Community Halloween Orchestra Concert

Written By: Sarah Lanphear

 On Saturday, October 28th, Lycoming College’s Community Orchestra (LCCO) celebrated its tenth year with a “Halloween Spectacular” Concert. Lycoming students and faculty, as well as members of the community, gathered in costumes at the Community Arts Center for the event, which began with Trick or Treating in the lobby at 6:30. Clubs and organizations from Lycoming College dressed up to hand out candy at their respective tables to children and adults alike in the Lycoming Community. 

      This fun opening was followed by an upbeat performance of Halloween favorites by the LCCO. Conductor William Ciabattari chose pieces for the concert with two themes in mind: characters and family. Following the character theme, the night opened with Raider’s March from the Indiana Jones films. This Orchestra followed this with Pink Panther, enhanced by the fun Pink Panther costume of one of the flutists. The third piece was Danse Macabre, which displayed melodies commonly associated with death dating back to the 1300s being passed around the stage and altered by each respective instrument to mirror the idea of spirits floating about the Orchestra. Guest singer Sarah Decker joined the Orchestra to sing Goodnight Moon, opening the family-themed portion of the night and dazzling the audience with her outstanding vocal performance. Music from Frozen tied together the theme of characters and family as many audience members joined in to sing the familiar themes. Funeral March of the Marionette and This Is Halloween were big hits for the audience. The Orchestra then features guest singer and narrator Patrick Intallura and guest tuba player J.C. Sherman in a fun performance based on the children’s novel Toby the Tuba. The concert concluded with a foot-tapping rendition of Les Toreador’s from Carmen, a fast-paced melody that exemplified the talent of the orchestra members, who ranged from high schoolers to retirees. This concert provided a fantastic community experience that brought generations from within the county together to celebrate the joy of Halloween through music.

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