The Oak Ridge Symphony has a free Halloween-themed concert coming up this weekend on Saturday, October 24th, 6:30pm, at the Oak Ridge High School performing arts center. This is a family-friendly program with pre-concert activities beginning at 5pm, including a conductor's baton (or wand) making workshop and food available for purchase from a local food truck. Costumes are encouraged for all audience members and a costume parade (for those who wish to participate) will take place at the end of the concert.
A wand will come in handy for the interactive program, which features Paul Dooley's The Conductor's Spellbook, among other works. Scored for narrator and orchestra, this piece takes the audience on a quest to learn about all of the different instruments of the orchestra as well as to learn more about the magic of leading an orchestra (with a magic wand, or....conductor's baton).
As Maestro Ian Passmore talks about in this interview, a child's first experience of hearing a live orchestra can be life-changing. There is a magic in live performance that isn't duplicated by recordings or watching a performance on television. Especially, when it's a program centered around magic!
Tickets are not required for this free program, but additional information can be found online at https://www.orcma.org/concerts-and-events/conductors-spellbook
