Enjoy this live performance video of Frolicsome Polka, and scroll down to read about the history of this piece’s creation, and to preview its score and percussion arrangement.

This award-winning piece was written as a “stylized polka.” It has been enjoyed by a number of people in Canada and Ukraine. It is an expression of how I envisioned this dance translated into music language. People find the left hand intro to the outer sections upbeat and catchy, and most remember this piece by this element, as evidenced by people singing it back to me after hearing me perform.

History of Creation:

Frolicsome Polka was originally composed for solo piano in 2003. It then was entered into a competition in the Ukraine titled Dance. It took third prize and was selected for a public performance. It was premiered by myself, and soon thereafter published as a facsimile in Suzir’ya Muz (Constellation of Muses) – a monthly magazine of M.D. Leontovich Music College of Arts and Culture, in Vinnytsia, Ukraine. Several of my colleagues at the time reported the ‘catchiness’ of the piece. Additional positive feedback followed its Canadian premiere at a York University solo recital in 2011 (seen in the video embedded below). These and the piece’s uplifting energy were among the key factors contributing to my decision to arrange it for added percussion (in 2009-2010). This percussion arrangement can be used for teaching students to play percussion instruments in a percussion based ensemble for beginners (originally a part of Intercultural Pedagogical Collections of Compositions and Arrangements, Soyfer 2010).

Sheet music in pdf format is available. Please contact Nina Soyfer using the form below if you would like more information or a complete sheet music for this composition.

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