Costumes welcome at 'Creepy Classics' Halloween concert

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Everything from trolls to outer space aliens and stormy nights to chase scenes will come alive in "Creepy Classics," the Purdue Symphony Orchestra's annual Halloween family pops concert on Sunday (Oct. 22).

The fourth annual Halloween concert is set for 2:30 p.m. in the Long Center, 111 N. Sixth St., in downtown Lafayette. It is free and open to the public.

The event has become a tradition for many families because it offers kids a chance to try out their Halloween costume before the big day during a costume parade across the Long Center stage, said Kathy Matter, Purdue Bands public relations director.

Members of Purdue's Tau Beta Sigma honorary music fraternity decorate the theater, serve as costumed ushers and pass out treat bags to the first 300 children attending the event. Musicians in the orchestra as well as the orchestra's new conductor, Andrew King, abandon the traditional tuxedos and long black dresses for costumes as well.

"I'm looking forward to the whole extravaganza of the event, and the music is a lot of fun to listen to," said King, who purposefully picked out classical works that stir the imagination. "Every piece describes a person or a setting, so I can tell a story before we play each piece.

"This concert is fun because it's about finding cool, new and interesting ways to share music with kids."

King said he's looking forward to talking about the story behind "In the Hall of the Mountain King" from Grieg's Peer Gynt Suite No. 1. According to King, Peer Gynt was a mischievious fellow who couldn't resist sneaking around the Mountain King's castle. The King is a troll "and when the trolls spot Peer Gynt, there's a lot of chasing around and his escape is the end of the music," he said.

Symphonie Fantastique by Berlioz doesn't sound like a Halloween piece until you get to the movement the Purdue Orchestra will perform, the "March to the Scaffold," King said.

In it, Berlioz depicts a nightmare where the dreamer imagines he's responsible for a murder and has to make the march to the scaffold, and King said he plans to unravel the mystique behind the piece.

King said Mahler's Symphony No. 1, while it sounds benign, "is one of the most bizarre pieces I know."

"Mahler was inspired by a wood carving of animals carrying away a dead hunter," he said. "It's somber but the animals are happy about the hunter being dead."

Listeners might recognize a familiar tune in the midst of the piece where Mahler incorporates a familiar childhood round, "Are You Sleeping Brother John," performed in a minor key.

The concert also will feature Ravel's "Mother Goose Suite," inspired by children's stories, and John Williams' "Adventures on Earth" from the film hit "E.T.," which tells the story of an alien from outer space who bonds with an American family.

"All the music is easy to listen to on a lot of levels," King said. "They're all short. They're all great tunes and great stories, and people can listen for special things in them, but at the same time the music has a lot of depth."

Every October, the Purdue Orchestra concentrates on lighter fare in its Halloween pops concert. Throughout the rest of the season, the orchestra will present full-length symphonies.

At 2:30 p.m. Dec. 10, it will present Tchaikovsky's "Symphony No. 5." Admission to this concert is free.

Writer: Kathy Matter, Purdue Bands public relations director, (765) 496-6785, kcmatter@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

To the News Service home page