HOUSTON (Oct. 3, 2017) – The Houston Symphony presents Symphonic Spooktacular, an evening of spooky classics of the orchestral repertoire to celebrate the arrival of Halloween season. The program will take place at 7 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 15, at Miller Outdoor Theatre.
The Halloween-themed concert will be led by guest conductor Lucas Waldin, Enbridge Artist-in-Residence and Community Ambassador of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. Waldin will be joined by actor Jimmy Phillips who will be making his Houston Symphony debut as a narrator. The concert will feature music from Peter Pan, The Sleeping Beauty, Spider-Man, The Nightmare Before Christmas, and more. Families are encouraged to dress in their Halloween best to get in the spirit of the season.
Free tickets for the covered seating area are available while they last at the Miller Outdoor Theatre box office the day of the performance between the hours of 10:30 a.m.- 1:00 p.m. If tickets remain at 1:00 p.m., the box office will re-open one hour before show time to distribute the remaining tickets. As always, open seating on the hill.
SYMPHONIC SPOOKTACULAR
Miller Outdoor Theatre
Sunday, Oct. 15, 2017, at 7 p.m.
Lucas Waldin, conductor
Jimmy Phillips, narrator
FREE ADMISSION
About Lucas Waldin
Lucas Waldin is a dynamic and versatile conductor whose flare for audience engagement and passion for performance have delighted audiences across North America.
Based in Edmonton, Alberta, Lucas joined the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra as resident conductor in 2009 and was subsequently appointed artist-in-residence and community ambassador, the first position of its kind in North America. He has appeared with the orchestra more than 150 times and has collaborated with artists such as Angela Cheng, Jens Lindemann, Sergei Babayan and Bill Eddins. Lucas also conducted in Carnegie Hall during the ESO’s participation in the 2012 Spring for Music festival. In recognition of his accomplishments, he was awarded the Jean-Marie Beaudet Award in Orchestra Conducting by the Canada Council for the Arts.
With an ability to slide easily between styles and genres, Lucas has worked with a range of pop and crossover artists including Carly Rae Jepsen, Ben Folds, Chantal Kreviazuk, the Barenaked Ladies and Buffy Sainte-Marie, in addition to conducting presentations such as Disney in Concert, Blue Planet Live and Cirque de la Symphonie. He has been a guest conductor for numerous orchestras in Canada and the United States, including the Houston Symphony, Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, the National Arts Centre Orchestra, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra. This season, he will debut with the Victoria Symphony, the Regina Symphony Orchestra, the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra.
A native of Toronto, Ontario, Lucas received degrees in both flute and conducting from the Cleveland Institute of Music.
About Jimmy Phillips
Jimmy F. Phillips has appeared as an actor in theaters from Houston to New York. At Stages Repertory Theatre, he has appeared in productions including Xanadu, Road Show, Sleeping Beauty, Mother Goose, Grey Gardens, Baby, Company, Funny Girl and Das Barbecu. He has appeared at Theater Under the Stars in Hairspray, Little Shop of Horrors, The Music Man, Brigadoon and Can-Can. At Main Street Theater, he has appeared in Urinetown, Flora the Red Menace, Into the Woods, Happily Hereafter and Call Me Madam. With A.D. Players, he has appeared in The Fantasticks. At Theater LaB, his credits include See Rock City, The Big Bang, China: The Whole Enchilada, No Way to Treat a Lady, The Musical of Musicals, Box Office of the Damned, Top Gun, The Musical and Assassins. His credits at Unity Theatre include roles in Charlie’s Aunt, The Taming of the Shrew and Honk! At American Globe Theatre in New York, he has appeared in As You Like It and Twelfth Night. At MUNY, St. Louis, he has appeared in Can-Can.
Jimmy has danced with Texas Ballet Theater, Houston Ballet, Houston Jazz Ballet Company and Houston Grand Opera.
He has led many productions as director/choreographer. At Stages Repertory Theater: Always…Patsy Cline and I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change. At Theater LaB: True Love Lies; The Little Dog Laughed; Bright Lights, Big City; Johnny Guitar; A Class Act; Blood Brothers; Hushabye Mountain; Zombies from The Beyond; Tell Me on a Sunday; Eating Raoul; The Rink and John and Jen. At Unity Theatre: Always… Patsy Cline, Forever Plaid and Nunsense. At Main Street Theater: Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile; Shrek; Fancy Nancy; Fancy Nancy Splendiferous Christmas; Alice in Wonderland and Pinkalicious the Musical. At Little Room Downstairs Theater: A New Brain,Twigs and the world premiere of The Seat Between. Pageant at New Heights Theater; Secrets Every Smart Traveler Should Know at Garden in the Heights; Death – the Musical at Thunderclap Productions; and The Temperamentals at Celebration Theater.
Jimmy Phillips received a B.F.A. from Stephens College and is currently director of Theater Arts for Annunciation Orthodox School.
About the Houston Symphony
During the 2017-18 season, the Houston Symphony celebrates its fourth season with Music Director Andrés Orozco- Estrada and continues its second century as one of America’s leading orchestras with a full complement of concert, community, education, touring and recording activities. The Houston Symphony, one of the oldest performing arts organizations in Texas, held its inaugural performance at The Majestic Theater in downtown Houston June 21, 1913. Today, with an annual operating budget of $33.9 million, the full-time ensemble of 88 professional musicians presents nearly 170 concerts annually, making it the largest performing arts organization in Houston. Additionally, musicians of the orchestra and the Symphony’s four Community-Embedded Musicians offer over 900 community-based performances each year, reaching thousands of people in Greater Houston. For tickets and more information, please visitwww.houstonsymphony.org or call 713-224-7575.