Halloween is just around the corner, and Classical KING has a week full of music, community celebrations, and performances across the Pacific Northwest. From a milestone anniversary for a Seattle chamber orchestra to spooky silent films and family-friendly concerts, here’s what’s happening on the air and around the region. 

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Public Radio Music Day 

There’s something special about hearing music chosen by people who know your community. 

Classical KING joins stations across the country in celebrating Public Radio Music Day, a nationwide recognition of noncommercial music stations and their connections to local artists, audiences, and arts organizations. 

Throughout the celebration, Classical KING highlights musicians and musical organizations from across the Pacific Northwest. It’s an opportunity to recognize the people who make music here, the communities that support them, and the role public radio plays in bringing everyone together. 

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Halloween on Classical KING 

Saturday, October 31 — All Day 

Ghosts, witches, monsters, and things that go bump in the night have inspired classical composers for centuries. This Halloween, they’re taking over Classical KING’s playlist. 

Enjoy a full day of Halloween-inspired selections, from supernatural tales and mysterious folklore to music celebrating the stranger side of the imagination. The festivities continue with special Halloween programming on The Score with Edmund Stone and Second Inversion. 

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Northwest Focus Live 

Philharmonia Northwest: 50th Anniversary 

Friday, October 30 at 7pm 

Fifty years of music-making is something worth celebrating. 

This Friday on Northwest Focus Live, Dave Beck welcomes Philharmonia Northwest for a special program honoring the orchestra’s 50th season. Founded in 1976, the Seattle ensemble has spent five decades bringing chamber orchestra performances, educational opportunities, and musical collaborations to the Pacific Northwest. 

The anniversary program features Mozart’s Haffner Symphony, Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G with guest pianist Sandra Wright Shen, and Tchaikovsky’s Mozartiana. 

Dave also speaks with conductor Michael Wheatley and Sandra Wright Shen about the orchestra’s history, the featured music, and what this anniversary season means for Philharmonia Northwest. 

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Northwest Focus Concert Calendar 

Halloween festivities, chamber music on the Olympic Peninsula, and film favorites on the Eastside are all part of this week’s concert calendar. Here are a few opportunities to enjoy live music around the region. 

St. John | San Juan Concert Series: Halloween Extravaganza 

Saturday, October 31 from 6–8pm at St. John | San Juan Episcopal Church, Olympia 

Classic silent films get a musical Halloween celebration in Olympia. 

The annual Halloween Extravaganza begins with spooky organ music at 6pm, followed by screenings of three early films starting at 6:30pm: Steamboat Willie from 1928, Buster Keaton’s The Balloonatic from 1923, and the 1910 version of Frankenstein. 

It’s an evening bringing together early cinema, live music, and a little seasonal fun. 

Seattle Symphony: Halloween Spooktacular! 

Saturday, October 31 at 11am at Benaroya Hall, Seattle 

No tricks here, just a morning of musical treats. 

Conductor Tengku Irfan, organist Joseph Adam, and the Seattle Symphony present a family-friendly Halloween concert mixing new works with spooky classics. Costumes are encouraged, and pre-concert activities begin at 10am with crafts and instrument discovery in the lobby. 

It’s a chance for young listeners and their families to celebrate Halloween with the orchestra. 

Music on the Strait: Art of the String Quartet — Smetana & Dvořák 

Sunday, November 1 at 2pm at Peninsula College Maier Performance Hall, Port Angeles 

A quartet recently featured on Northwest Focus Live reunites on the Olympic Peninsula. 

Violinists Kristin Lee and James Garlick, violist Katie Liu, and cellist Efe Baltacıgil perform Smetana’s String Quartet No. 1, From My Life, and Dvořák’s String Quartet No. 14, along with additional selections. 

The same musicians appeared on Northwest Focus Live in September, giving Classical KING listeners another opportunity to hear them perform together, this time in Port Angeles. 

Redmond Tech Orchestra: Origins of Modern Music 

Sunday, November 1 at 4pm at Meydenbauer Center Theatre, Bellevue 

What connects Ravel, Star Wars, and Spirited Away? 

Redmond Tech Orchestra explores the connections between classical repertoire and film music in Origins of Modern Music. Conductor Peter Yang leads works by Ravel, Barber, Holst, and Korngold alongside John Williams’ Star Wars Main Title and Joe Hisaishi’s Spirited Away Suite. 

Violinist Isabel Milewski joins the orchestra for the first movement of Barber’s Violin Concerto. 

Founded in 2024 by working professionals who wanted to continue making music after college, the Eastside ensemble brings classical favorites and cinematic scores together for a Sunday afternoon in Bellevue. 

For more concerts throughout the Pacific Northwest, visit the Classical KING concert calendar at classicalking.org/calendar. 

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The Score with Edmund Stone 

Movie music takes center stage every weekend on The Score, hosted by Edmund Stone. This week brings Halloween fun for the whole family and a journey into the world of dragons. 

Fun-Sized Halloween 

Saturday, October 31 at 4pm 

Halloween isn’t just about scary movies. 

Edmund Stone fills the trick-or-treat bag with music from films for kids of all ages, including Casper, Monsters vs. Aliens, Goosebumps, and The House with a Clock in Its Walls. 

It’s a playful Halloween edition of The Score, with plenty of musical treats for the whole family. 

Dragons: Flights of Fancy 

Sunday, November 1 at 4pm 

From fearsome fire-breathing beasts to friendly flying companions, dragons have captured moviegoers’ imaginations for generations. 

Edmund Stone explores their cinematic world through music from Game of Thrones, Reign of Fire, How to Train Your Dragon, and Spirited Away. 

It’s a flight through the music and mythology of dragons, this Sunday on The Score.