Drostan & Dorothy Hall of DMD Records produced and released Ferdinand & Friends, a classical music educational Book/CD gift set in the fall of 2001. Drostan & Dorothy Hall run their own music school and because of the popularity of their educational performances they decided to produce the CD Ferdinand & Friends which has become an integral part of their educational vision. This enchanting CD features the classic tale of Ferdinand the Bull by Munro Leaf. The story has been set to music by Alan Ridout and is written for solo violin and narrator. Kids will have a wonderful time following along in the book as they listen to this captivating story and identify the musical themes representing each character. Other selections include some well-known pieces from Carnival of the Animals as well as other favorites such as Flight of the Bumble - Bee, The Hot Canary and the Laughing violin, along with amusing poetry by Ogden Nash and others. Featured instruments: Violin, Piano, Cello, Double Bass, Flute and Clarinet. Play a sample of The Story of Ferdinand Play a sample of The Swan Play Samples of the entire album drostanhall Ferdinand & Friends - CD Only fefrcdon$16.95 Ferdinand & Friends - with Book fefrwibo$24.95 Tracks on this CD include: 1. The Story of Ferdinand / 2. The Puppet Show / 3. The Kangaroos / 4. The Elves Dance / 5. The Swan / 6. The Birds / 7. Donkey Doodle / 8. The Elephant / 9. The Cuckoo / 10. The Laughing Violin / 11. Hobgoblin Dance / 12. Toy Soldiers March / 13. The Dancing Doll / 14. The Tortoise / 15. The Hot Canary / 16. The Flight of the Bumble Bee Since its original release this book/cd set has sold nearly 4,000 copies. It has made it to the bestseller list in several well-known educational catalogs including Shar Music Company and Music K-8 Market Place. The producers of Music K-8 Market Place catalog found it to be so successful that they started a new section of their catalog devoted to similar book/cd combination sets. Upon release Ferdinand & Friends garnered critical acclaim from some of the worlds top classical music institutions including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Ravinia Festival and The Suzuki Association of America. Sir Charles Mackerras, a world-renowned conductor also gave it a “two thumbs up.” Borders Books & Music invited Drostan and Dorothy to tour their Midwest stores performing selections from the CD.