Halloween Organ Event presented by the Toledo Symphony
Toledo Symphony Announces Special Phantom of the Opera Movie Presentation with LIVE Organ Accompaniment for Halloween Night
Toledo, OH - In addition to the return of the popular Spooktacular this Halloween, the Toledo Symphony Orchestra (TSO) announces a special movie and organ presentation of The Phantom of the Opera from 1925.
Lon Chaney’s silent masterpiece will be brought to life in true-to-era fashion when Brian Bogdanowitz performs his original score to the movie on the Peristyle’s Skinner Organ. The movie has been remastered and will be shown thanks to the generosity of projectionist Evan Chase.
“What a great event for both film-buffs and people looking for a spooky, low-key Halloween alternative,” says TSO Marketing Director Ashley Mirakian. “I think hearing the organ in the historic—and sometimes eerie—Peristyle paired with a viewing of one of the best films of the silent era will be unforgettable.”
Audiences can enjoy both family-friendly events. The Halloween Spooktacular will begin at 3pm, and The Phantom of the Opera will begin at 8pm. The Spooktacular is approximately one hour long and the movie is approximately 80 minutes, leaving plenty of time for other activities at the museum and neighborhood trick-or-treating.
Tickets for the Phantom of the Opera are $15 for the general public and $10 for TSO subscribers and Toledo Museum of Art members (with valid membership card).
Tickets for the Spooktacular are $25 for adults and $10 for kids and audiences can still purchase 4-concert Family Series packages, which offer a child ticket free with a purchasing adult.
Brian Bogdanowitz, Organist
Brian Bogdanowitz, known for his not-so-conventional organ concerts, received four years conservatory training in the Church Music degree program where he majored in organ, voice, piano and electronic music. He has studied for his Masters of Liturgical Arts Degree at Westminster Choir College and Princeton Theological Seminary in Princeton, New Jersey. He has been the Minister of Music for the Catholic Church for twenty years and the Episcopal Church for twenty five years. He has also ministered for the Presbyterian, Lutheran, Methodist, Baptist, and Christian Scientist Church.
Brian has performed many concerts at venues on the east coast such as The Kennedy Center, and The Washington National Cathedral in Washington D.C., and many other churches and theatres. He is a very accomplished Theatre Organist as well. He studied Theatre Organ for thirty two years, four of those years on the sister organ to Radio City Music Hall, New York City. He has also performed on the Rockefeller Center Theatre Organ, as well as being house organist for The Old Rahway Theatre in Rahway, New Jersey, and The Rialto Theatre in Brooklyn, New York, where he accompanied silent movies, bouncing ball sing-a-longs, movie intermissions, and concerts. He has appeared on Public Television demonstrating an electronic digital computer theatre organ he designed, as well as radio and television interviews, and holds his FCC license where he D.J.’d a radio show at Rutgers University, New Brunswick, N.J., featuring electronic music. He has taped ten television music special programs featuring the organ.
A man of many talents, he has directed musicals such as Shenandoah, The Sound of Music, Babes in Toyland, A Christmas Carol, Gypsy, Showboat, Godspell, Brigadoon, Man of La Mancha, Ain’t Misbehavin’ and Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. He held the position of principal organist for the Orchestra of St. Peter By The Sea in New Jersey for two years, and played a gala Christmas Concert with members of the Miami Symphony Orchestra and The Symphony of the Keys in Key Largo, Florida.
Brian is currently music director at Gesu Catholic Church in Toledo, Ohio. He started a concert series called “The Gift of Music Programs” and also teaches in the elementary school. Brian also enlarged the adult choir and started an instrumental group consisting of four guitars, drums, violin, two flutes, piano, and trumpet. Brian teaches piano, organ, and voice lessons privately.
The Toledo Symphony Presents:
The Phantom of the Opera (1925) with Brian Bogdanowitz, organist
WHAT: A not-to-miss experience in the Peristyle! See Lon Cheney in the best horror film of the silent era—complete with eerie organ accompaniment. A perfect spooky night out.
WHEN: October 31, 2010, 8PM
WHERE: Toledo Museum of Art Peristyle
TICKETS: Call the TSO box office at 419-246-8000. $15 general admission/$10 for TSO subscribers and TMA Members
Press Release Contact Name: Kristen Celek
Press Release Contact Email: [email protected]
Organization Name: The Toledo Symphony