Composer’s Note:

A set of variations on the unofficial Australian national anthem, featuring the didgeridoo as an integral part of the orchestra. This mini-tone poem roughly follows the story laid out in the four verses of the songs lyrics: (1) a serene pastorale; (2) a cartoonish galop; (3) a minor-key march; and (4) a defiant clarinet solo (beginning with a quote from Strauss’s Till Eulenspiegel) that leads to a transformation of the song into a waltz.