WANT TO GO?
What: "PhilharMonster"
Where: Schuster Center, Second and Main streets, Dayton
When: Oct. 30 at 3 p.m.
Cost: $22 for adults; $14 for children
Tickets: Call Ticket Center Stage (937) 228-3630 or visit www.daytonperformingarts.org
FYI: Activities for kids of all ages begin at 2 p.m. in the Wintergarden of the Schuster with crafts, treats, a scavenger hunt, a costume parade and instrument petting zoo.
The Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra’s family-friendly “PhilharMonster” concert, the organization’s annual costumed celebration of Halloween and autumn fun, seeks to entertain with familiar music and spooky fun Sunday, Oct. 30, at the Schuster Center.
The varied program particularly includes a presentation of the short animated film “Farmer Glorp,” based on the story of “Sunlandia” written in 2014 by first-graders at the Miami Valley School.
The film’s score is written by Dayton Performing Arts Alliance’s “Music Alive” composer-in-residence Stella Sung, director of the Center for Research in Education in Art, Technology and Entertainment (CREATE) at the University of Central Florida (UCF). The film addresses the power of unity in its charming story of a farmer who lives on the sun and plants sunflowers. “‘Farmer Glorp’ is a sharing, caring story reminding us how much we need each other in life,” Sung said. “It is always important to work together.”
“I love ‘Farmer Glorp’ – both Stella Sung’s music and the lovely animated film it goes with,” said DPO music director Neal Gittleman. “We’ve only performed the music with the film once so I’m really excited to do it again and especially for a kid-filled audience. The film isn’t yet available on YouTube and Vimeo, but when it does become viewable there, with the DPO-performed soundtrack, I expect lots of our audience members will be watching it over and over again at home.”
Gittleman is also pleased to present a lively and moody world premiere work from his good friend Michael Schelle entitled “and then they just disappear into the night.” He says Schelle plans to attend the premiere.
“There’s some fun stuff for the orchestra to do such as eerie whispering and chanting,” Gitttleman remarked. “It has a generally creepy atmosphere. It’s a spooky-but-fun piece I think the audience will really enjoy.”
Katie Pees, a Human Race Theatre Company resident artist, also joins the festivities as narrator and soloist. She’ll particularly sing Kristin Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez’s Academy Award-winning song “Let It Go” from the popular 2013 animated film “Frozen.”
“I am incredibly lucky and beyond excited to perform with DPO again,” Pees said. “It is a gift to sing with them. The lyrics in ‘Let it Go’ are so powerful for anyone and a great message to anyone young and old to not hold back and go for your dreams. You have to let go of negatives in your life and reach above them to be your true awesome self.
Other notable selections on the program include Charles Gounod’s “Funeral March of a Marionette,” best known as the iconic theme music for the TV series “Alfred Hitchcock Presents,” and Ray Parker Jr.’s Academy Award-nominated pop classic “Ghostbusters” from the 1984 film of the same name. Per tradition, Gittleman’s choice of costume is top secret, but the current political climate has sparked inspiration.
“You might have heard this is a presidential election year,” he said. “It’s just possible there might be some good-natured spoofing about the election.”
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