Watch the 1931 version of 'Frankenstein' while the Indy Chamber Orchestra plays the score

When "Frankenstein" showed for the first time in 1931 in Santa Barbara, its set design and horror chilled audiences. Boris Karloff's portrayal of the monster and the scenery that captured the height of eeriness required a prologue warning for viewers, according to Turner Classic Movies.

In March, Indianapolis audiences can experience it anew when the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra performs the score live while the movie plays. Composer Michael Shapiro composed new music for the film for a 2001 commission, which was performed for the first time in 2002 at the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s Jacob Burns Film Center in New York. Indy's orchestra will use this score.

"Frankenstein" is just one concert on the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra's new season, which balances classic works with contemporary ones on topical issues like immigration.

Titled "Music that Moves You," the 2019-20 schedule includes plenty of heavy hitters. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's "Prague" Symphony No. 38 is on the slate for November, while J.S. Bach's Christmas Oratorio and Dmitri Shostakovich's Chamber Symphony, Op. 110a come later in the season.

Michael Daugherty's "Trail of Tears," set for January, recalls the adversity Native Americans faced when they were forced out of their homes in the 19th century. And Peter Boyer's "Ellis Island: The Dream of America" centers on immigration. 

Here's the chamber orchestra's full 2019-2020 season. The ensemble is orchestra-in-residence at the Schrott Center for the Arts at Butler University.

Immigration and the Golden Age of Hollywood

7:30 p.m. Oct. 19 and 3 p.m. Oct. 20

Look for Sean Chen, 2013 American Pianists Awards winner, to play the concerto from Alfred Hitchcock's "Spellbound." The program also includes Boyer's "Ellis Island: The Dream of America" with acting and narration.

Janácek, Brahms and Friends

7:30 p.m. Nov. 23

Violinist Andrés Cárdenes, the bronze medalist in the 1986 International Violin Competition of Indianapolis, and principal cellist Marjorie Lange Hanna will deliver Johannes Brahms' Double Concerto. The program includes Mozart's Symphony No. 38 in D Major.

A Baroque Christmas

3 p.m. Dec. 15

J.S. Bach's "Christmas Oratorio" and two cantatas on the holiday are on the program, along with the Christmas part of George Frideric Handel's "Messiah."

The Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra has programmed seven concerts for the 2019-2020 season.

Domination and Defiance

7:30 p.m. Jan. 25, 2020

Flutist Amy Porter will solo on Daugherty's "Trail of Tears." Shostakovich's Chamber Symphony Op. 110a and Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 8 also will be performed.

'Frankenstein'

7:30 p.m. March 21, 2020

Karloff and Colin Clive are on screen for the 1931 version of the movie while the orchestra plays a score by Shapiro, who wrote it for a 2002 premiere in New York.

Prisms aux étoiles (Prism to the Stars)

7:30 p.m. April 18, 2020

The French-themed concert includes Francis Poulenc's Sinfonietta. Also on the program is the world premiere of Concerto for Saxophone Quartet by James Aikman, composer in residence with the orchestra.

Fidelio! Celebrating Beethoven's 250th

3 p.m. May 17, 2020

The composer's opera, where a woman plots to save her wrongly imprisoned husband, will be performed with orchestra, chorus and cast.

How to buy tickets

Full-season subscriptions start at $210. Other four-concert packs or vouchers are $120. A package of three Sunday matinee tickets are $95. Single ticket sales start July 1.

To purchase, call 317-940-9607. Subscription packages will be sold at icomusic.org after May 15.

Looking for things to do?  Our newsletter has the best concerts, art, shows and more — and the stories behind them

Contact IndyStar reporter Domenica Bongiovanni at 317-444-7339 or d.bongiovanni@indystar.com. Follow her on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter: @domenicareports.