APSU’s Department of Music will hold the 32nd annual Halloween Percussion Concert on Friday, Oct. 28. This year’s concert will be hosted and conducted by APSU’s David Steinquest, professor of percussion. There will be two performances, one at 6 p.m. and one at 8 p.m. in Mabry Concert Hall in the Music and Mass Communication Building.
For 32 years, Steinquest has hosted the concert. He said it gets easier, but still has difficult moments.
“Maybe it’s easier because I know how to put the concert together since I’ve done it for so long, maybe it’s harder because I have to keep finding new music to program.” Steinquest said.
Those in attendance can expect to see a mix of music including the theme John Carpenter’s 1978 horror film, “Halloween,” and Czech composer Julius Fučík‘s “Thunder and Blazes.”
“It’s a quirky, fun concert,” Steinquest said. “We all are in costume, the hall is decorated, there is special lighting and there’s live video feed on the back wall. This year’s guests include the marching band, choir, and a few of the music department faculty. It’s a party.”
Steinquest said he was inspired to start the annual concert after attending the University of Michigan. “
The Orchestra put on a Halloween concert, it was so much fun for the performers and the audience,” Steinquest said. “I thought it would be a good idea to try doing it with the Percussion Ensemble.”
The Percussion Ensemble will be accompanied by The Governor’s Own Marching Band (GOMB), choir and chamber singers. The concert will also feature special guest performances by members of APSU’s music faculty: Jeffrey Williams, Gail Robinson-Oturu, Spencer Prewitt and Robert Waugh. The show will be opened by Carl Orff’s “Carmina Burana.”
Admission into the concert is $5 or a donation of two canned food items. The canned food will be donated to a local charity called Loaves and Fishes, who serve food to those in need. The money earned will be used towards repairing and purchasing percussion instruments.
