Our Commitment to the Community
We at the Houston Symphony have historically served Houston through extraordinary artistry, diverse programming, and robust education and community engagement initiatives.
We Have The Opportunity To Do More
We envision a vibrant arts world with an appreciation for culturally diverse backgrounds and experiences. We dedicate ourselves to serving Houston by fostering and sustaining an environment which allows us to better understand, appreciate, and support the differences reflected within our communities, our patrons, our business partners, and ourselves.
Our Vision
During the 2023-24 Season, the Houston Symphony adopted a new strategic plan that will guide our course to 2030 and beyond, envisioning that we will serve as a world-class orchestra and Houston cultural leader, creating extraordinary musical experiences for all.
Who We Serve
Houston is the most diverse city in the nation. In a typical year, the Houston Symphony serves nearly 400,000 people annually—including nearly 250,000 through free and low-cost programs, events, and concerts.
Our Initiatives
Music & Wellness
Annually, the Houston Symphony provides respite to more than 1,500 patients and healthcare workers to enrich the lives of patients through music at our healthcare partners—Houston Methodist, The University of Texas MD Anderson Children’s Cancer Hospital, and The Periwinkle Arts In Medicine Program at Texas Children’s Cancer and Hematology Centers—as well as at CarePartners Dementia Day Center and Amazing Place.
Education & Community
The Houston Symphony offers a wide range of Education & Community Engagement initiatives designed to serve students, families, and communities across Greater Houston. These programs include full-orchestra student concerts, classroom and home learning resources, family-friendly performances, and meaningful community partnerships. Centered on personal connection, community relevance, and diversity, the initiatives are guided by local leadership councils and aim to reflect the cultural and economic diversity of the populations they serve.
Community Access
The Houston Symphony regularly provides free concert tickets to a multitude of partners each year. This provides no-cost admission for individuals and groups to attend Symphony concerts.
Learn More About Partners For Free Concerts
Community Partnerships
Community-Embedded Musicians
The Symphony's Community-Embedded Musicians (CEMs) are a vital part of the Symphony's mission to provide high quality music education programs and performances for the Houston community. Every year, our CEMs-along with the Community-Embedded Fellows (CEFs) whom they mentor-typically present over 400 musical experiences for people throughout Greater Houston.
Community-Embedded Musicians are full-time, salaried musicians who also perform on stage with the Houston Symphony. Serving more than 55,000 people annually, the program has strengthened personal connections with students and other communities throughout the Houston area.
Early Childhood and School Partnerships
The Symphony partners with early childhood development programs, such as the Prelude Music Foundation, to provide engaging music experiences for students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. Music plays a vital role in a child’s development, and we collaborate with our partners to ensure all children have access to music when it matters most.
The Symphony works with more than 30 Greater Houston school districts to support high-quality music education throughout our city. Providing inspirational experiences that motivate students to begin—or continue—playing instruments in school music programs is central to our education programming.
Diversity in Music
We partner with a number of national organizations, including a long-standing partnership with the Sphinx organization with a deep commitment to supporting its mission of increasing diversity in America’s orchestras. We join 104 other orchestras from throughout the U.S. as a designated orchestra partner of Sphinx’s National Alliance for Audition Support (NAAS), the unprecedented national initiative that offers Black and Latinx musicians a customized combination of mentoring, audition preparation, financial support, and audition previews.
The Symphony also provides the second prize winner of the annual Sphinx Competition the opportunity to play a concerto with the orchestra on a summer Miller Outdoor Theatre concert.
The Symphony believes in supporting musical excellence around the world. In 2015, under the leadership of then Music Director Andrés Orozco Estrada, a partnership was established with the Filarmónica Joven de Colombia (FJC - Colombian Youth Philharmonic) for a group of orchestra musicians to travel to Colombia for coaching sessions. That summer, following the coaching in Colombia, the FJC students visited Houston for a 10-day residency, which included a side-by-side performance with the Houston Symphony. Since then, musicians have regularly returned to Bogotá for coaching, and the partnership continues to thrive. Students have access to Houston Symphony livestreams and communicate directly with their mentors in our orchestra.
Community Concerts
The Houston Symphony provides free and low-cost orchestra concerts throughout Greater Houston for nearly 150,000 people each year. These include Miller Outdoor Theatre concerts, Neighborhood Concerts, Fiesta Sinfónica, and performances at Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion.
Resilient Sounds
Celebrating the determination and hope of Houston’s refugee communities
The Houston Symphony is proud to partner with organizations to highlight the diversity of the community we serve. During the 2018-19 Season, the Houston Symphony and then Composer-in-Residence Jimmy López Bellido partnered with the Rice Shepherd School, the University of Houston Moores School of Music, and Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston to celebrate the determination and hope of Houston’s refugee communities.
Six young composers from the Rice Shepherd School and the UH Moores School were paired with members of Houston’s refugee community, so that each composer could tell his/her refugee partner’s story through the universal language of music. Under the supervision and mentorship of Houston Symphony Composer-in-Residence López, each young composer created a chamber orchestra work that celebrated how Houston derives strength and character from its diverse community members. The project culminated in a public performance of all six works, featuring members of the Houston Symphony at White Oak Music Hall.
Chavez High School
Cypress Ridge High School
DeBakey High School
Dobie High School
Hastings High School
Jersey Village High School
Long Academy
North Shore High School
Waltrip High School
Washington High School
Westside High School
Alzheimer's Association - SE Texas Chapter
BakerRipley
Barrio Dogs
Best Buddies International
Brookwood Community
Chester House
Children At Risk
Down Syndrome Association Houston
Fort Bend Women's Center
Gracewood
Helping Hands
Hope For Youth
House of Blues - Houston
Houston Coalition for Life
Houston Parks and Recreation
Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston
Lulac National Educational Service Center
Magnificat House
MECA
Montgomery County Youth Services
Montrose Center
New Hope Housing
Partnership for the Advancement & Immersion of Refugees (PAIR)
POWER On Heels Fund, Inc.
San Jose Clinic
SEARCH
Second Mile Mission Center
Spring Branch Healthy Families
Star of Hope
Sunshine Thru the Rain
Target Hunger
The Schiller Institute
The Women's Home
Urban Harvest
US Vets Houston
UTA
YMCA
Special Thanks to Our Education & Community Sponsors
The Hearst Foundations
The Powell Foundation
