While sporting witches costumes in sparkling silver and black, SF State music professors Victoria Neve and Inara Morgenstern performed solo and duet Halloween-themed piano music for the School of Music and Dance's annual Spooky Concert Recital on Friday.

On Halloween, the music professors played for an audience of more than a hundred guests at Knuth Hall from 1 - 2 p.m. for free admission. The concert’s program consisted of more than a dozen songs by classic composers, such as J.S. Bach, Alfredo Casella and Paul Schoenfield. Some performances were also accompanied by five singers, who sang songs from the films "Sweeney Todd" and "The Nightmare Before Christmas."

SF State professor Neve and Morgenstern have known each other for 30 years and first met at SF State while sharing an office in the music department. After playing the piano together at a national women's conference, the two became close friends. Since then, they have been performing together for nearly 25 years, appearing in concerts like the "Pianomania" concerts at the Dean Lesher Center for the Arts in Walnut Creek and the Piano Duo Festival in San Rafael.

In 1995, the two professors decided to organize a Halloween concert. Every year since then, Neve has played the same solos for the concert: “The Banshee" by Henry Cowell and "Ghost Nocturne" by George Crumb. In these two pieces, Neve demonstrates an "extended technique" on the piano. Instead of playing the keys, she opens the lid of the piano and strums its strings. The end result is a sound which Neve described as “very eerie, creaky and windy.” In addition, the two pianists traditionally wear witches costumes for each year's concert.

"We've stuck by it because we're best friends," said Morgenstern. "She lives in Oakland, and I live in the city. What better way to catch up, gossip and rehearse together?"

Morgenstern said they select the pieces that they will perform together by combing through piano books that have songs meant for two pianists. She said they also search for ideas on the internet, using YouTube, the San Francisco Chronicle and New York Times for guidance. For the Spooky Concert, Morgenstern said the pair particularly looked on Amazon.com for ideas.

"Sometimes I just fall in love with [a song] and think, 'We have to play this,'" said Morgenstern.

Neve also described their collaboration process as “efficient” because the two have worked together for such a long time and understand each other well. She said it's a joint process in which they seldom disagree on their final selection of pieces.

"By now, we have a lot of resources," said Neve. "We're always keeping our eyes open to new things [and] have such a big repertoire... [We] mix and match a lot of what we've done in the past."

Morgenstern said she likes to play contemporary, toe-tapping music and some crossover pieces with styles from the Romanticism movement. To the contrary, she said Neve is much more adventurous with her music and likes to play more difficult songs that have beautiful sound effects. "[Neve's pianistic style] is forth-right and crisp [and] is much more vigorous," said Morgenstern.

Neve also described the differences between her and Morgenstern's piano styles. "[Morgenstern] is a wonderful pianist," said Neve. "She is willing to try old [techniques] in new ways."

In previous years, the concert did not include vocalists. However, the professors decided to recruit singers who "know creepy music" for this year's recital. Liesl McPherrin, who performed “The Ballad of Sweeney Todd” for the event, said that performing for the concert can be fun, if it doesn't make your stomach turn.

“It can be kind of nerve-wracking, but it can be a lot of fun having 150 people applauding for you,” said McPherrin, 20. “It’s really fun to get into another character and be someone else.”

Rachel Cereca, a biology major, said she attends the Spooky Concert every year. She called the piano concert's music both interesting and fun. She also said both of the professors are excellent, innovative pianists with unique piano techniques. “I’ve had Morgenstern as a professor for two years,” said Cereca, 22. “She’s my favorite music professor. She’s funny [and] eccentric.”

Morgenstern said that her favorite part about performing in the Scary Concert is the audience's reaction.

"It livens up the concert," said Morgenstern. "Rehearsing the same [piano pieces] gets kind of tiring for a while, but it's the first time for the audience."