The George A. Romero Foundation and music director Christian Kriegeskotte have announced the world premiere of “George A. Romero’s A Night at the Symphony,” a concert celebrating the life and career of the filmmaker known as the “Godfather of Horror.” The Chamber Orchestra of Pittsburgh will perform the one-night-only event March 26, 2027, at 7:30 p.m. at the Byham Theater in Pittsburgh’s Cultural District.
The venue, then known as The Fulton, is where Romero premiered “Night of the Living Dead” in 1968. The concert is presented by the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust and will include surprise guests.
The centerpiece is a complete screening of Romero’s 1962 debut short film, “Expostulations,” with a new score by Kriegeskotte performed live by the orchestra. The film was long believed lost, with its elements thought destroyed in a basement flood. Surviving 16mm footage has since been found, showing color images of Pittsburgh’s Hill District and surrounding areas in the early 1960s with a majority local African American cast. The foundation preserved and restored the material with help from people close to Romero’s life and career.
The program begins with music that inspired Romero, including the film version of Jacques Offenbach’s “Tales of Hoffmann,” which he saw as a child. It then moves through newly orchestrated music from his films. Kriegeskotte’s original overture, “Beyond the Living Dead,” is a theme and variations inspired by the first 10 notes of “Night of the Living Dead.” The evening also features John Harrison’s synth score from “Day of the Dead,” performed in part on Harrison’s original Prophet-5 synthesizer, along with Donald Rubinstein’s music from “Martin” and “Knightriders,” and selections from “Dawn of the Dead” and other films.
“My dad was relentlessly curious, and his imagination was never confined to a single genre, medium, or moment in his career,” said Tina Romero, acting president of the foundation. She said that premiering the concert in the theater where “Night of the Living Dead” was introduced makes the evening especially meaningful.
Kriegeskotte said he set out to turn the spotlight toward “less recognized heroes of indie cinema” whose films shaped his own imagination. A Carnegie Mellon University School of Music alum, he has had works commissioned and performed by the Houston Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Pittsburgh Opera, American Composers Orchestra and New York Pops. His film and television credits include “Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith,” “War of the Worlds,” “Sin City,” “The Simpsons,” “Family Guy” and “American Dad.”
Tickets are on sale through the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust at TrustArts.org, by phone at 412-456-6666, or in person at the Theater Square Box Office, 655 Penn Ave. The program runs about 2 hours and 10 minutes with an intermission. Two VIP add-on packages are also available, each requiring a separate concert ticket. The Meet & Greet Package includes post-concert access to the foundation’s creative team and VIP guests, plus a limited-edition T-shirt, signed poster, signed copy of Romero’s “The Amusement Park” graphic novel, and a merchandise bag. The Merchandise Package includes the same items without the meet-and-greet.
All net revenue from the premiere and future bookings will benefit the George A. Romero Foundation. Its work includes scholarships and fellowships for emerging horror creatives, restoration of Romero’s films, support for the horror archive at the University of Pittsburgh’s Hillman Library, and efforts to name the university’s new Horror Studies Center for Romero.
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