Sunday, Oct. 27, on a not-so-dark-and-stormy-night, Sinfonia took to the Richardson Auditorium stage for their annual Halloween show.
The spooky spirit was palpable from the orchestra's warm-up, as contrasting motifs filled the dark, almost ghostly, cavernous auditorium in prelude. Various players had costume pieces on, from witch hats to deer antlers to a full Scooby-Doo costume — one performer even had a Waldo costume on, easily spotted in a sea of black blouses and trousers. The stage itself was dressed up in purple and green lights, pumpkins grown from Dr. Ochs’s own family garden, and glittering candles. With nearly 600 people in attendance, the audience was extremely full and eager for the show.
After the entrance of concertmaster Gabriel Ascoli ’27 followed by Dr. Ochs in a pumpkin hat, the orchestra began Bach’s “Toccata and Fugue in D Minor.” Immediately, the audience was grabbed by the ghostly sounds of slow but great crescendos and dissonance between the different instruments. The next piece, the “Interstellar” suite, increased the drama even more, with a louder, more intense, exciting energy.
Perhaps the best piece of the night was the world premiere of “Ozymandias” for voice and orchestra by Kodai Speich ’25. The performance featured Talia Czuchlewski ’26 singing along to the orchestra’s slower, building music. “Ozymandias” utilized every section of the orchestra together, contrasting the deep horns with tinkling chimes.
As stated on the back of the program, “Ozymandias” is a “setting of the titular 1818 sonnet by Percy Bysshe Shelley.” The sonnet explores the Egyptian pharaoh Ramses the Great through a description of a large statue of Ramses and “a conflict between the sculptor and the pharaoh himself.” In the orchestral arrangement, both characters have their own individual sounds and motifs, and the singer declares themself “Ozymandias, King of Kings.”
The stage was then reset for the Sinfonia Clarinet Ensemble, which consists of nine clarinet players and is directed by Jo-Ann Sternberg. Unlike the larger ensemble, the clarinet players did not have a conductor leading them, but rather stood in a semicircle at the edge of the stage and led themselves. The pieces, all taken from Kurt Weill’s “The Threepenny Opera,” offered a refreshing lightness to the audience, breaking up the heavier and more dramatic full-orchestra pieces.
Clarinet ensemble playing pieces from “The Threepenny Opera.”
Lulu Pettit / The Daily Princetonian
The final three songs passed quickly. First Aram Khachaturian’s “Sabre Dance,” a fast and fun three minute song that had people dancing along in their seats. Next, the orchestra played selections from “The Phantom of the Opera,” opening with the most famous, classic, over-the-top Halloween sounds before balancing with more full and romantic music. One of the band members even donned the famous “Phantom” mask.
Sinfonia ended with “Jupiter” from Gustav Holst’s “The Planets” orchestral suite. Unlike some of the more haunting pieces earlier in the night, “Jupiter” ended the show with a bright and hopeful sound reminiscent of adventure. It harkened back to Dr. Ochs’s opening discussion of recurring themes of joy and infinite possibilities, which one might not traditionally associate with Halloween, but certainly worked smoothly with this year’s Halloween show.
Overall, Sinfonia’s latest show was an exciting night perfect to get anyone in the Halloween spirit. The orchestra delivered beautiful music combining classical pieces with more accessible and familiar pop culture pieces, making it an enjoyable night for anyone.
Lulu Pettit is a member of the Class of 2027 and a staff writer for The Prospect from the suburbs of Philadelphia. She can be reached at lp3153@princeton.edu or her Instagram @itslulupettit.
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