Bellaire’s Sinfonia Orchestra hosted their yearly Hauntcert in the auditorium with around 100 people in attendance on Oct. 28.

Every year, Sinfonia plays with around 40 middle school students from T.H. Rogers and Lanier Middle School. This year, the orchestra played eight songs — three with each middle school and two with just the Bellaire Orchestra. They played works like “This is Halloween” arranged by James Kazik and “Creatures” composed by Brian Balmages.

T.H. Rogers seventh grader Fiona Wang performed in the Hauntcert for the first time as part of the first violin section.

“It was really cool watching how older kids adapted to us and how we could adapt to them,” Wang said. “I think having a new conductor was also really cool. It was mostly the same cues, but there were also a lot of differences.”

Before Orchestra Director Laurette Reynosa worked at Bellaire, she worked for Lanier Middle School. At the time, Lanier participated in a Hauntcert with Lamar High School.

“When I came to Bellaire, I added the Hauntcert as an annual event,” Reynosa said. “It is a great recruiting concert, and the middle school students think it is so much fun sitting next to a high schooler and getting to play in our beautiful auditorium.”

The purpose of the Hauntcert is to give middle school students a chance to experience what being in Bellare’s orchestra is like, Reynosa said. It also allows middle schools to try more advanced music because the middle school students have support from more seasoned high school musicians.

“I have freshmen every year that say they remember the Hauntcert and that it made them want to do orchestra in high school,” Reynosa said. “We are competing for students with schools like Carnegie and DeBakey, and we want them to get a taste of what to expect at Bellaire.”

Sophomore Alexander Starnes went to T.H. Rogers for middle school, where he played viola in their orchestra from third until eighth grade. As a former T.H. Rogers alumni, Starnes has had the chance to perform in the Hauntcert as a middle school student.

“I really liked playing the Rogers pieces because it brought back some nostalgia — we always played ‘This is Halloween’ every year at Rogers,” Starnes said. “It definitely brought back a nostalgic feeling of playing that as a middle schooler.”

As the Hauntcert last year was cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances, this was Starnes’ first time playing viola in the Hauntcert as a high school student.

“It’s pretty cool to see where I was before and now the perspective of the high schoolers,” Starnes said. “I was looking up at these kids before and how they’re older than me, better than me, and I was aspiring to get to that level. Now I’m the one there, and I’m the older kid.”

Orchestra will have its next concert with the Bellaire Choir on Dec. 5 in the auditorium. To find out more about other upcoming orchestra events, visit the Bellaire Orchestra’s website or email Reynosa at [email protected].