Melbourne Community Orchestra

10/15/2026

🌙😈 WHAT A WICKEDLY WONDERFUL OPENING NIGHT! 🎻💀

Well, Melbourne… we officially went AFTER DARK, and what a night it was! 🧙‍♀️✨

Witches flew, skeletons danced, the Erlking came calling, the Water Goblin made a splash, and the Devil himself joined the party. Just another perfectly normal evening with the Melbourne Community Orchestra. 😂🎶

A HUGE thank you to everyone who joined us tonight! We loved seeing your smiling faces (and your spooky ones!), and we couldn’t be prouder of our incredible volunteer musicians for bringing this delightfully dark program to life. ❤️

And guess what? We’re doing it ALL AGAIN TOMORROW! 🎉

If you missed tonight’s performance, you have one more chance to experience the magic, mystery, and musical mischief!

🌙 AFTER DARK — FINAL PERFORMANCE!
📅 Thursday, October 15
🕖 Concert at 7 PM • Preshow at 6:15 PM
📍 Melbourne Auditorium
🎟️ FREE • No tickets required!

Here’s a little peek at the magic from tonight! 📸

Same music. Same mischief. One more night AFTER DARK! 😈🌙🎶

10/14/2026

🌙🎻 ONE MORE SLEEP UNTIL AFTER DARK! 😈

The music is rehearsed. The stage is set. The orchestra is ready.

Tonight, we put the finishing touches on After Dark, and let’s just say… things are about to get a little wicked at Melbourne Auditorium! 🧙‍♀️💀🌊

We’ve spent weeks introducing you to the music, sharing the stories, and warning you about the questionable characters lurking in our program.

Now it’s time to bring them all to life! 🎶

Here’s a little behind-the-scenes peek at tonight’s dress rehearsal. 📸

🌙 AFTER DARK — TOMORROW & THURSDAY!
📅 October 14 & 15
🕖 Concert at 7 PM • Preshow at 6:15 PM
📍 Melbourne Auditorium
🎟️ FREE • No tickets required!

Come early. Bring a friend. And whatever you do… don’t follow any mysterious voices into the woods. 😂

See you AFTER DARK! 🌙✨

10/11/2026

🌊🐊 MEET THE MUSIC: The Water Goblin

After spending the week getting to know Dvořák’s The Water Goblin, we feel it’s our responsibility to issue an official public safety announcement.

PLEASE EXERCISE CAUTION AROUND ALL BODIES OF WATER. ⚠️

Especially if:

🌊 There’s a suspicious green man lurking beneath the surface.

💍 He starts discussing marriage arrangements.

👶 His custody agreement seems a little questionable.

👩 Your mother has specifically told you NOT to go near the lake.

🐊 Or you live in Florida. Because, well… Florida. 😂

And with that, we’re wrapping up Water Goblin Week!

Next week, we’re meeting our FINAL piece before the concerts: John Williams’ Devil’s Dance from The Witches of Eastwick. 😈🎻

Because apparently witches, skeletons, Erlkings, and Water Goblins weren’t enough.

We had to invite the Devil, too. 😂

🌙 AFTER DARK
📅 October 14 & 15 — THIS WEEK!
🕖 Concert at 7 p.m. • Preshow at 6:15 p.m.
📍 Melbourne Auditorium
🎟️ FREE • No tickets required

Remember: Stay out of the lake. Come to the concert. 🌊🎶😂

10/09/2026

🌙🎶 Meanwhile, AFTER DARK at MCO…

IT’S OUR FINAL THURSDAY REHEARSAL BEFORE THE CONCERTS! 😱

Remember when Mark didn’t rehearse Witch’s Ride during Witch’s Ride Week?

And then didn’t rehearse Der Erlkönig during Erlking Week?

Well, tonight was Water Goblin Week, and we’re happy to report…

HE ACTUALLY REHEARSED THE WATER GOBLIN! 🌊🎉😂

Apparently, having an angry witch AND a sinister Erlking after you is enough to make a conductor reconsider his life choices.

Lesson learned, Mark. Lesson learned. 😇

🧙‍♀️ The witch? Still holding a grudge.
👑 The Erlking? Probably plotting revenge.
🌊 The Water Goblin? Surprisingly satisfied.
🎼 Mark? Living to conduct another day. 😂

All jokes aside, the orchestra is sounding fantastic, and we’re getting SO excited to share this spooky, dramatic, and wonderfully entertaining program with you!

Enjoy a peek behind the scenes from tonight’s rehearsal! 📸❤️

🌙 AFTER DARK
📅 October 14 & 15 — NEXT WEEK!
🕖 Concert at 7 p.m. • Preshow at 6:15 p.m.
📍 Melbourne Auditorium
🎟️ FREE • No tickets required

Just SIX DAYS until opening night! 😱

And Mark? We’d strongly recommend rehearsing Devil’s Dance next week.

We really don’t need to add the Devil to your list of enemies. 😈😂

10/07/2026

🌊🐊 MEET THE MUSIC: Florida Edition

We introduced you to Dvořák’s The Water Goblin—a terrifying creature who lives beneath the water and is an excellent reason to STAY AWAY FROM THE LAKE.

Floridians:

“Yeah. We have those.” 😂🐊

Apparently Czech folklore and Florida wildlife have more in common than we realized.

Mysterious creature lurking beneath the surface? ✅
Definitely watching you? 👀
Probably shouldn’t get closer to investigate? ✅
Your mother was right when she told you to stay away from the water? ABSOLUTELY. 😂

The biggest difference?

Dvořák wrote an entire symphonic poem about his.

Ours occasionally ends up in a swimming pool. 🐊😂

🌙 AFTER DARK
📅 October 14 & 15
🕖 Concert at 7 p.m. • Preshow at 6:15 p.m.
📍 Melbourne Auditorium
🎟️ FREE • No tickets required

Czech Republic 🤝 Florida
Having very good reasons not to investigate mysterious ripples in the water. 🌊🐊😂

10/07/2026

After Dark is a Spooky Musical Treat!

MELBOURNE – Get ready for a celebration of witches, ghosts, goblins, and musical mischief, when the Melbourne Community Orchestra explores its spooky side! MCO will brew up a Halloween-inspired concert,

10/06/2026

🌊👀 GETTING TO KNOW YOU: MEET THE MUSIC

We’ve climbed Bald Mountain.
We’ve flown with witches.
We’ve danced with skeletons.
We’ve escaped the Erlking.

And this week, our journey After Dark takes us somewhere even more questionable…

We’re going underwater. 🌊😳

Meet Antonín Dvořák’s The Water Goblin—a piece based on a Czech folk ballad that begins with a mother having a terrible dream and warning her daughter:

Do NOT go near the lake.

So naturally…

She goes to the lake. 🤦‍♀️😂

And honestly, things pretty much go downhill from there.

🌊 A mysterious Water Goblin
👧 A daughter who really should have listened to her mother
💍 A very questionable underwater marriage
👶 A child caught in the middle
😳 Two adults making increasingly terrible decisions
🎻 And Dvořák turning ALL of it into music

If you thought fairy tales were supposed to involve princesses, singing woodland creatures, and happily-ever-afters…

Czech folklore would like a word. 😂

👉 Swipe through to Meet the Music and discover the wonderfully dark story behind The Water Goblin—and what to listen for when MCO brings it to life.

Then come hear the whole twisted tale for yourself NEXT WEEK! 😱

🌙 AFTER DARK
📅 October 14 & 15
🕖 Concert at 7 p.m. • Preshow at 6:15 p.m.
📍 Melbourne Auditorium
🎟️ FREE • No tickets required

Welcome to Water Goblin Week. 🌊👀

And for the love of Dvořák, if your mother tells you not to go near the lake… LISTEN TO HER. 😂

10/05/2026

👑🌙 MEET THE MUSIC: Der Erlkönig

WAIT.

We have spent an entire week explaining the Erlking when apparently we could have just said:

It’s Jareth, but German. 😂

Mysterious supernatural king? ✅
Appears to a child? ✅
Tries to lure said child away? 😬✅
Makes some extremely questionable promises? ✅
Somehow manages to be charming while doing it? ✅

Okay…the similarities are getting uncomfortable. 😂

Of course, Schubert wrote Der Erlkönig in 1815, so technically the Erlking did it first.

Jareth just brought better hair. 👑😂

Hear Paxton Barefield bring Schubert’s considerably less sparkly supernatural king to life with MCO!

🌙 AFTER DARK
📅 October 14 & 15
🕖 Concert at 7 p.m. • Preshow at 6:15 p.m.
📍 Melbourne Auditorium
🎟️ FREE • No tickets required

And now we apologize to everyone who will spend the entire performance picturing David Bowie.

You’re welcome. 😂👑