Chattanooga Pulse

Halloween Night is sneaking up on us, and downtown Chattanooga will be buzzing with many a costume party and themed event.  Given the times, we can probably expect a handful of friendly (and not-so-friendly) vampires, a smattering of Wild Things, and even a handful of Jokers left over from last year.  Whatever the costumes may be, crowds young and old will take to the streets this weekend in celebration of autumn’s key holiday.

An orchestral concert usually isn’t the first thing you think of to show off your brightest and best Halloween costume, but this year the Chattanooga Symphony Orchestra will present a pops concert on Halloween night that welcomes costumes of any sort—and audiences of any age.  It’s called the “Boo-Tacular!” and the CSO is pulling out all the stops to make the Tivoli the place to be on Saturday night.

In addition to a program packed with movie music and spooky tunes, the orchestra will be dressed in Halloween costumes.  The Tivoli lobby will be fully decorated to set the mood and a costume contest will take place at intermission with prizes for both children and adults.  “I think it’s going to be very lively,” says Molly Sasse, the orchestra’s executive director. Or perhaps, “deadly”?

The “Boo-tacular!” is the Chattanooga Symphony’s second pops concert of the season, and it comes right off the heels of the Tchaikovsky Masterworks concert two weeks ago.

“I’ve been conducting pops and masterworks concerts for 30 years now and they are both of extraordinary value to me,” says Maestro Robert Bernhardt.  “Nowadays, there is music of exceptional quality to play at pops concerts—challenging music that is written for a full-blooded symphony.”

There is a large body of work that has become associated with the spooky holiday, and Halloween concerts are often known to include popular pieces like Mussorgsky’s “Night on Bald Mountain”, Grieg’s “In the Hall of the Mountain King” and extracts from Bernard Herrmann’s legendary Alfred Hitchcock scores, but the music for the “Boo-Tacular!” is taken from a large group of scary sources.  Scattered throughout the program are many film music selections, including memorable themes from Pirates of the Caribbean and the Harry Potter films.

“There are also slots for just listening,” says Bernhart.  “Some of the music is what’s expected from a classical concert, but it is also incredible music.  We’ll have kids in the audience too, and we want them to hear really great music.”

A lively Strauss polka makes an appearance and a jaunty tone poem by Saint-Saëns called “Danse Macabre” takes to the stage as well, but the bulk of the program is comprised of music by legendary film composer John Williams (Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Harry Potter).

Williams is known for his symphonic writing. His music is so prominent that it automatically conjures images—an important element for an event that relies so heavily on costumes and festive imagery.  “I always try to come up with a reason [to showcase John Williams],” says Maestro Bernhart.  “His music is symphonic mastery.”   Even so, many of the musical selections for the “Boo-Tacular!” were chosen because of some special costumed guests.

Enter the 501st Legion.  On first appearance, they seem to be a passionate group of Star Wars aficionados who pride themselves on elaborate costumes and parade around at events across the country, but Charleen Ellefson says this is only half of the story.

“The 501st Legion is a charity group,” she says.  “We’re one of the top ten charities in the world and we specialize in appearances for children’s charities like the Make-A-Wish Foundation and the March of Dimes.”  The group has also worked with the T.C. Thompson Children’s Hospital and will be seen this year in the Chattanooga Christmas parade.

Ellefson is head of the Mos Nooga Squad, the Chattanooga branch of the 501st Legion, a nationwide group of costumed volunteers and “the preferred Imperial costuming group” of George Lucas himself.  Typically, the group only dresses up as members of “The Dark Side” since the 501st Legion is widely known in Star Wars mythology as “Vader’s Fist.”

Though this Saturday’s “Boo-Tacular!” isn’t a charity event per se, 25 of the Mos Nooga Squad will be in attendance to participate in the festivities.  They’ve worked extensively with the orchestra to put together a program that includes full choreography for many of the musical selections, an appearance by Lord Vader himself, and a climactic lightsaber battle to accompany John Williams’ “Duel of the Fates” from Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.

Before the concert starts, the Mos Nooga squad will be in the lobby to meet and greet guests.  At intermission, they’ll officiate the costume contest and, after the evening’s big finale, will be out in the Tivoli foyer yet again with a full-size working R2D2 droid, Jango Fett, a Royal Guard, several Jedi, and an Imperial crew.
Each member of the 501st Legion is in charge of creating their own professional, movie-grade costume, some which can cost anywhere from $300 to $5,000.  “Everybody loves Star Wars in the 501st,” says Ellefson, “but some of us have other reasons to be a part of it.”

For her, it was giving birth to a premature child 15 years ago and receiving the love and care of the Ronald McDonald House.  She says being a part of the 501st Legion is her way of giving back to organizations that care about kids.

“Because of our costumes, the kids call us ‘the bad guys,’” she says, “but we’re really the good guys.”

Maestro Bernhart thinks that masterworks and pops concerts bring two different types of audiences to the Tivoli, and that people who try out the orchestra for the first time at a pops concert are at a particular advantage.

“If people come to pops concerts, they will most likely want to come back to them,” he says.  With this in mind, the “Boo-Tacular!” is one of the most interactive events the Chattanooga Symphony has ever hosted and a perfect way for just about anyone to spend their Halloween night.

“People may realize how inviting the orchestra is,” Bernhart adds, “but what really matters is how we play—and the orchestra plays very well.”

CSO’s “Boo-Tacular!”
$19-$79
8 p.m.
Saturday, October 31
Tivoli Theatre,
709 Broad Street
(423) 267-8583.
www.chattanoogasymphony.org