FAMILY : ‘Heigh-Ho!’: Disney Tunes Get a Bit of Classical Twist

Which camp are you in?

“If I hear the themes from ‘Pocahontas,’ ‘Beauty and the Beast’ or ‘Aladdin’ one more time, I’ll scream” or “I can’t get enough Disney music.” In either case, Delos has an album for you.

What if Dvorak had written “Colors of the Wind” from “Pocahontas”? Or Mozart had composed the Seven Dwarfs’ “Heigh-Ho!” or Tchaikovsky had dreamed up “The Lion King’s” “Can You Feel the Love Tonight”?

That’s the premise of “Heigh-Ho! Mozart,” an inspired, not-to-be-missed new classical release from Delos subtitled “Favorite Disney Tunes in the Style of Great Classical Composers.”

You’ll hear echoes of Dvorak’s “New World Symphony” in “Colors of the Wind.” Dancing flute and strings enliven a “Heigh-Ho!” A luxurious “Beauty and the Beast” was inspired by Rachmaninoff. The Sherman Brothers’ “Feed the Birds (Tuppence a Bag)” from “Mary Poppins” soars with sweet violins over dark cello and viola, Brahms-style. And gorgeous, haunting choral voices, in the style of Elizabethan composer Thomas Tallis, makes “The Second Star to the Right” from “Peter Pan” shimmer.

Even “I Wanna Be Like You,” the comic baboon burlesque from “The Jungle Book,” becomes a mix of Villa-Lobos-inspired Brazilian rhythms, beautifully performed by the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet.

This auditory delight was created by Delos product manager Al Lutz, arranged by composer-conductor Donald Fraser and given top-notch renderings by the English Chamber Orchestra, the Shanghai Quartet, the Millar Brass Ensemble, the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, Voices of Ascension choir, flutist Eugenia Zukerman, pianist Carol Rosenberger, violinist Paul Barritt and harpsichordist Anthony Newman.

The CD booklet completes the class act, complementing its cross-generational appeal with notes about the musical style, the composer, the film context of each song as well as larger-type information especially for young listeners.

* “Heigh-Ho! Mozart,” Delos, CD: $14.98; audiocassette: $9.98. Widely available. (800) 364-0645.

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Occidental Stage: Indoor and outdoor Shaw, Shakespeare, Gilbert & Sullivan--the Occidental Theater Festival each summer at Occidental College has been a tradition for 36 years. This year something new has been added: performances for young audiences. The “Children’s Theater Project,” beginning July 20, is a series of kid-friendly multicultural storytelling, music and dance for ages 7 to 12.

After the main show, the audience can get into the act, said project director Katheryn Bikle. The actors “give the kids in the audience the opportunity to help create a modern folk tale of their own that the actors will perform.”

Children can bring sack lunches, Bikle said, “and then break into small groups and work with the actors to create their own shows and perform them for the larger group.”

* Children’s Theater Project, Occidental College, Keck Theatre, 1600 Campus Road, July 20-21, 28-29, Aug. 2-5, 9-12, 11 a.m.; $4-$6. (213) 259-2922.