Editor's note: This story is part of Southwest Michigan Second Wave's On the Ground Battle Creek series.
 
BATTLE CREEK, MI —Notes in the key of spooky will be heard on October 11 as the Battle Creek Symphony (BCSO) opens its 127th season with its performance of “Spooky Symphony” at W.K. Kellogg Auditorium.

Audience members, young and old and somewhere in between, are encouraged to dress in their Halloween finest. There will be a costume parade and contest with a drawing for a $100 gift card.

Musicians with the BCSO will get into the spirit of the evening as they perform a medley of music, including Symphonie Fantastique, Night on Bald Mountain, and music from The Nightmare Before Christmas. Headlining this performance is Glenn Getty, a music teacher with the Music Center,  who plays the theremin, which is described as a “spooky instrument heard in the Star Trek theme and in some old sci-fi movies.”

CourtesyAnne Harrigan conducts the Battle Creek Symphony Orchestra.“The theremin is amazing and something most people just never get to see, and they’re excited to see it live. It’s an electronic instrument that you play without touching it,” says Anne Harrigan, Music Director of the BCSO.

Getty performed last year in a concert honoring the music of Halloween. The event was so well-received that Harrigan decided to do something similar this year.

Also taking the stage will be Sofia Levchenko, a violinist and Concertmaster with the BCSO. She will perform selections from the Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev.
Harrigan says Spooky Symphony will be very interactive and fun for the whole family.

This is in keeping with a focus the BCSO’s leadership has put on making sure this performance and those that round out the 2025-26 season are for everyone.

CourtesyThe Battle Creek Symphony Orchestra 2025-2026 season launches Oct. 11.“The symphony is committed to being welcoming to everyone. That’s a big part of our push,” she says. “People who say, ‘Oh, the symphony’s not for me’ haven’t given it a try or a try recently. There’s a place for everybody, and the music resonates on some level for everybody. It resonates with the human experience.”

The BCSO concerts typically last one to one and a half hours. Ticket prices start at $12 for adults and $6 for students. Harrigan says there are many different types of deals and packages available.

“We want people to know that the BCSO is accessible to everyone,” she says.
This goes from the ticket prices to the artists featured to the music selected to the performance settings.

The second concert on November 8 will be performed amidst the glow of more than 1,000 candles inside the Pennfield Performing Arts Center. Within this intimate setting, Rafael Aguirre, a guitarist, and Nickolas Kaynor, who plays the viola, will perform the Concierto de Aranjuez, highlighting the guitar and viola.

Aguirre is “one of the most sought-after guitarists at an international level." Kaynor is a versatile artist who currently serves as principal violist of the Battle Creek Symphony Orchestra and section violist of both the Binghamton Philharmonic Orchestra and the Hartford Symphony Orchestra.

CourtesyFive concerts are planned to celebrate Battle Creek Symphony Orchestra's 125th season.Harrigan says the Performing Arts Center is an intimate setting that sets the mood for enjoying the music and the artistry of Aguirre and Kornay.

From spooky and intimate, the BCSO will head into the holidays when the orchestra, local musicians, singers, and dancers come together on December 13 to perform holiday classics and contemporary selections

Anne Harrigan conducts the Battle Creek Symphony Orchestra.Brandon Fitzpatrick, a keyboardist who lives in Battle Creek, is the guest artist for the concert titled “Home for the Holidays”. Joining him is a 100-person choir featuring members of the Battle Creek Community Chorus and other local choirs, and dancers with the Shari Rarick School of Dance based in Battle Creek.

This particular concert is a “holiday tradition for a lot of people,” Harrigan says.
From dreaming of a white Christmas to sleighbells ringing, the BCSO will join with members of the Grand Rapids Ballet for a Valentine’s Day performance of the ballet classic “Swan Lake." The music accompanying the dancers was written by the Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The ballet is both iconic and romantic, says the World Ballet Company.

CourtesyThe Battle Creek Symphony Orchestra's 125th season will feature five eclectic concerts.“The lush, soaring music of Tchaikovsky will transport you to another world as a prince and his swan princess navigate a moonlit odyssey of longing, forgiveness, and true love,” Harrigan says of the ballet.

This ode to romance will be followed by the BCSO’s season finale on April 11 titled “American Dream”. Nelson Ricardo Yovera Perez, who plays the French Horn and is the principal Horn with the Tucson Symphony Orchestra, is the guest artist for this concert, which will offer audience members an opportunity to discover the moving history of America’s immigrants at Ellis Island.

The concert is both a celebration of America’s 250^th birthday and a tribute to the millions of immigrants who have and continue to make it their home, Harrigan says.
Members of Battle Creek’s What A Do Theatre company will be telling the stories of seven immigrants, which will be set to videos featuring actual stories and letters.

“This concert will be combining theater, multimedia, and music to share real immigrant stories. This is both a powerful celebration of resilience and a poignant reflection on what it means to be an American,” Harrigan says.

Perez, who was born and raised in Venezuela, is set to perform a piece written by Jasmine Barnes representing the experiences of more recent immigrants, Harrigan says.

“Jasmine is a dynamic, young African American composer who is really sweeping the country right now, she says.

Barnes is an Emmy-winning composer and acclaimed vocalist who has performed and had her music performed worldwide. Her music has been described as “refreshing.., engaging..., exciting” by San Francisco Classical Voice, "Beautifully lyrical" by The Telegraph (UK), and “the best possible blend of Billie Holiday and Claude Debussy” by Boston Globe. 

Harrigan was one of the few conductors who, early on, strived for diversity in the concerts she put together. She says she did it because it was the right thing to do, not the popular thing to do.

Anne Harrigan,Music Director of the BCSO“There’s a lot of conductors who are doing that more than used to,” she says. Our vision through the Music Center is to normalize diversity. We do place equity, diversity, and inclusion as a pillar of our strategic plan. We participate with the Sphinx Organization and aggressively seek out artists of color. If you don’t seek out diverse artists, you don’t get to hear diverse works of art.”

The same is true for the 65 musicians who are members of the BCSO. They represent Michigan and neighboring states like Indiana and Ohio, and states that are further away, including Arkansas, New York, and South Carolina.

“We’re a small budget orchestra with big aspirations and heart,” Harrigan says. “We try to cultivate an atmosphere that makes it good for them to perform with us.”

All of this season’s concerts begin at 7:30 p.m. at Kellogg Auditorium, except the candlelight concert in Pennfield. The entire season and ticket information are available HERE.