The Circus Bee

The Circus Bee, 1908

Henry Fillmore (1881 – 1956)

SATB or AATB Saxophone Quartet

The Circus Bee by Henry Fillmore, arranged for saxophone quartet, flexible scoring. This is one of the best known circus marches or screamers. It makes a terrific opener for your saxophone quartet. It will thrill your audience and possibly terrify your saxophone players. The march is named after an imaginary circus newspaper and reflects Fillmore’s lifelong interest in circuses and his varied experiences while touring with five different big top shows where he played the trombone.

This arrangement of The Circus Bee is for saxophone quartet, flexible scoring. In addition to a full score it includes the parts listed below. As long as parts 1-4 are covered, it may be played in any combination. It is not simplified in any way. For best effect, it should go lightning fast. Be aware that the Alto 1 part (soprano sub.) has a high range and is very challenging.

Part 1: Soprano sax or alto sax 1
Part 2: Alto sax 2
Part 3: Tenor sax or alto sax 3
Part 4: Baritone sax

• The range for the saxophone parts is shown below.
• Score and audio excerpts are available above.
• Registered users can download a full length sample score and audio file of this march on the ‘Samples’ tab.

We also offer a saxophone choir arrangement of The Circus Bee here.