The Snow Queen - ballet redefined by Randall Michael Tobin

The Snow Queen appears stirring up snow and wind, and a sliver of mirror gets lodged into Kai's heart. Kai drives Gerda away in tears. The Snow Queen entices Kai away (4). When spring arrives, Gerda goes searching for Kai. On her journey, she gets swept up by a raging river (5), then meets an enchantress (6) who casts a spell as she combs Gerda's hair, combing her memory of Kai away. Summer passes in the enchantress' flower garden (7) but Gerda's memory of Kai returns when she meets the rose. She leaves the garden and comes upon a crow (8) who flies her to the castle (9). At the castle, the prince and princess perform a royal dance (10). Gerda asks them if they've seen Kai (11). To her dismay, they have not seen him but they shower her with gifts and a golden carriage to help her on her search (12).

ACT TWO: As Gerda is riding through the forest (13), a band of Gypsies hide behind enchanted trees and ambush Gerda, stealing all her gifts (14). A little Gypsy girl steals her muff and wants to keep Gerda as a playmate. She befriends Gerda and Gerda tells of her search for Kai. After the Gypsy girl tells Gerda of her life, she tries to return the muff but Gerda won't accept it. Instead, the Gypsy girl gives Gerda a reindeer to help guide her on her journey (15). The reindeer guides Gerda to the edge of the Snow Queen's realm. It gets very cold and Gerda and the reindeer almost freeze to death (16). A guardian angel and her fellow angels come to Gerda's aid (17). The guardian angel says that all Gerda needs to fulfill her journey lies within herself. She points the way to the Snow Queen's Castle where Gerda finds Kai playing with blocks of ice (18). the Snow Queen told Kai that she would let him go free if he ever solved the mystery of the ice blocks. Gerda runs to Kai and embraces him but he is nearly frozen. Tears run down Gerda's face and onto Kai's chest, melting the lump of magic ice in his heart. Kai's own tears wash away the mirror fragment from his eye and he rejoices to see Gerda. The Snow Queen enters and tries to regain her hold on Kai but sees that Gerda's love is strong enough to overcome all that is ice and evil. Seeing that the mystery of the ice blocks has been solved, she sets both Kai and Gerda free. Kai and Gerda arrive at the palace on Christmas Day and retell the story of their adventures to the prince and princess (19). The story of the Snow Queen is so touching that the townsfolk begin to cry, their tears washing the mirror fragments from their eyes, and so freeing them of the long-standing spell. The prince and princess rejoice with a grand dance (20), followed by the palace acrobats (21). Kai and Gerda join the townfolk in the festivities as everybody celebrates the return of the wonder and joy of the holiday season!

ABOUT THE COMPOSER

Randall Michael Tobin (Randy) has been playing music by ear since the age of six. Though he learned music theory in his later years in school, his ear was always the final judge. While stationed in Germany in the U.S. Air Force, Randy participated in the annual talent show and won in both the solo (playing harmonica) and ensemble (bass guitar) competitions for all of Europe.

Germany proved to be a fertile ground as Randy set up his first recording studio in the barracks where he wrote and recorded various projects with fellow musicians. With four-track and two-track tape decks and some handmade mixing gear, Randy had plenty of time to hone his craft and the results were quite respectable. This experience ultimately led to the creation of his own studio upon his return to his hometown of Los Angeles. Theta Sound Studio was established in 1977 as a vehicle for Randy's projects, but soon caught on as the place to get a great sound on a modest budget. Working with outside clients gave Randy plenty of opportunity to expand his production and engineering horizons. To date, Randy's name appears as writer, producer and/or engineer on over 100 commercially released projects.

Today, Randy spends much of his time at Theta Sound Studio composing, producing and engineer-ing. With the space to accommodate several live players and its film/television-friendly complement of industry-standard tools, Theta Sound provides the ideal environment for Randy's work as well as the work of other talented composers and writers.

HOW THIS PROJECT CAME TO BE

In September of 1998, choreographer, Erin Holt and technical director, Marti Marshall, came over to my recording studio and asked if I wanted to compose the music for their new children's ballet scheduled to premiere in December. Having never done such a project before, having no time to do it, and having no budget with which to pay for such a task, I, of course, agreed! I can't thank them enough for presenting me with the challenge - the ballet and this CD are the fruits of our labors.

With fervor and excitement, I looked forward to each Sunday, the only day of the week I could work on this creation. The experience of bringing the traditional (and not so traditional) orchestra to life for the characters / dancers is one I will cherish forever.

CREDITS

The Snow Queen music score was composed, arranged, performed, mixed and digitally mastered by Randall Michael Tobin at Theta Sound Studio, Burbank, California

©2000 Theta Sounds Music (ASCAP)

THANKS...

Thanks to my wife Cyndie for all her support (and the Sundays), to Carol Worthey and Ray Korns (my biggest fans), and to L. Ron Hubbard for providing the tools that keep me reaching for the stars.

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