What piece would you recommend for "conducting"?

[lani]

My daughter would like some suggestions of a short piece (3-5 minutes) that would be great to conduct for her music lesson.  She is asked to select any piece of instrumental music and learn to conduct it.  So far she is thinking of Beethoven's 5th (we would have to stop at arund 2-3 minutes-first movement, maybe), and Carmen ( The Toreadors).  Any other pieces you could suggest would be really appreciated!  They can be any genre - jazz, pop, rock, or classical. Thanks, Lani

[scrabble]

I have played both Beethoven's fifth and The Toreadors (as a violinist in a youth orchestra). The Toreadors is a relatively easy piece to conduct; to emphasize this point, the conductor stopped conducting at certain points in the music during a rehearsal. The symphony offers more challenges for the conductor. It is always interesting to see how different conductors handle the opening bars.

[lani]

Thanks for your reply.  She has decided to go with the Toreadors and also selected Peter Gunn (Mancini)-really fun contrasting pieces! Regards, Lani