My love for nature was further fired by spending all my school holidays at my great uncle Jim’s place in the Dandenong ranges. I delighted in the native flora and fauna. For some generations my family had been keen amateur ornithologists and the bird life in the native bush-land I found a subject of great fascination. At the end of my Leaving year all was set for me to become a cadet in the Lepidoptera Department of the Museum of Melbourne, study matriculation at night and go on to study botany and zoology at Melbourne University.

Suddenly, at the end of my Leaving year, everything changed. A visit to the Supervisor of Music, Education Department of Victoria, Doris Irwin set me thinking about music education as a career. I loved school and teaching seemed a good way of continuing that love. The mother of my school friend, John Howells was outraged when she found I wasn’t going on to Melbourne Boys’ High School with all the other students from Box Hill High. She rang the Principal at the school, Brigadier Langley and asked him to ring Adéle, my mother and tell her there was a place for me at the school. He had been our very enlightened principal at Box Hill and knew our mothers very well. So, I took the first step towards the career of a music educator. But why all this background? It is to highlight the fact that much of the early content of this volume links with my strong love of natural history. From this love flows care for the environment and all that dwells therein. Because of this interest I have read extensively in the field and have a considerable reference library. I have been able to feed this interest into many of the music/theatre topics that follow and have often consulted my eldest son Tim, who I am proud to say, is a leading ecologist.

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We begin the day with warm-up exercises in the garden of Pirra Homestead

We begin the volume then, with works that investigate the state of our Mother Earth. In July 1987 Lara Primary School requested a work examining the state of the earth and I wrote Save Our Earth (see page 111 for YouTube video link). The alternative title for this work was, No Room for Greed. When on tour in America in 1992 this work was extended for a primary school in St. Paul, Minnesota. The title remained, but there were several new songs and dances and the general treatment of the subject is sufficiently varied to suit the different environment that I include the complete script of the new version – Save Our Earth (America Version 1992). A song in this version about water, The Blood of Earth was so central to another version of the script commissioned by Lara Primary School, sometime after the American tour, that I called the work Earth’s Blood. I have added to this title, (Australian Version of Save our Earth). To complicate matters still further when St. Mary’s Primary School Altona requested a work on the state of the sea back in August 1992, I used the title, Earth’s Blood. To clarify then I shall call this work, Earth’s Blood (The Sea). A shorter version of this work for Lara Primary School in 2002 was called Clean. Though this work shares much content with the previous title it is included in full. By 2002 I had left Pirra Arts Centre and was living in my son Tim’s little cottage in the bush at Dereel. Dereel is an old mining town on the road from Ballarat to Colac and I spent some very pleasant years there after retiring, at the age of seventy, from my part-time teaching job at Flinder’s Peak Secondary College. I set up an excellent recording and electronic music studio in a very well insulated section of my new workshop building and it was here that I set about publishing and recording much of my original music and composing many new works. The Clean project was the