What's Up at the Symphony? (Bugs Bunny's Greatest Hits): Full Orchestra Conductor Score & Parts

This medley captures the anarchic energy and musical sophistication of classic Warner Bros. cartoons in a way that actually works for young orchestras. Brubaker doesn't just string together melodies; he builds genuine orchestral moments that feel earned, and the humor lands because the musical execution demands real musicianship. Students get to play recognizable material they actually enjoy while developing legitimate conductor-ensemble communication skills.

Opening with familiar cartoon charm, the piece moves through moments of genuine orchestral drama (the Hungarian material and Valkyries section pulse with Romantic fervor) before pulling back into playful, lighthearted passages. It's carnival energy meets concert hall sophistication, with cartoon sound effects embedded in real musicianship. The whole experience feels like stepping into a Saturday morning concert where Bugs Bunny actually knows how to conduct.

This works best for orchestras at the intermediate level (Grade 3) with solid fundamentals and enough players to cover full orchestral texture. Directors programming concerts for family audiences, school assembly performances, or pops-style events will find this especially useful; students also respond well to the novelty and cultural reference.

• Establish clear, exaggerated gestures for the cartoon transitions and mood shifts; this ensemble needs visual cues to nail the comedic timing alongside the musical changes.
• Balance the melodic sections so featured themes emerge cleanly from the orchestration; the familiarity of these tunes works against you if the arrangement gets muddy.
• Rehearse the rhythmic precision in the faster sections separately from the lyrical ones; the dramatic shifts demand equal technical comfort in both styles.
• Let the string section drive the Romantic-era material (Hungarian Rhapsody, Ride of the Valkyries); these moments need the full warmth of your ensemble to contrast with the lighter, cartoon-inflected sections.

Program this as a second-half opener to reset audience energy after serious repertoire, or use it as a finale if you want the concert to end on a smile. It pairs well with a mixed orchestral concert that includes at least one classical or Romantic work, since this medley will resonate more if audiences hear the source material performed straight elsewhere on the program. Spring concerts and family performance nights are natural homes for this piece.

• Responding to rapid conductor gesture changes and musical mood shifts
• Balancing melodic independence across sections while maintaining ensemble cohesion
• Executing rhythmic clarity in driving passages while sustaining tone in lyrical sections
• Understanding orchestral color and texture through contrast (Romantic-era lyricism versus cartoon-style articulation)
• Sight-reading complex full-orchestra textures with multiple simultaneous independent lines