A sweeping choral masterpiece, Rachmaninoff’s The Bells features 138 Houston Symphony Chorus singers joining the orchestra for the Russian composer’s own favorite composition on May 9, 11, and 12. While the evening concludes with this powerhouse choral symphony, it begins more intimately—with 40 unaccompanied singers in a pre-concert prelude. Betsy Cook Weber, director of the … Continued
On May 9, 11, and 12, the Houston Symphony presents award-winning American pianist George Li in not one, but two virtuoso works for piano and orchestra. In this post, discover how the young Prokofiev flouted conventions and got the better of his professors with his Piano Concerto No. 1. Get tickets and more information here. One … Continued
Above: Detail of Jean Honoré Fragonard’s The Love Letter. This Thanksgiving weekend, the Houston Symphony welcomes acclaimed pianist Inon Barnatan back to Jones Hall for performances of Mozart’s enchanting Piano Concerto No. 22. Learn more about this colorful work in this post. Mozart completed the Piano Concerto No. 22 in E-flat major on December 16, … Continued
Richard Harris joined the Houston Symphony as second trumpet in 2018. Previously, for eight years he was a member of the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, where he became the only musician in an American orchestra to win auditions for each position in one trumpet section. A Yamaha Performing Artist, he has performed with the Seoul and … Continued
Andrew Pedersen joined the Houston Symphony Double Bass section in August 2017. A native of Batavia, Illinois, Andrew received his bachelor’s degree from DePaul University and master’s degree from Rice University, where he studied with Robert Kassinger and former Houston Symphony Principal Bass Timothy Pitts, respectively. Other mentors include Paul Ellison, Alexander Hanna and Gregory … Continued
Anne Leek, oboe, was educated at Juilliard where she received her bachelors of music, masters of music and doctor of musical arts degrees. During her time in New York, she performed on a recital in Carnegie Hall sponsored by the Artists International Contest, which she won. During the 1980s, Anne was solo principal oboe of … Continued