Mélisse Brunet, the second of five finalists being considered for PSO’s next Music Director, leads the orchestra in a haunting program inspired by Halloween, Día de los Muertos and the supernatural.
PLANO, TX: Just in time for Halloween, the Plano Symphony Orchestra (PSO) invites you to experience music’s darker, more mysterious side with Unhallowed Eve on Saturday, October 17, 2026, at 7:30 p.m. at the Robinson Fine Arts Center. The concert brings together haunting melodies, supernatural imagery and powerful orchestral storytelling in a program that spans cultures and centuries. Tickets range in price from $33-$95 with $20 student tickets available in most sections and can be purchased through the Plano Symphony Orchestra Box Office (972-473-7262/planosymphony.org). The Robinson Fine Arts Center is located at 1800 Alma Drive in Plano, Texas.
Unhallowed Eve will be led by acclaimed French American conductor Mélisse Brunet, the second of five Music Director candidates who will lead the Plano Symphony Orchestra during the 2026–2027 season as the orchestra prepares for a new chapter in its artistic leadership. Each finalist will conduct one PSO concert, giving audiences an opportunity to experience different styles and provide feedback via a post-concert survey.
The evening opens with the Suite from The Nightmare Before Christmas by Danny Elfman, bringing the beloved film’s distinctive blend of whimsy and darkness to the concert stage and continues with Gabriela Lena Frank’s last two movements from her 2025 orchestral suite drawn from her opera El último sueño de Frida y Diego — based on the iconic Mexican painter Frida Kahlo and her stormy marriage to Diego Rivera.
The first half ends with Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique, movements IV and V — the “March to the Scaffold” and “Dream of a Witches’ Sabbath” — taking the audience into the composer’s famously fantastical and macabre sound world.
Following intermission, PSO welcomes double bassist Rachel Martin as featured soloist for Tan Dun’s Contrabass Concerto: Wolf Totem offering a glimpse into an exotic world beyond our own. The evening concludes with Mexican composer Silvestre Revueltas’ “Noche de encantamiento” (from La Noche de Los Mayas), bringing the evening to a dramatic and rhythmically charged finale.
About the Artists
Renowned as a conductor of “uncommon emotional intensity” (Marie-Celine) and a “force at the podium” (Eugene Scene), French American conductor Mélisse Brunet is a native of Paris, France with Spanish and Italian roots. She is quickly gaining attention on both sides of the Atlantic as “a skilled and polished conductor with an excellent pedigree… Brunet led the orchestra with panache and clarity, giving inspiring and assured renditions of each work.” (Cleveland Classical) In July 2022, she became the fifth Music Director of the Lexington Philharmonic and the first woman to hold the position. She is also in her sixth season as the Music Director of the Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic.
Rachel Martin is a versatile double bassist and educator who serves as Principal Bass of the Lexington Philharmonic. Since joining the orchestra in 2023, she has also performed with orchestras including the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, Nashville Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Seattle Symphony and St. Louis Symphony. A passionate advocate for music education and community engagement, Martin brings both orchestral experience and a dynamic musical voice to her performances.