Ghosts, Witches and Wonder Women Practice Spooky Music - with Strings Attached

What do cowgirls, Harry Potters, Pikachus, and a host of Marvel superheroes have to do with classical music? Ask Susan Pascale of the Pascale Music Institute (PMI). Every year, the students in her Los Angeles Children’s Orchestra and Children’s Chamber Orchestra perform in costume at the Annual Pumpkin Festival at the Kidspace Museum.

This year, the concert will take place on Sunday, October 19 at noon. For those who can’t make it to the event, the public is cordially invited to attend open rehearsals every Friday before the concert, from 5 to 6:15 pm at the Calvary Church rec room in South Pasadena.

Pascale herself always wears an elaborate costume for the festival. “It’s either very wide, or very long,” she says, “and either evil or benevolent.” Past favorites include Cruella De Ville, Glinda the Good Witch, Morticia from The Adams Family. “The most difficult costume was Marie Antoinette, which was both wide and tall. I had a lot of trouble getting out of my mini-van!”

The children and their families also go all out with their costumes. In some cases, the costumes cause unexpected challenges “For example, when the bass player was a banana, he almost passed out from the unseasonable heat. We had to pull him off duty, take off the warm costume, and give him fluids.”

Along with beautiful string music, audiences attending the Halloween concert will also hear blood-curdling screeches and screams, as part of a classical piece titled ‘Rosin Eating Zombies from Outer Space’, written by renowned Temple City composer and teacher Richard Meyer. “Our Halloween concerts are always choreographed; be prepared for surprises,” Pascale adds.

The orchestras perform at an unusually high level. They have played at Carnegie Hall three times, and just received an invitation to return in 2017. “That means that our new beginners will go to Carnegie Hall with us if they practice diligently,” says Pascale. They also travel to music festivals in theme parks like Disneyland; they’ve been featured on local and national television, and on a Rose Parade float. Children as young as 5 through high school age, participate in the PMI’s training, children’s, or advanced chamber orchestras.

“The most exciting part of our program now is the LA Philharmonic players who are also teachers on staff, coach our orchestra kids, and play solos,” notes Pascale. “Last April, Philharmonic cellist Tao Ni and bassist Oscar Meza performed with our orchestra.” Graduates of PMI attend some of the top high school and college music programs in the country, including the Juilliard School in New York.

The Kidspace Pumpkin Festival offers crafts, food, games, and pumpkins. Some attractions require tickets, which may be purchased there. For more information, about the festival and the museum, go to http://www.kidspacemuseum.org/site/PageServer?pagename=events. For more information about PMI and its children’s orchestras, go to www.stringsprogram.com.

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