High Sea Hijinx (Neridah Oostenbroek) for String Orchestra

Grade 3
Duration: 3’33”
Key: E minor

Instrumentation: Vln 1, Vln 2, Vln3/Vla, Cello, Bass

This energetic piece for intermediate players is sure to be liked by performers and audiences alike. The piece opens with a rhythmically and technically challenging motif in the 2nd violins and violas portraying the pirate ships sailing across the high seas. The melody is seen in the 1st violins and cellos mainly and requires good bow control and a sustained tone. There are opportunities throughout the piece to explore different colours and timbres through the use of position work. The G minor pizzicato section in the middle could depict the pirates sneaking up on each other – let your imagination run wild! An exciting finish ensues with a short revival of the main theme.

Neridah Oostenbroek has been teaching strings and classroom music in Brisbane for 20 years. She gained her Bachelor of Music and a Diploma of Secondary Education before later completing a Master of Philosophy in Violin Performance at the University of Queensland with Spiros Rantos. Neridah currently teaches at several private schools in Brisbane, as well as at home, and freelances as a violinist with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra and Vici Strings and as a piano accompanist for music and ballet exams.