Concert band plays up Halloween spirit

Conductor Christopher Heidenreich leads the Washtenaw County Concert Band at the “Art of Animated Characters” show. Varden Sargsyan | Washtenaw Voice

By Brian Babcock
Staff Writer

Last week, on October 25, hundreds of people gathered at WCC’s Towsley Auditorium to attend “The Art of Animated Characters” show, performed by the Washtenaw Community Concert Band.

Talent young and old dressed up in a variety of Halloween attire for the occasion, along with many in the crowd.

The conductor, Christopher Heidenreich, dressed up twice, coming on the stage with a black and orange jack-o-lantern suit, and then later changed into an “Aladdin” costume halfway through the show.

77 musicians took the stage that evening and left the stage with roaring applause. The band performed an assortment of songs, including music from iconic video games, cartoons and movies. Some of these tracks included: the “Super Mario Bros.” theme song, selections from “Aladdin,” “Disney at the Oscars,” hits from “Looney Tunes,” and a special “House of Horrors” performance to top off the night.

Jennifer Good plays the flute for the Washtenaw Community Concert Band and said she enjoys the way the band comes together for performances like these.

“Our band in general is like a big family. I’ve been playing with them for 19 years and it’s nice because we have students as young as high school kids, and people in their late eighties,” Good said. “Music is a lifelong gift . . . for us, being able to come out and play for everybody makes us excited because we can give back to the community.”

Each segment brought with it loads of applause, but some brought in more than others. The “Incredibles” theme song, “You’ve Got a Friend in Me,” “Under the Sea,” and “Bugs Bunny’s” “What’s Up at the Symphony” stood out.

A popular song for the youngsters was the “Spongebob Squarepants” theme song. About halfway through the show, kids got the opportunity to walk around the theatre in parade fashion and show off their costumes while the track played.

“When I was hired to be the conductor [in 2011], one of the things the board said to me is that they’d like to do a Halloween concert, and we’ve done one ever since then,” Heidenreich said. “It gets a little tricky because there’s only so much halloween music and spooky-themed music . . . so every year I try and find a different bend. It’s not a challenge; it’s fun coming up with something that will be inspiring.”

Heidenreich said that in the past, the band had themes like “Star Wars” and “Grease” for this event, with similar, popular turnouts.

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