For 20 years, Gulf Coast Symphony has started its season at the Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall with a Halloween concert for children and their parents. The immersive afternoon of activities begins at 1 p.m. in the lobby, which will be converted into a haven for young witches, wizards and Muggles that includes a musical discovery zone.
“The entire orchestra is in costume,” said Musical Director Andrew Kurtz. “The musicians are there. We have instruments that parents and children can try. We have safe trick-or-treating. There's a costume contest, and winners get prizes.”
At 2 p.m., everyone will go inside the concert hall for a magical musical journey.
“This year's theme is a Hogwarts Halloween,” said Kurtz. “It's music from the Harry Potter movie franchise, from the seven Harry Potter movies.”
The melodies will evoke the spirit of Halloween while retaining an air of whimsy suitable for all ages. But it’s not just the selections. The kids get to sit onstage with the musicians while they play.
“It’s unique for the kids to get to come up and sit on the stage,” Kurtz noted. “I actually had a conversation with this young man who came up to talk to me after a concert and he said, ‘I was one of those kids at 7 years old who first heard the symphony when I was at your family concert. And then I started playing trombone in middle school and high school.’ And that was one of the things that influenced him. That meant a lot to me. You just never know.”
Costumes are not just encouraged; they’re practically mandatory – for children and their parents.
So, dress up as your favorite Hogwarts character, magical creature, or spooky entity and let Gulf Coast Symphony take you on “A Magical Musical Journey.”
MORE INFORMATION:
Gulf Coast Symphony’s musical discovery zone encourages aspiring musicians of all ages to try their hands at the instruments typically included in a symphony orchestra.
Because Gulf Coast Symphony believes in the power of creativity, its children’s costume contest is designed to provide a platform for young witches and wizards to showcase their costume prowess, with fantastic prizes awaiting the winners.
“A Magical Musical Journey” is about two hours long, with the musical portion of the program running about 55 minutes.
Gulf Coast Symphony has called Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall its home for the past 30 years.
“It's not been our only space,” Kurtz pointed out. “We’ve probably played in every theater, church and community park over the past 30 years from Bonita all the way up into South Charlotte County. We've done concerts in Hendry and Glades County, too. But we use Barbara Mann for the shows that will have the biggest appeal where the costs of the artists are the most expensive. These are the shows that you would go to if you were in Philadelphia or Chicago or Los Angeles, San Francisco, you name it, the real big cities, Miami.”
Support for WGCU’s arts & culture reporting comes from the Estate of Myra Janco Daniels, the Charles M. and Joan R. Taylor Foundation, and Naomi Bloom in loving memory of her husband, Ron Wallace.
