After a three-year hiatus, a long-standing, late-October tradition at University of the Ozarks is returning this year, perhaps for the final time.
The 20th-annual All Hallows’ Eve Concert will be held in Munger-Wilson Chapel at 7 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 30. The concert, which is free and open to the public, will feature the University Choir and University organist Dr. Sharon Gorman, professor of music.
The event is a family-friendly affair that combines choruses, costumes and candy. The audience is encouraged to dress up in their favorite Halloween costumes for the fun-hearted concert that will feature student vocal solos as well as music from such films as Harry Potter, Jurassic Park and Star Wars. Halloween candy will also be handed out at the door.
The event was the brainchild of Gorman in the early 2000s and the first All Hallows’ Eve Concert was held in 2001. The event was held every year since until the Covid pandemic forced cancellations in both 2020 and 2021. Gorman had to cancel last year’s concert after undergoing knee surgery.
Gorman said this will be her final All Hallows’ Eve Concert as she prepares for retirement, putting the future of the concert in doubt.
The All Hallows’ Eve Concert has been one of the most popular fall semester events on campus over the past two decades.
“It is a safe environment for a Halloween event; the concert is family-friendly and includes a lot of music from the movies that children love,” Gorman said in a 2014 interview explaining the concert’s popularity. “It is a concert where the audience is invited to laugh and have a good time. In most classical music concerts, the atmosphere is more restrained. Back in 2001, I could never have predicted how successful this concert would become and I am very grateful to all the people who have supported it over the years and let us share our music with them.”
Gorman, who has taught at Ozarks since 1996, said the inspiration behind starting the concert was to attract more students.
“The traditional faculty organ concerts I had played in my first five years here had been sparsely attended and I was looking for a way to spark student interest,” she recalled. “So I thought a themed concert with a more unusual repertoire might lure them in. Having grown up in a religious tradition where Halloween is always a special celebration preceding All Saints Day, this seemed the perfect occasion.”
Topics: Music