The only Friday night concert of the 94th season features a mix of classical selections such as “Night on Bald Mountain,” “Symphonie Fantastique,” “Danse Macabre” and “Firebird Suite.”

“We thought because it’s Halloween time and we had a concert this same weekend last year, we thought maybe we should do some Halloween-related music,” said Nick Palmer, music director and conductor. “We wanted to find some high-quality music and have a lot of variety at the same time. We decided to feature the music associated with Alfred Hitchcock. So we picked the composer most well known for working with Hitchcock and that’s Bernard Herrmann. He wrote a lot of the music for Hitchcock films. We’ll be doing music from ‘Vertigo’ and ‘Psycho.'”

The movies are among seven Herrmann composed for Hitchcock.

“We wanted the rest of the concert to be a mix of classical music that had some connection — one way or another with scary themes and classical music.” Palmer said.

Classical selections include “Oberon Overture” by Carl Maria Von Weber, The Danse Macabre, Op. 40 by French composer Camille Saint-Saens, — are associated with fantastical creatures, fairies and Halloween, as well as “The Night on Bald Mountain” by Russian composer Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky and the lullaby and finale from Igor Stravinsky’s “The Firebird Suite,” and more.

“Vertigo,” released in 1958, is a classic Hollywood crime drama, starring Jimmy Stewart as a former detective who develops an extreme fear of heights and a false sense of rotational movement or vertigo. He’s hired as a private eye to follow an acquaintance’s wife, who behaves strangely.

Palmer called Herrmann’s “Vertigo” suite “a really brilliant piece. It is so perfectly suited to the action in the movie. It’s a very compelling psychological drama … it’s a really cool movie.”

Hitchcock’s most lauded “Psycho,” is a psychological, horror thriller starring Anthony Perkins as the shy motel owner and Janet Leigh as an on-the-run embezzler.

Herrmann’s music for the 1960 release of “Psycho,” has transcended generations and is especially recognizable.

The 60-member orchestra will also play scores from “The Witches of Eastwick” and the TV show “The Twilight Zone,” as well as “The Funeral March of the Marionette,” the theme song for Hitchcock’s anthology series which aired on network American television for a decade starting in 1955. Supernatural and magical offerings include pieces from Harry Potter films and Tim Burton’s “Nightmare Before Christmas,” which may inspire attendees’ costumes.

The emphasis is on having Halloween fun while enjoying a variety of haunting tunes, said Janey Schwind, executive director of the orchestra.

“Patrons can dress up,” she said. “We are saying that costumes are encouraged. We are working with the bartender at Spirits to do a spooky cocktail. We’re hoping it’s a fun night out for people.”

In selecting pieces for this and all concerts, Palmer said, “We want to do pieces that haven’t been done recently. We try not to repeat things. We also want to have a variety. We want to challenge the orchestra and make it fun for the audience.”

The orchestra is composed of professional musicians who range from college graduate students to retired professors and teachers. The majority of members come from Altoona, Hollidaysburg, State College, Indiana and Pittsburgh.

The ASO draws an average audience size of about 500. “Getting there” to pre-pandemic numbers, officials said prior to the first concert of the season Oct. 8.

“It’s pretty good. In a lot of arts organizations, they’ve seen a really slow comeback. In terms of percentages, we’re doing pretty well,” Palmer said.

“People are excited to have interesting things to do again,” Schwind said. “People are seeing the value. There’s a lot of excitement generated about our season. We’ve tried to make it appeal to everybody.”

To further entice first-time symphony attendees, the symphony is offering some discounts, is reaching out on social media and plans to engage more with other community groups, in addition to a new website designed to reflect a new, more cohesive graphic design plan. “We’re trying to elevate our brand,” Schwind said.

“I think a lot of what we want to do right now is to bring in new people to the symphony. Janey has done a lot of work on how and what we present to the public,” Palmer said. “We’re doing a lot of promotion through social media and are really getting the word out to help bring in new audience members and retain audience members.”

The refresh isn’t limited to the website and marketing materials. Orchestra members — men and women — will be dressed in all black for a more uniform look. Gone are the formal tuxedos for male musicians.

“I’m going to wear a black suit instead of a tuxedo. It’s a more contemporary look, which some orchestras are going to,” Palmer said. “It’s all part of making us as user-friendly as possible, as modern and approachable as possible.”

It’s another way for the symphony to widen its appeal.

“One of our biggest initiatives is letting people know that this is for everybody. You don’t have to be a trained musician to get something out of going to see an orchestra,” Schwind said. “We’re trying to find ways to appeal to people that might not normally go or might not think that they are interested, but would find some things that are insightful or inspiring to them.”

With the audience in close proximity to the orchestra, Palmer said, the Mishler is ideally designed for great synergy between the maestro, orchestra and audience.

“We like to include (attendees) in the experience. I talk to them. We want to be as welcoming as possible. The audience is close to the stage. … It’s a communal experience. Not always like that in other places … it’s a very intimate and friendly environment that is special.”

All the changes are designed to dispel the myth that a symphony performance doesn’t require musical training to be enjoyed. The variety of programming offered this season shows attending a symphony performance is fun and familiar, such as the pieces featured Oct. 28.

“It will be a lot of fun. It’s a great way to celebrate the season,” Schwind said.