The Warwick Symphony Orchestra (WSO) will serve up some tricks this October with Halloween-themed selections at the Scottish Rite Masonic Auditorium in Cranston. The “Tricks & Treats Halloween Spooktacular” is in partnership with the Gaspee Days Committee, and sponsored by Greenwood Credit Union will be on Sunday, October 27 at 3 p.m. Located at 2115 Broad St, this monster-mash of an event will be the “highlight to everyone’s day” says Catherine Gagnon, WSO director and conductor.

The WSO will travel throughout Rhode Island during this upcoming December, and May of 2020. During the holiday month, they will play varied genres of yuletide music at the Pilgrim Senior Center, and at the St. Francis Church Hall. Whereas in May they will play selections inspired by poetry and literature at the GAMM Theatre, and at the Goddard Memorial Park Carousel.

At the October concert, the orchestra will play the haunting “Night on Bald Mountain” by Modest Mussorgsky, “March of the Marionettes” by Charles Gounod, “Once Upon a Midnight Grimm” by Paul McGraw, and the “Transylvanian Lullaby” from the movie Young Frankenstein.

Furthermore, the WSO will play the theme songs from Wonder Woman and Spiderman.

“We wanted to make it as family friendly as possible” explained Gagnon, “So we chose some neat songs like the ones from Spiderman and Wonder Woman to get kids involved too. The event is also midday to accommodate everyone’s schedule.”

The WSO, a nonprofit organization, was started in 1966 under the name “Warwick Civic Orchestra”. Supervisor of music at the Warwick Public Schools, George Low, founded the group in order for Rhode Island residents to continue to play and practice music even after they had graduated from school. According to the WSO website, Low stated that, “Some [people] continue to play in college, but stop after they get married. Playing an instrument is something like riding a bicycle. Once you learn it, you never forget.” After their first concert in December 1966, the group had grown from 20 people to over 30 with a broad musical spectrum.

Low retired from the orchestra in 1985 and unfortunately passed away in 2001. In his place, Vincent Mattera and Daniel Coyne ran the organization for five years, during which time the Warwick Civic Orchestra was renamed the Warwick Symphony Orchestra in 1987. This change in the orchestra’s name was made to reflect the increase in players, and their enhancing musical abilities. In 1990 Dinarte Ferro became the interim director, replacing Mattera and Coyne. 21 years after Ferro became director, Catherine Gagnon stepped up to the podium in 2011 and has remained the current music director and conductor since then.

Gagnon composes and orchestrates over 13 different instruments in the WSO such as the violin, viola, clarinet, oboe, and tuba. Her preferred instruments are the French horn and piano, and she has also been involved in many different orchestras around RI. These include performances in the Ocean State Chamber Orchestra, the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra, and the Symphony and Symphonic Wind Ensemble at the University of Rhode Island.

Admission to the Halloween concert is $15 for the general public, $12 for seniors, and free for all children 12 years and younger. Tickets can be bought at-the-door, or online at WSOri.org and a portion of the proceeds will benefit Gaspee Day events.