October 16, 2007

Costumes welcome at 'Creepy Classics' Halloween concert

The concert will take place at 2:30 p.m. in the Long Center, 111 N. Sixth St., Lafayette. Admission is free.

This is the Purdue Orchestra's fifth annual Halloween concert, and the event has become a tradition for many families because it offers children a chance to show off their Halloween costume before the big day, said Andrew King, the new orchestra conductor.

While the orchestra plays "Monster Mash," the theme song from "The Addams 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 will decorate the theater and serve as costumed ushers. Musicians in the orchestra and its conductor also will abandon the traditional tuxes and long black dresses for costumes.

Beginning at 2 p.m., Barnes & Noble will hold a book fair at the Long Center, offering a variety of children's Halloween and Harry Potter books.

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

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 works by classical composers Wagner, Ravel and Mussorgsky.

One of the featured tunes will be Wagner's "Ride of the Valkeries," which is is often used to heighten the mood in videogames, commercials and movies including "The Blues Brothers" and "Apocalypse Now." Other pieces include Ravel's "Pavane for a Dead Princess" and Mussorgsky's "A Night on Bald Mountain."

"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. It will present "Firebird" with works by Stravinsky and Mozart at 8 p.m. Dec. 1.

For information on orchestra, concert band and jazz concerts at Purdue, call (765) 496-6785 or visit https://www.purdue.edu/bands

Writer: Christy Jones, (765) 494-1089, christyjones@purdue.edu

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

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

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