Tacoma Youth Symphony putting on free ‘A Night at the Movies’ Halloween costume concert
The Tacoma Youth Symphony is putting on a special free “A Night at the Movies” costume concert for Halloween.
The concert will debut on the symphony YouTube page on Oct. 31 at 5 p.m.
The group has been performing primarily virtually since June due to COVID-19. It is changing things up for the spooky season by playing movie scores.
“One of them is ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ and the other one is ‘Sleeping Beauty,’” said executive director Loma Cobbs.
All of the performers recorded their sections separately, and they then were edited together.
Eliana Cobbs, 15, plays the violin. Her mother is the executive director and her father is the conductor.
She has been rehearsing via Zoom.
“We have to adapt and adjust and persevere through the situations that we’re in now,” Eliana said. “We’re doing the best we can with what we have.”
One tricky thing for the young violinist is she will often hear her father conducting from another room downstairs which will then, due to a delay, come through the Zoom call a few seconds later.
That didn’t stop Eliana from both dressing up as the character Elizabeth Swann and successfully participating in the show.
Another participant is Madeline Markham, 17, who also plays violin.
Markham took place in the costume portion and thought it came together well.
“I thought it went well,” Markham said. “Recordings are kind of difficult because for me because I always like to get everything perfect.”
Markham managed to get a good take for the show and said the process has helped her practice for when she hopes to audition for musical programs in college.
Cassidy Stanhope, 13, also was impressed with the final result. Stanhope plays a variety of brass instruments but primarily plays tuba.
Stanhope said the costume portion of the show proved to be a bit tricky.
“I tried, but the pirate hat didn’t fit over my headphones, and the parrot wouldn’t stay on my shoulder,” Stanhope said.
Despite the costume challenges, Stanhope was happy with the process even if it can’t replace the in-person experience.
“I’m fine with it being virtual because I still get to see everybody,” Stanhope said. “But I cannot wait for it to not be virtual.”
