The Eagle Rock-based Santa Cecilia Orchestra hosted its fourth annual “Halloween Spooktacular” in two concerts Oct. 27 and 28. Prior to 2023, the Spooktacular was a video production, according to the orchestra’s director, Sonia Marie de León de Vega; but this year’s edition was held in-person and featured live visuals reminiscent of themes from horror movies.
According to de León, the orchestra started hosting the Spooktacular in 2020 during the pandemic, which she said made the orchestra more creative with its performances.
“I didn’t just want to do another concert, so we started adding visuals,” de Leon said.
De León said that the performers for the 2023 Spooktacular consisted of a string quartet and a pianist, all of whom are professional musicians. The Spooktacular included classical works such as Camille Saint-Saens’s “Danse Macabre” as well as renditions of works by Iron Maiden, Metallica and Kate Bush.
The Spooktacular was directed by R. J. Vega, a film directing student at ArtCenter College of Design, who said he especially loves horror films. According to Vega, during the first Spooktacular, he took recordings the orchestra members made in their living rooms, added filters and stitched them together. Since 2021, Vega said he directed the production in person, opening up different possibilities.
“I was able to get a little more intricate with the art direction,” Vega said. “I’ve even added short movie segments with the musicians acting out.”
The first piece, played by pianist Bryan Pezzone, was a rendition of John Carpenter’s suite from the movie “Halloween,” during which Vega acted as the character Michael Myers, holding a prop knife above Pezzone’s head. In a different scene, Pezzone wore headgear reminiscent of the movie “Saw” as he played the suite from the movie, while Vega acted as the Jigsaw Killer.
Vega said that he aimed to make the Spooktacular less like a traditional concert and more like a haunt or immersive experience. According to Vega, directing a live concert is a different experience from other music-based projects.
“When I’m filming, it’s just amazing to see live and to record it,” Vega said. “I’m excited that people are going to be able to experience it right in front of them.”
De León said she was spurred to form the orchestra after the 1992 LA riots, which she said was a period of inflamed tensions.
“I thought, this is a good time to start something to put music in communities and bring people together,” de León said.
Before starting the orchestra, de León said that she was a conductor and pianist, having started professionally conducting at 19. Part of her motivation, according to de León, was also to make high-quality classical orchestra concerts accessible to communities of color.
“What I would see [at concerts] when I was a young person was mostly older people,” de León said. “I wanted to create that access.”
According to de León, who is a former music professor at Occidental, the orchestra also hosts a variety of other concerts and events besides the Spooktacular. De León said that the favorite concerts she has conducted were ones held at Thorne Hall.
“It gets filled with children and families living in the surrounding communities walking on [the] campus for the first time,” de León said.
Attendee Jane Cook said she enjoyed the Spooktacular, and that she hadn’t experienced artists such as Metallica in the form of chamber music. According to Cook, she hadn’t seen any horror movies, but she enjoyed the visuals nonetheless.
“The whole result was feeling like going through a magical out-of-body experience,” Cook said. “It was as if I’d been inside the music.”
The Santa Cecilia Orchestra Arts & Learning Center is located at 2751 W. Broadway.
Contact Avinash Iyer at iyera@oxy.edu
