Come in costume to “Creepy Classics” Halloween concert

Thursday, October 11, 2007

The world’s most popular boy wizard, Harry Potter, will be conjured up in music when the Purdue Symphony Orchestra performs music from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire at its “Creepy Classics” concert Sunday, Oct. 21.        

It is set for 2:30 p.m. in the Long Center, 111 N. Sixth St., in downtown Lafayette.

This is the Purdue Orchestra’s fifth annual Halloween concert, and the free event has become a tradition for many families because it offers youngsters a chance to show off their Halloween costume before the big day. While the orchestra plays “Monster Mash,” the theme song from The Adam’s Family and other spooky tunes, a costume parade will be held across the Long Center stage.

In the spirit of the season, members of Purdue’s Tau Beta Sigma honorary music sorority decorate the theater and serve as costumed ushers. Musicians in the orchestra as well as the orchestra’s new conductor, Andrew King, abandon the traditional tuxes and long black dresses for costumes as well.

Barnes & Noble will host a book fair at the Long Center prior to the concert offering children’s Halloween books and Harry Potter books. Doors for the fair open at 2 p.m.

“I’m looking forward to the whole extravaganza of the event and the music is a lot of fun to listen to,” says King who purposefully picked out classical works that create amusement and suspense.  “This concert is fun because it’s all about finding cool, new and interesting ways to share music with kids,” he says.

Patrick Doyle and John Williams’ “Concert Suite” from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire will serve as the finale of the concert which is dotted with mood-inducing works by classical composers Wagner, Ravel and Mussorgsky.

Wagner’s dramatic “Ride of the Valkyries,” one of his most performed pieces, is often used to heighten the mood in videogames, commercials and movies including The Blues Brothers and Apocalypse Now. Ravel’s “Pavane for a Dead Princess,” a dance like work, has created a sense of mystery since it was written in 1899 and Ravel refused to explain the title.

Mussorgsky’s macabre “A Night on Bald Mountain,” was inspired by Russian legend and made famous in the 20th century by Walt Disney’s Fantasia. In it, the composer musically describes a supernatural gathering of witches and demons on a craggy mountain top.

“All the music is easy to listen to on a lot of levels. They’re all short. They’re all great tunes and great stories, and people can listen for special things in them,” says King. “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 8 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 1, it will present “Firebird” with works by Stravinsky and Mozart. Admission to this concert is free. For more information on orchestra, concert band and jazz concerts at Purdue call (765) 496-6785

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