Grades 3-12, College, Adult
Directed by Barbara Willis Sweete
Produced by Rhombus Media
DVD Purchase $79, Rent $45
US Release Date: 1998
Copyright Date: 1997
DVD ISBN: 1-93777-204-7
VHS ISBN: 1-56029-777-8
Subjects
Canadian Studies
Christmas Carols
Creativity
Holidays
Humanities
Music
Performing Arts
Awards and Festivals
Gold Apple, National Educational Media Network Competition
Silver Rose, Golden Rose Festival of Montreux
5 Nominations, Gemini Awards
Finalist, The New York Festivals
Bronze Plaque, Columbus International Film Festival
A Christmas Experiment
The kids of the Canadian Brass help create a unique Christmas pageant.
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"Yes, Virginia, there is a musical Christmas special with taste." The (Toronto) Globe and Mail |
The top brass quintet in the world recruits their own kids to help create a unique Christmas pageant. Together they weave a tapestry of visual elements through 15 segments, each built around a particular Christmas carol.
The Brass are costumed, according to the dictate of the kids, as musical wind-up toys, angels, the Three Kings, a Christmas tree and Santa Claus. What results is a festive and spontaneous "free for all" where the kids run the show and where the Brass playfully indulge in their own experiment.
Reviews
"The Canadian Brass has earned its widespread appeal by combining superb musicianship with humor and theatricality - The sense of genuine warmth and good cheer generated by viewing this film might be a perfect cure for holiday cynicism or stress in this or any other year."
Richard McRae, Associate Librarian, University at Buffalo Music Library MC Journal: the Journal of Academic Media Librarianship
"Yes, Virginia, there is a musical Christmas special with taste."
The (Toronto) Globe and Mail