Instead of your average fall choir concert, Bakersfield College choir director Jennifer Garrett held Haunting Melodies on Oct. 30.

It was a concert dedicated to giving audience members a spooky and fun experience just in time for Halloween.

The BC indoor theater was packed within the first 30 minutes of the doors being opened, causing the fire marshals to turn away a few people at the door.

The Bakersfield College choir and chamber singers partnered with Centennial High School chamber singers and Marvin Ramsey’s Experience Dance Studio to put on a concert meant to feel like one big haunted mansion.

“It’s the most theatrical choir concert I’ve ever done,” said Garrett. “It’s a lot more dramatic and playful than normal concerts.”

The first half of the concert was formal and consisted of pieces that were about death and mourning such as “Lamentations of Jeremiah” and “Dry Bones.”

The Halloween spirit began to come out during the second half of the concert when choir members wore costumes and face paint as they sang Disney’s “Haunted Mansion” theme song, “Grim Grinning Ghosts,” and A Nightmare before Christmas theme song “This is Halloween.”

Garrett mentioned that her favorite part of organizing this concert was being able to see how hard the choir members worked on their pieces and how great they sounded in the end.
“To actually embrace it and use their hands and their faces,” said Garrett. “They’ve really started to make the music come alive, and that’s when the audience gets to really feel like they’re a part of everything.”