Poway Symphonette to present ‘Spooktacular’ concert at Rancho Bernardo Library

The Poway Symphonette’s annual “Spooktacular” concert at the Rancho Bernardo Library is designed to get the audience into the festive fall mood.

The hour-long free concert will begin at 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 11 in the library’s first-floor children’s area, a departure from the traditional concert space upstairs. Seating is limited.

The 18 musicians will be in costume and attendees are welcome to come in fall or Halloween-themed attire as well, said Poway Symphonette Artistic Director Ulli Reiner. She plans to wear a Western outfit in line with a fall festival theme and distribute candy.

“Halloween is not just for kids,” Reiner said, noting audiences for the library’s Spooktacular concert over the past several years have ranged in age from toddlers through senior citizens.

“When it comes to Halloween, we’ve heard some adults complain about the gory nature and remembering when they were younger it was about fun and not spooky, gory stuff,” she said.

It is for that reason she chose a music program that presents a lighter side to Halloween along with a fall festival theme.

“The fall festival music celebrates the American … Thanksgiving and fall harvest …. It is about shared meals, square dancing and fiddlers,” she said.

The program’s fall festive tunes are “Hoedown” arranged by LV Metcalf, “Fiddles on Fire” by Mark Williams and an American Suite arranged by Merle Isaac that includes “Hole in Her Stocking” and “Mississippi Sawyer.” Also played will be “Galop!” by Brian Balmages.

To create a spooky, Halloween mood, the symphonette will perform “Roaches in the Pantry” by R. Anne Svendsen and “Danse Macabre” by Camille Saint-Saëns (the skeleton segment from Disney’s “Fantasia”).

For the Disney fans, Alan Menken’s “Under the Sea” and “A Whole New World” will be performed, along with selections from Hans Zimmer’s “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End.”

Fans of the video game “Angry Birds” will recognize an arrangement of Ari Pulkinen’s piece by one of Reiner’s former students, Johannes Moser.

“We are celebrating American heritage, Halloween and Disney, a real mix of music with an educational value,” Reiner said.

The Poway Symphonette is operated through Poway Unified School District’s Poway Adult School and is open for community members to join as musicians.

The Rancho Bernardo Library is at 17110 Bernardo Center Drive. For details, call 858-538-8163.