The West High and Northwest Middle School orchestras kicked off their Halloween concerts on Oct. 16 in the Arganbright Auditorium. The seventh grade and Philharmonic orchestras held their concert at 6 p.m., and the eighth grade, Concert and Symphony orchestras had theirs afterwards at 7:30.
As a festive twist, many of the musicians wore their Halloween costumes during the three-hour performance, and the set list included songs with spooky, suspenseful tones.
The concert began with Northwest’s seventh grade orchestra performing “Dark Legends” by Taylor Weimer and “Alley Cat” by Frank Bjorn and arranged by Caponegro. They then played “The Addams Family Theme” by Vic Mizzy and arranged by Paul Jennings and finished with “Double Trouble” by Lauren Bernofsky.
Next, West’s Philharmonic Strings took the stage to perform “Dia De Los Muertos” by Richard Meyer, featuring a solo from Thomas Gao ’29. It was followed by “As Twilight Falls” by Robert Sheldon and “Wrath of the Gods” by Joshua Reznicow, featuring solos from Gao, Ella Haim ’27 and Noah Overholt ’28 to conclude the first concert.
Following a brief intermission, Northwest’s eighth grade orchestra opened the second concert with a performance of “Danse Mysterioso” by David Shaffer. They followed with “La Bruja” by Jorge Vargas and “Kitchen Poltergeist” by Thom Sharp before finishing their set with a rendition of “Spy Guy” by Alan Bernstein.
West’s Concert Strings then began their performance with “Dark Forest Dance” by Susan Day. Afterward, they played “La Llorona” by Jorge Vargas and “Perpetual Fiddle Motion” by Brian Balmages.
Symphony Strings then started their set with “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” by Richard Meyer, including a solo from Shanza Sami ’26. The legend, a popular American folktale written in 1820 by Washington Irving, tells of the Headless Horseman, the ghost of a Hessian soldier decapitated by a cannonball in the Revolutionary War.
The Symphony orchestra then turned out the lights to continue their set with “Ase’s Death” from Edvard Grieg’s “Peer Gynt Suite No. 1.” Afterward, they performed “Jig,” “Intermazzo,” featuring solos from Sami, Akiho Sugiyama ’29, Kobi Nott ’26 and Ellie Roetlin ’26 and “Finale (The Dargason)” featuring solos from Sami and Solomon Shaffer ’26, compositions from “St. Paul’s Suite for String Orchestra” by Gustav Holst.
Lastly, the Symphony and eighth grade orchestras combined for a final theatrical performance of “Monster Mash” by Bobby Pickett and arranged by Phillips. Orchestra and choir member Luke Reimer ’27 sang the lyrics, and the performance featured solos from Sylvia Broffit ’26 on guitar and Derick Doresca ’26 on percussion.
Following the concert, many of the musicians will be preparing for upcoming All-State auditions, held Oct. 25 at West, with the All-State Music Festival being held Nov. 20-22. Afterward, the Symphony orchestra will combine with West’s choirs for the Choral Masterworks concert Dec. 9, and West’s Concert and Philharmonic orchestras have their next concert Dec. 11.
