HOUSTON, TX (November 13, 2024) — The Houston Symphony’s 2025 Summer Sounds lineup of concert specials, presented by Stella Artois, brings two Oscar-winning, modern film classics to the Jones Hall stage with the orchestra performing their iconic scores live, plus a musical salute to one of the most successful and beloved Class Rock bands of the 70s and 80s.
Friday, June 20, 2025 at 7:30 p.m., marking the 50th anniversary of the film’s premiere, Houston Symphony audiences relive the thrilling suspense of Jaws, as the Symphony plays John Williams’s iconic score live in sync with the film projected on the big screen.
Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the concert hall… The original summer movie blockbuster, with an Academy Award-winning score by composer John Williams, Jaws is an unforgettable film-with-live-orchestra experience! Directed by Academy Award winner Steven Spielberg, Jaws set the standard for edge-of-your-seat suspense, quickly becoming a cultural phenomenon and forever changing the movie industry. When the seaside community of Amity finds itself under attack by a dangerous great white shark, the town’s chief of police, a young marine biologist and a grizzled shark hunter embark on a desperate quest to destroy the beast before it strikes again. Featuring an unforgettable score that evokes pure terror, Jaws remains one of the most influential and gripping adventures in motion picture history. Now, Houston audiences have the chance to experience the power of a live symphony orchestra performing the entire score in sync with one of the greatest motion pictures of all time.
Then, Saturday, June 21, 2025 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, June 22, 2025 at 2:00 p.m. at Jones Hall, the Houston Symphony screens another modern classic with the orchestra performing the score live: Disney and Pixar’s UP featuring a screening of the complete film with Oscar and Grammy-winning composer Michael Giacchino’s musical score performed live to the film.
Giacchino’s score brilliantly blends comedy and action-adventure, embracing the emotional side with his sentimental “Married Life” suite, which earned Giacchino his first Academy Award.
In the Oscar-winning film directed by Pete Docter, a 78-year-old curmudgeonly balloon salesman, is not your average hero. When he ties thousands of balloons to his house and flies away to the wilds of South America, he finally fulfills his lifelong dream of adventure. But after Carl discovers an 8-year-old stowaway named Russell, this unlikely duo soon finds themselves on a hilarious journey in a lost world filled with danger and surprises.
Relive the days of Classic Rock in the late 70’s and early 80s as guest conductor Brett Havens leads the Houston Symphony and vocalist Juan Del Castillo in The Music of Journey, July 26 at 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. in The Hobby Center’s Serafim Hall, 800 Bagby St. Havens, Del Castillo, and the Symphony rock out to a cavalcade of Journey’s greatest hits, including “Oh, Sherry,” “Open Arms,” “Don’t Stop Believin’,” “Any Way You Want It,” “Faithfully,” and a great many more.
For tickets to all of the Houston Symphony Summer Sounds performances including Jaws, Disney and Pixar’s UP, and The Music of Journey, please call or text 713.224.7575 or visit houstonsymphony.org.
Jaws In Concert
Friday, June 20, 2025 @ 7:30 p.m.
Jones Hall
615 Louisiana St.
Disney and Pixar’s UP In Concert
Saturday, June 21, 2025 @ 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, June 22, 2025 @ 2:00 p.m.
Jones Hall
615 Louisiana St.
The Music of Journey
Brett Havens, conductor
Juan Del Castillo, vocalist
Saturday, July 26 @ 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
The Hobby Center’s Serafim Hall
800 Bagby St.
About Houston Symphony
Under Music Director Juraj Valčuha, the Houston Symphony continues its second century inspiring and engaging a large and diverse audience in Houston and beyond through exceptional musical performances, and creating enduring impact in the Houston community. One of the oldest performing arts organizations in Texas, the Symphony held its inaugural performance at The Majestic Theater in downtown Houston on June 21, 1913. Today, with an operating budget of $40.7 million, the full-time ensemble of professional musicians presents more than 130 concerts annually, making it the largest performing arts organization in Houston. Traditionally, musicians of the orchestra and the Symphony’s Community-Embedded Musicians also offer nearly 600 community-based performances each year at various schools, community centers, hospitals, senior centers, and churches, annually reaching nearly 200,000 people in Greater Houston in addition to Jones Hall.
After suspending concert activities in March 2020, the Symphony successfully completed a full 2020–21 season with in-person audiences and weekly livestreams of each performance, making it one of the only orchestras in the world to do so. The Houston Symphony remains committed to livestreaming its 2024-25 Season to a broad audience in over 45 countries and all 50 states, one of few American orchestras dedicated to transmitting live performances to a sizeable audience outside its home city through this technology. The Grammy Award-winning Houston Symphony has recorded under various prestigious labels, including Koch International Classics, Naxos, RCA Red Seal, Telarc, Virgin Classics, and, most recently, Dutch recording label Pentatone. In 2017, the Houston Symphony was awarded an ECHO Klassik award for the live recording of Alban Berg’s Wozzeck under the direction of former Music Director Hans Graf. The orchestra earned its first Grammy nomination and Grammy Award at the 60th annual ceremony for the same recording in the Best Opera Recording category. The Symphony’s most recent recordings include a Pentatone release in January 2022 of its world premiere performances of Jimmy López Bellido’s Aurora and Ad Astra, and a Naxos release in July 2023 of its world premiere performance of Jennifer Higdon’s Duo Duel.
ABOUT DISNEY CONCERTS
Disney Concerts is the concert production and licensing division of Disney Music Group, the music arm of The Walt Disney Company. Disney Concerts produces concerts and tours, and licenses Disney music and visual content to symphony orchestras and presenters on a worldwide basis. Disney Concerts’ concert packages include a variety of formats, such as “live to picture” film concerts and themed instrumental and vocal compilation concerts, and range from instrumental-only symphonic performances to multimedia productions featuring live vocalists and choir. Current titles include the Star Wars Film Concert Series (Episodes IV-VII), Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, Fantasia, Pixar In Concert, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Alice In Wonderland, Frozen, Ratatouille, The Pirates of the Caribbean series (Episodes I-IV), and Silly Symphonies, which last year collectively accounted for over 575 performances in many of the world’s top concert venues, including Lincoln Center, Royal Albert Hall, Sydney Opera House, Tokyo Forum and the Hollywood Bowl. Numerous new concert packages and touring productions from Disney’s portfolio of studios, including Disney’s feature animation and live action studios, Pixar, Lucasfilm and Marvel, are currently in development
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Eric Skelly: 713.337.8560, eric.skelly@houstonsymphony.org
Madison Mann: 832.930.4065 x120, madison@theckpgroup.com