Contact:
Elizabeth Blevins, Director, Office of Communications
Office: (740) 351-3810; FAX: (740) 351-3179; Cell: (740) 464-4854
940 Second Street – Portsmouth, Ohio 45662
E-mail: eblevins@shawnee.edu 
Web site: www.shawnee.edu

            The Portsmouth Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Carl Daehler will begin its 17th season of concerts at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 20 in the main theater of Shawnee State University’s Vern Riffe Center for the Arts.
            The concert is the “Halloween Spooktacular” and features Halloween inspired compositions including selections from the classical and pops repertoire as well as music from popular movies and TV shows.
            “TV and films has always provided music scores that have become associated with Halloween,” said music director, Carl Daehler. “The two most familiar TV shows with a Halloween theme are ‘The Munsters’ and ‘The Addams Family,’ both very popular shows. For Halloween, there will be many youngsters dressing up as pirates and as characters from the Star Wars movies. It should be a fun evening for everyone.”
            The orchestra will play two arrangements of the music from the recent hit movie, “Pirates of the Caribbean” and selections from John Williams celebrated score for the film “The Empire Strikes Back.”
            The orchestra will also perform “In the Hall of the Mountain King” by the Norwegian composer, Edvard Grieg, taken from his popular suite, “Peer Gynt.” Modest Mussorgsky’s powerful and programmatic piece, “Night on Bald Mountain,” will be featured on the program.
The Portsmouth Symphony Orchestra is one of the few remaining orchestras in the state that is comprised of mostly volunteer players including many area music teachers and performers as well as students who audition to play in the ensemble.
            “We are extremely lucky to have so many talented players in our area including the many string students who drive down from Chillicothe to attend our weekly rehearsals,” Daehler said. “Our players are very dedicated with many of them having played for 10 years or more in the orchestra. We continually push the envelope of music difficulty in order to encourage their performance skills and musical growth. We strive to make the orchestra both a fun and educational experience for our players and audience members.”
            Tickets for the “Halloween Spooktacular” as well as the popular Holiday Pops concert on Saturday, December 5; the Children’s Concerto Concert on Sunday, February 21, 2010; and the season finale “Spanish Seasonings” on Saturday, April 10, 2010, are now on sale at the Vern Riffe Center for the Arts McKinley Box Office (740) 351-3600 and at Ticketmaster.com and at Ticketmaster outlets including most local Kroger stores. Be sure to ask for the senior and student ticket specials.