Here are five fun and spooky Halloween options for your string orchestra. Students, especially younger ones, love Halloween—whether it’s dressing up or collecting candy, it’s a season full of memories. The music of Halloween can also resonate deeply with them, and there are so many fantastic options for string orchestra. Halloween music is often moody and filled with fun effects, making it perfect for string instruments. All of these titles come straight from the Editors’ Choice library, meaning they’ve been handpicked out of hundreds of pieces to meet the educational needs of students while being fun and engaging for both students and the audience. This is just a small sample of the great selections we have for Halloween or any time of the year. And keep in mind, if you don’t do a fall concert, these pieces are also excellent choices for a spring concert or for festival season.
Haunted Carnival
Jordan Hawkins – Carl Fischer LLC
This spooky piece for beginning string orchestra uses just five notes! Explore the haunted shadows of a creepy carnival while introducing easy 3/4 time to your students. The celesta part adds a chilling effect and can be played on piano as well. Perfect for Halloween and fall concerts but fun to play any time of the year. Download the included accompaniment track from the publisher’s website.
Starts at 1:10
Shiver
Randall D. Standridge – Randall Standridge Music, LLC
Whether you are shivering from cold or shivering from fright, this work for very beginning orchestra is sure to set the mood for your next winter or late fall concert. Using only six notes, it’s a creatively designed piece that reaches students at their skill level while letting them experiment with the fun tremolo technique!
Starts at 2:09
The Ghost of Lady Howard
arr. Morgan Denney – MakeMusic Publications
This haunting arrangement of the ghostly English folk song weaves together elements of suspense, tension, and mystery using layered effects, including harmonics, sul ponticello, tremolo, and glissando to tell the story of Lady Mary Howard’s spirit, doomed to travel in her phantom carriage for eternity. Eerie and compelling, this arrangement is ideal for fall concerts or any time of year!
Starts at 3:06
Mysteria Abyssi
Kirt Mosier – Highland/Etling Publishing
This dark and mysterious work evokes the mysteries of the deep as the ethereal scoring takes the listener into the deep, dark areas of the ocean. The optional celesta adds the magical sparkling quality of bioluminescent underwater creatures.
Starts at 4:34
Escape from the Dark Tower
Mekel Rogers – Grand Mesa Strings
A fun, short programmatic composition for beginning players: An isolated dark tower stands deep in the woods. A knight rescues a princess from the dungeon of an evil dragon. Now the two must escape from the dark tower before they are discovered. Scored in B minor, all parts remain in first position with no accidentals or tricky bowings. A high-energy piece guaranteed to make any orchestra sound full and exciting.
Starts at 5:31
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