Two years ago, when Evan Mitchell was the assistant conductor for the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, he conducted a Hallowe'en show with the Coquitlam-based Pacific Symphonic Wind Ensemble called Ghosts in the Attic.
Since then, they've been looking for a chance to repeat the experience.
This Saturday, Mitchell - now assistant conductor for the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony - will return to the Evergreen Cultural Centre stage in Coquitlam for another "ghoulish" performance, this one titled Ghost Train, based on the program's central piece penned by the American composer Eric Whitacre.
The contemporary number "sort of represents the interesting new direction of wind ensemble repertoire," Mitchell told The Tri-City News last week, adding the concert will include "cherished old chestnuts" mixed with modern, more rhythmically driven pieces "that show off the range and versatility of wind ensemble music that we often don't get to see, and that's unfortunate.
"A lot of the time I think people are just unaware of the output and the quality of the compositions that are being written for this really versatile group of musicians," he said.
Among the old favourites that will be featured by the 45-member group for the show are Folksong Suite for Military Band by R. Vaughan Williams, A Festive Overture by Alfred Reed and Percy Grainger's epic Lincolnshire Posy.
To counter these classics, in the second half of the concert, will be Ghost Train and Awayday by Adam Gorb, a piece PSWE last played in Singapore.
A Waterloo native, Mitchell was named assistant conductor of his hometown symphony last year after a three-year residency at VSO. During his tenure here, Mitchell was a consultant to the Vancouver Olympic Committee and assistant producer for the recording of the medal ceremony national anthems.
An award-winning orchestral conductor who is often referred to as a rising star in the classical music community, Mitchell studied percussion at Wilfrid Laurier University and earned his master's degree in conducting at the University of Toronto.
Tickets for PSWE's concert on Saturday, June 2 at 8 p.m. are available through Evergreen by calling 604-927-6555 or visiting evergreenculturalcentre.ca.
