Barton Hills Choir

Nov 05

Silly Adventures of Mr. Turtle Episode 3

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The story continues! All of Mr. Turtle’s friends (and Mr. Turtle) have learned to fly. But only Robin Mr. Owl can take them to outer-space. This video was produced by Barton Hills Choir director Gavin Tabone with vocals performed by Barton Hills Choir 6th grade members. The choir is accompanied by Tabone on keys, Aaron ‘Hair Dr.’ Dembe on guitar/bass, and Jake ‘Mr. Bubbles’ Perlman on drums. The video is set to The Monkees’ classic ‘Daydream Believer’. The music was mixed and mastered by Perlman.

Four Seasons Performance Pix

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The 6th grade choir members of the Barton Hills Choir performed on Oct. 27th at the Four Seasons Hotel for the 6oth anniversary celebration of the Austin Child Guidance Center. Mr. Tabone accompanied the choir on a grand piano. Click on the images above to view photos taken by Kathy Carr .

Stop Motion Video features Barton Hills Choir soundtrack

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The latest video featuring the Barton Hills Choir is a stop-motion animated video created by music teacher and Choir Director Gavin Tabone. Created from over 1,800 still photos, The Silly Adventures of Mr Turtle Volume 1 is set to the Peter Pan classic, “Never Smile at a Crocodile,” performed by sixth grade members of the choir. Tabone played all of the instruments on keyboard with the exception of electric guitar, played by Aaron Dembe. Audio was mastered by the choir’s drummer, Jake Perlman.

The story….
Mr. Turtle has some clam friends and some wild friends.
Calm friend #1 (Mr. Duster) comes over to play. They have a great time.
Wild friend #1 (Mr. Blue Tape) comes over and brings them outside to play. Mr. Blue Tape plays TOO ROUGH. He really messes them up!
Calm friend #2 (Mr. Vacuum Cleaner) comes over to play. They have a great time.
Wild friend #2 (Mr. Red Tape) comes over and brings them outside to play.
Mr. Red Tape plays TOO ROUGH. He really messes them up!
Calm friends #3 (Cotton Ball Pals) come over to play. They have a great time.
Wild friend #3 (Mr. Green Tape) comes over and brings them outside to play. Mr. Green Tape plays TOO ROUGH. He really messes them up!
Calm friends #4 (Bead Heads) come over to play. They have a great time.
Wild friend #4 (Mr. Yellow Tape), the wildest of them all, comes over and brings them outside to play. Mr. Yellow Tape really plays TOO ROUGH. He changes the color of the Bead Heads and buries Mr. Turtle so only his little tushy sticks out. The only way he can communicate with the outside world is by whispering to the Bead Heads.
“Ouch!!!!!”
“Help!!!!!!!!”
Well, there’s only one dude that can tame the Wild Tapes. Timmy Mr. Frizzy Head! He tames them so well that he can now ride them like horses. Timmy Mr. Frizzy Head trots back and saves Mr. Turtle.
What about everyone else???
Oh well, “Bye”. Mr. Duster, Mr. Vacuum, the Cotton Ball Pals, and the Bead Heads begin to very slowly and sadly walk away.
Don’t worry, Mr. Turtle comes back and takes his calm friends outside to play.

Octopus & Crocodile practice songs

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Here are two fun songs for practice. Octopus’s Garden features Director Gavin Tabone on keyboards, Jake Perlman on drums, and Never Smile at a Crocodile is performed by Aaron Dembe on the electric guitar and Gavin Tabone on keyboards. Vocals for both songs are performed by the sixth grade choir.

Octopus’s GardenOctopus’s Garden

Never Smile at a CrocodileNever Smile at a Crocodile

Fun facts:

Octopus’s Garden, from the Beatles’ Abbey Road LP, was composed by drummer Ringo Starr. He was inspired to write it after being told by a boat captain “how octopuses go ’round the sea bed and pick up stones and shiny objects and build gardens.” It was only the second song he had ever written. You can see Ringo and George Harrison working on the song in the movie Let It Be.
Never Smile at a Crocodile is from Disney’s animated Peter Pan movie, released in 1953. The music was composed by Frank Churchill, the composer of the score for Snow White, who died in 1942. Walt Disney asked Jack Lawrence to write lyrics to the clever melodic piece.