The Menchville and Gildersleeve Orchestras, under the direction of Anna Moyer, performed a night of spooky, Halloween-themed music for family and friends this past Thursday, October 25.

Gildersleeve Orchestra started the night, playing two eerie selections- Creatures and Haunted Carousel. For their last piece, the students tried something rather new. Instead of playing a full piece, the orchestra provided wild sound effects while Gildersleeve Principal Dr. Windy Nichols read a Halloween children’s book, the House of Untold Horrors. Younger siblings and children in the audience were invited to come up close to the stage for the spooky nighttime story.

Next to play was the Menchville Monarch Orchestra, the combined group of Menchville’s Chamber and Intermediate Orchestras. The students played This Is Halloween, from The Nightmare Before Christmas, and The Meadow from New Moon in the Twilight movie saga. The Monarch Orchestra performance ended with Fright Night, a medley of all sorts of Halloween classics- from the Adams Family theme, to Jaws, to Phantom of the Opera, all of which garnered cheers from the audience.

After a brief intermission, the Menchville Chamber Orchestra was joined onstage by Symphonic Band, under the direction of Deborah Sarvay. The advanced music students started their joint performance with Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, which encompassed many different musical styles from the movie. To finish the night, the orchestra and band played a Star Wars medley focused around Princess Leia’s theme. By far, this instantly-recognizable piece garnered the most applause of the night, and the audience cheered for Menchville’s students with a standing ovation at the close of their performance.