Enjoy some Hollywood for your Halloween.
Movie music and more will fill the performance hall when Midwest Philharmonic performs a Hollywood Pops concert at 6 p.m. Oct. 31 at the Hemmens Cultural Center in Elgin.
“It starts at 6 p.m., so usually younger kids would be done trick or treating by then,” said Matthew Nowlan, marketing director and violist with the orchestra. “Then they can come to this concert, enjoy the music, listen to other kids playing music and it will inspire them to maybe even learn music in the long run.”
The Midwest Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra for advanced string, wind and percussion students in high school and college, as well as some amateur adult musicians. Music Director Taka Matsunaga will conduct the concert.
The concert begins with the well-known classical “Dance Macabre” by Camille Saint-Saens, followed by John Williams’ “Theme from E.T.” and Klaus Badelt’s “Pirates of the Caribbean Medley.”
“They’re both arrangements,” Nowlan said of the movie scores. “And for those two pieces we’re having our preparatory (Midwest) String Orchestra, which is beginner students, join us.”
The final piece will be “Star Wars Suite” by Williams, a fan favorite, he said.
Tickets can be purchased online in advance with a discount or at the door. Those paying at the door and in costume receive half-price admission.
“If they come in costume, it’s actually half off their ticket,” Nowlan said. “We’re also offering free tickets for kids under (age) 7.”
More Top Picks Saccadic Dysfunction Explained For Parents
Masks are required for everyone attending, and reserved seating will allow for social distancing.
“Groups are going to be able to sit together, but there’s going to be some distance between each group,” Nowlan said.
Attendees are encouraged to wear costumes, as members of the orchestra will be dressing for the occasion.
“We’re asking each section to coordinate costumes within the section. For example, I believe the viola is going to do Oompa Loompas or something like that and the violins are zombies and the brass section is Star Wars. Different themes for each section.”
Audience members will be asked to vote on which section has the best costumes, he said.
“Also, we’re going to invite some audience members, kids, if they want to be part of that contest with their costumes,” Nowlan said.
The Schaumburg-based orchestra originally planned to have a pops concert this summer, but it was canceled because of COVID. When looking at available dates at the Hemmens for fall, Oct. 31 was available.
“We thought ‘why not just do a Halloween pops concert?” Nowlan said.
The Halloween concert will kick off the Midwest Philharmonic’s 2021-22 season, and is the first performance of the full orchestra in front of a live audience since the pandemic began.
“We also have a concert in November called ‘The Russian Spectacular’ featuring a bunch of pieces by Russian composers. The rest are in 2022,” Nowlan said.
“I’m just really glad that we can get back to this, because the last two concerts we did it as a livestream,” he said. “We basically just recorded videos at a venue. We had social distancing with all the masks on and we did a livestream of the concert.”
This is the first time the orchestra is performing a Halloween concert, but Nowlan hopes it will become an annual tradition.
“It’s going to be hopefully really fun for everyone, and I really hope that we can continue this every year,” he said.
Hollywood Pops
When: 6 p.m. Oct. 31
Where: Hemmens Cultural Center, 45 Symphony Way, Elgin
Tickets: $20-$22 adults; $13-$15 students and seniors. Children age 7 and younger are free
Information: 847-312-3690, midphil.org
Kathy Cichon is a freelance reporter for the Courier-News.