“When Music Casts a Spell”
Civic Orchestra of New Haven
Yale Peabody Museum
Oct. 24, 2026
Beneath the shadow of a giant prehistoric sea turtle skeleton, Cat in the Hat raised her baton and the orchestra burst into the unmistakable theme from The Addams Family.
Duh-duh-duh-duh, snap, snap. Duh-duh-duh-duh, snap, snap.
As the musicians played — some with faces painted as skeletons or cats — pumpkins, bats, spiders and pointy ears bobbed atop their heads.
Saturday was Yale Peabody Museum’s Spooktacular celebration, and the Civic Orchestra of New Haven came prepared to deliver what Cat in the Hat — better known as Music Director Nadya Potemkina — called “delightfully spooky tunes.”
The Peabody’s Central Gallery was teeming with hordes of tiny, costumed people and their parents. Spider-Man and the purple-braided Rumi from the film KPop Demon Hunters appeared to be the most popular characters.
Joyous shrieks punctuated the music. The kids were having a grand time. My cheeks nearly split from smiling at the two toddlers next to me (one made the most adorable mini fireman) who held hands as they danced with unabashed glee. Maybe the show was living up to its title, “When Music Casts a Spell,” because the children seemed enchanted. One curly haired doll of a child even led a group in rolling around on the floor.
That’s certainly a special way to connect with music.
Though the orchestra may not have imagined this particular kind of mayhem, inspiring that kind of uninhibited connection with music was precisely the point.
This season, the orchestra is working hard to deepen its relationship with the New Haven community. They intentionally made their kick-off concert a free family event. Accessibility is key.
Orchestra President Amanda Hetric said the ensemble plans to offer a variety of performances like the Spooktacular one this season, alongside its more classical concerts. She teased a November concert opening with an unlikely tune for organ and bagpipes and a May show featuring tango and the bandoneon, an instrument I had never heard of.
As Saturday’s performance continued, Potemkina spun it into an educational opportunity.
“Do you know what this instrument is?” she called out to the audience, pointing at different sections of the orchestra. The French horn and oboe were understandably the hardest to identify.
The orchestra wove its way through intricate medleys of themes from memorable movie and TV shows like Tales from the Crypt, The Nightmare Before Christmas, and Beetlejuice from Danny Elfman’s “Music for a Darkened Theatre,” navigating the dramatic shifts and eerie flourishes of Elfman’s compositions while retaining a sense of playfulness befitting their pint-sized audience.
The Civic Orchestra knew their crowd quite well.
The moment they launched into “Golden,” the soaring theme from the beloved KPop Demon Hunters, the curly haired doll child literally jumped with joy. I think I was the only person in the room who didn’t recognize the song. All around me people were singing along.
Potemkina was even more insistent about audience participation for the next number.
She sternly instructed us that we must join in.
As the orchestra struck up the instantly recognizable theme from Ghostbusters, we dutifully bellowed “Ghostbusters!” on cue. The medley also included Scooby-Doo and “Monster Mash.”
After the show, the orchestra brought out their string, brass and percussion instruments for a “petting zoo,” inviting the children to get an up-close look at the tools responsible for the morning’s sorcery.
It was so precious to see generations mingle as the curious kids questioned the musicians, examined unfamiliar instruments, and exuberantly banged on drums. It’s very likely that a few parents went home being nagged for music lessons.
For Hetric, that possibility speaks to why building relationships with the community matters so much. An orchestral performance can be more than just entertainment. It can awaken a passion or leave an impression that endures long after the music stops.
“You don’t know who’s going to be in the audience, and you don’t know what effect you might have on them,” she said.
Visit the Civic Orchestra of New Haven’s website here.
