Something’s in the Solvay High School auditorium
A Halloween concert for the whole community, with a costume contest and prizes.
Picture the Solvay High School auditorium on a Wednesday night.
Now fill the stage with a full professional orchestra. Fill the seats with witches, superheroes, a couple of dinosaurs, a family of matching pumpkins, and somebody’s grandpa in the cape he’s been wearing every Halloween for thirty years.
The lights go down.
Then “In the Hall of the Mountain King” begins. Just a few low notes at first, sneaking along on tiptoe. Then a little louder. A little faster. More of the orchestra joins in, and more, until the music is racing, the drums are pounding, and every kid in the room is bouncing in their seat.
That’s the thing about an orchestra up close. It’s not something you watch. It happens to your whole body. The bass drum shakes the floor. The trumpets make you sit up straight. The violins make the hair on your arms stand up.
And that’s just one piece. There are skeletons dancing at midnight, a shark you’ll recognize in two notes, and “This Is Halloween” from The Nightmare Before Christmas, which is very hard to stay in your seat for.
Dress up, Solvay
There’s a costume contest with prizes. Three days before Halloween, call it the dress rehearsal. Dig out the witch hat, the dinosaur tail, the cape that’s been in the closet since last year. Grown-ups, that includes you.
Bring the whole neighborhood
The neighbors with the little ones. The friend who goes all out every Halloween. Grandma and Grandpa, who’ll want to see the costumes in person.
Costumes welcome. Everybody’s welcome.
BEFORE YOU GO
Who’s it for? Everybody in Solvay and beyond. Little kids, big kids, parents, grandparents.
How long is it? About 30 minutes, no intermission.
What should we wear? A costume, if you’ve got one. Otherwise, whatever’s comfortable.
When should we get there? Doors open 30 minutes before the show. Costume contest check-in at the door.
WHAT YOU’LL HEAR
In the Hall of the Mountain King (Grieg): Starts as a whisper and ends at a full sprint.
Danse Macabre (Saint-Saëns): Twelve notes on the harp for midnight, a spooky violin, and a graveyard full of dancing skeletons.
Jaws (John Williams): Two notes. That’s all it takes.
Dances of Transylvania (Bartók): Folk dances from the land of Dracula.
This Is Halloween (Danny Elfman): The Nightmare Before Christmas favorite. Sing along in your head, or don’t.
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