In the midst of this composition process, Orli approached Steve to request that he write another composition – a short one for pianist and audience of children. “I thought it would be great to have a piece like that for my classical kids series, Baby Got Bach,” says Orli.
Hiding behind the silk scarf for Steve Mackey's "Sneaky March" at Baby Got Bach
The criteria for the composition, Orli told Steve, would be to include musical hooks that will cue the children to take some specific action. Steve, who with his wife Sarah was expecting his second child at the time, came up with “Sneaky March”.
“It’s a wonderful piece, especially for the audience,” says Orli. Each kid is given a little silk handkerchief which they use to hide behind, wave in the air or touch the floor, depending on what they hear in the music. “It’s such a great tune, straightforward and catchy, that my 3 ½ year old sons have tried their hand at playing it on piano – and they do it surprisingly well,” beams Orli.
“Sneaky March” was such a hit at Baby Got Bach that an encore performance was included later in the spring, and the piece just might become part of the core repertoire for the program, alongside Bach, Mozart and Mussorgsky.
[…] and introduced the kids to Steve. When the boys found out that this was the person who wrote “Sneaky March” – one of their favorite songs from the Baby Got Bach concert series, “They went crazy!” said […]