The Waterbury Symphony Orchestra is kicking off its 2026–27 Newtown concert series with a Halloween-themed show that pairs a 30-piece live orchestra with music from Harry Potter, Ghostbusters, Beetlejuice and Psycho. The Haunting of Edmond Town Hall is set for Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026, at 2 p.m., with doors opening at 1 p.m. at Edmond Town Hall, 45 Main Street in Newtown.
The concert opens the orchestra's Newtown concert series and is part of its 88th season, themed What the World Needs Now, according to Voices News. Music Director and Conductor Leif Bjaland leads the 30-piece ensemble, per the Waterbury Symphony Orchestra. The orchestra serves audiences across Greater Waterbury, Newtown and Litchfield County.
A Program Built For Halloween
The afternoon's playlist leans heavily on familiar film music, including John Williams' Harry Potter theme, selections from Ghostbusters, and Danny Elfman's scores for both Beetlejuice and The Nightmare Before Christmas. Bernard Herrmann's famously shrieking Psycho theme is also on the bill. The program rounds out with classical works by Bach, Grieg, Saint-Saëns, Mussorgsky and MacDowell, including Grieg's In the Hall of the Mountain King and Mussorgsky's Night on Bald Mountain, according to the orchestra's own event listing. Arrangements for the modern selections come from John Jesensky, the same account notes.
There's a local wink built into the performance, too. Bjaland is set to portray Judge William Edmond, the historical namesake of Edmond Town Hall itself, adding a touch of local lore to the Halloween festivities. Organizers describe the event as a family-friendly Halloween celebration built around familiar music and surprises, and costumes are welcome for anyone in the audience who wants to join in.
Tickets And Venue Details
General admission tickets run $40, with student tickets priced at $10, the same account confirms. Tickets can be purchased online at waterburysymphony.org or by phone through the WSO/Palace box office at 203-346-2000. Edmond Town Hall offers free accessible onsite parking for concertgoers, and the venue's own site lists the 500-seat theater as the setting for what it calls Waterbury Symphony Orchestra Presents: The Haunting of Edmond Town Hall, per Edmond Town Hall.
A Growing Newtown Following
This isn't the orchestra's first run at building an audience in town. WSO Executive Director Doug Donato has said the organization has seen a growing and enthusiastic following among Newtown audiences, telling The Newtown Bee that the orchestra's Winter Solstice performance in town sold out in 2021. The symphony later launched a three-concert Edmond Town Hall series during its 2024–25 season, opening with a Candle Quartet Concert devoted to the music of Taylor Swift and led by WSO Concertmaster Alyce Cognetta Bertz, per the orchestra's own event page. A separate November 5, 2023 performance during the orchestra's 2023–24 season paired Vivaldi's The Four Seasons with Piazzolla's Four Seasons of Buenos Aires, began at 4 p.m. and had $45 general admission, according to the same Newtown Bee report.
With this new season opener, the orchestra returns to a town hall stage that has clearly built momentum over the past several years. Whether this Halloween outing draws the kind of crowd that filled seats for the Winter Solstice show remains to be seen, but the lineup of spooky film scores and a costumed conductor gives Newtown families plenty of reason to turn out on Oct. 25.
