Cuddle Magic is a large ensemble from Brooklyn and Philadelphia that performs lush, whimsical songs with wide-ranging instrumentation including strings, percussion, vibraphone, trumpet, clarinet, keyboards, guitars, and many voices. Their unique stage set-up includes some small lamps and a 3-foot plastic penguin set amidst the players and their many instruments. The ensemble, which sometimes swells to 12 or more, plays deftly crafted arrangements of their complex and varied set of original music. They are as friendly and inclusive as their name might suggest — after forming as a quintet just over 4 years ago, they have gradually come to incorporate more and more of their musical friends into the band, constructing intricate soundscapes that include elements of folk music, avant-garde classical music, world music, and urban music.