Twenty-four bawdy, Latin-and-Old-German poems lay forgotten in a Bavarian monastery until Carl Orff welded them to pounding pianos, pagan drums and a roar of voices in 1937, christening the result Carmina Burana—“Songs of Beuern.” The curtain rises with a single, sledge-hammer C-minor chord—“O Fortuna”—that has sold everything from sports cars to horror flicks and still shakes arenas today. In 1968 U.S. Army Field Band arranger John Krance shrank Orff’s chorus-and-orchestra giant into a technicolor suite for wind band, substituting triple reeds for singers, pairing two pianos with four tom-toms to recreate the medieval jam-session, and stringing twelve of the choicest movements into a roller-coaster of fate, spring fever and tavern revelry. The Kelvin Grove Wind Orchestra now straps you aboard Krance’s wheel of fortune; hold tight, it spins fast. Join us and experience the spin of the wheel—no monks, mead or Middle-High German required, just your own voice adding to the roar at The Old Museum when the orchestra lets fate decide once more. Tickets available for Kings and Queens at 2pm on Sunday August 31 via the yellow button below or visit www.kgwo.org.au. | 
