The Battle Creek Symphony Orchestra kicks off its 127th season with a Halloween-themed concert on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at W.K. Kellogg Auditorium, featuring spine-tingling works selected by music director Anne Harrigan. She tells Cara Lieurance that the program includes iconic pieces like Mussorgsky's Night on Bald Mountain and Dukas' The Sorcerer's Apprentice, both famously featured in Disney's Fantasia. "I feel as if it has been the symbol of orchestral Halloween music ever since."
The concert opens with Bernard Herrmann's theme from Psycho, written for strings alone. "It is so furious," Harrigan notes. "You have no doubt that there's something horrifying and creepy about to happen."
The program features two special soloists. Concertmaster Sofia Levchenko, who hails from Uzbekistan, performs Prokofiev's Violin Concerto No. 1—a rarely heard work that Harrigan describes as "eerie" and "haunting." Pianist Glenn Getty showcases the theremin, an electronic instrument he built himself.
This family-friendly event includes a costume parade and prize drawing. "We had over a hundred people dressed in costume" last year, Harrigan recalls. Some members of the orchestra will dress up, and children's tickets are free.
The orchestra performs on newly upgraded equipment after extensive summer renovations, including new risers, wireless stand lights, and repaired percussion instruments.
Tickets are available at battlecreeksymphony.org or by calling 269-963-1911.
The interview was summarized by Claude AI and edited by the author.