Weigel Hall, home of the Weigel Auditorium, will showcase the School of Music’s HalleBOOia! event Oct. 28. Credit: Juliana Hilton | Lantern reporter
As an ode to Halloween, the Ohio State School of Music will hold its 28th-annual HalleBOOia! event Friday, showcasing a variety of performances from student music ensembles.
Held in Weigel Auditorium, the concert is free and open to the public from 8-9:30 p.m., according to the SOM’s website.
Michael Rene Torres, assistant professor of practice in saxophone and composition and the HalleBOOia! concert coordinator, said numerous instrument groups within the SOM will play at the concert — including the violin studio, horn studio, flute studio, double basses and trombones.
Torres said the concert is made up of a variety of festive music — ranging from classical, pop, jazz and music from movies.
“It ranges from traditional classical music that might have, you know, spooky sounds or be used in popular media in, like, spooky ways,” Torres said. “So, classical music of all kinds but also pop music of every type of genre, you know, over the years. Jazz, video game music, oftentimes movie music, so it’s a really broad spectrum of what is being performed.”
Along with the music, Torres said all the performers will be in costume, making for a unique experience for everyone involved.
“Everyone’s in a costume, mostly, so there’s a lot of energy, right?” Torres said. “People enjoy themselves, and interact, and clap and laugh when they think something’s funny. So, it’s sort of a joyous, you know, fun time.”
Although it’s a Halloween concert, Torres said the music doesn’t have to be directly related to anything spooky, but it can be whatever fits the fun ambiance of the show.
“So, in the same spirit of, you know, dressing in costumes for Halloween, that’s how the music will go,” Torres said. “So, sometimes it’s spooky but not always. It’s more just, sort of fun.”
Torres said students in the SOM play a big role in the concert, and it’s a chance for them to be creative with their performance.
“It’s just students that are performing,” Torres said. “And I would say this is one of the more creative concerts that we have because, a lot of times, the students do arrangements, and they are more involved with the music that they want to play and the skits that they do in the costumes, you know, so it’s an extremely creative opportunity for the students.”
Lindsay Smithson, a fourth-year in music who goes by any pronouns, said they will be performing with the saxophone studio at the HalleBOOia! event and have performed in this show in the past.
“The year before, kind of, COVID was a thing, the HalleBOOia! before that we did, the saxophone studio did an arrangement of ‘Baby Shark,’ Smithson said. “It was goofy, we all had little, like, headbands with little shark fins on the top that we were wearing for, like, costumes.”
Smithson said the concert feels more like going to see live music than a traditional recital due to its fun and interactive nature.
“It’s almost more like a concert, like, if you go and see live, just go out somewhere at a bar or something and see some live music,” Smithson said. “It’s a little bit more formal than that I would say, but it’s not like you’re just going to sit there and watch it and then leave.”
Smithson said they hope more people from across Columbus consider coming to the show.
“So, it’s always nice to kind of see more community members coming out to see it and just something fun to do for the spooky season, if you will,” Smithson said.
Torres said he is very excited to see what the students come up with, and he hopes people come to the show and appreciate what they put together.
“This is always a fun concert for me to be a part of as the organizer. Just, you know, seeing all the creativity that happens, you know, that our students create is really exciting,” Torres said. “For the audience, what I hope they get out of this, is come have a good time, come listen to music well performed and enjoy the night.”
