Gonzalo Farias, Associate Conductor of the Houston Symphony, is an imaginative and engaging orchestral leader, award-winning pianist, and dedicated educator. Praised for his “clear, engaging style with a lyrical, almost Zen-like quality,” he is recognized as “a focused, musical artist who knows what he wants and how to get it—with grace and substance.”

He has held conducting posts with the Kansas City Symphony, Jacksonville Symphony, Virginia Symphony Orchestra, and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. As Music Director of the Joliet Symphony Orchestra, he strengthened community connections through innovative programming, pre-concert lectures, and bilingual collaborations, including a narrated performance of Bizet’s Carmen.

Recent and upcoming appearances include the Nashville Symphony, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Buffalo Philharmonic, Tallahassee Symphony, and the Houston Symphony, where in 2024 he conducted the world premiere of Arturo Márquez’s Guitar Concerto with Pablo Sainz-Villegas.

He was one of six conductors chosen for the prestigious Bruno Walter National Conductor Preview, presented by the League of American Orchestras, and was appointed by the National Endowment for the Arts as a grant review panelist.

Born in Santiago de Chile, Farias began piano studies at age five. He earned his bachelor’s degree at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile and continued his education at the New England Conservatory, studying under Wha-Kyung Byun and Russell Sherman. He has won prizes at the Claudio Arrau International Piano Competition, Maria Canals, and Luis Sigall competitions. His conducting mentors include Donald Schleicher, Marin Alsop, Larry Rachleff, and Otto-Werner Mueller.

Beyond performance, Farias is committed to reimagining music as a force for personal growth, dialogue, cooperation, and community-building. His doctoral dissertation, Logical Predictions and Cybernetics, examines Cornelius Cardew’s The Great Learning to explore music-making as a self-organizing system. Influenced by Zen Buddhist practice and second-order cybernetics, he views music as a shared space where performers and audiences co-create meaning, reflecting on our shared human condition.

Hailed as “one of today’s superstars of the international brass scene,” William VerMeulen leads a varied musical life of soloist, orchestral principal, chamber musician, master teacher, and music publisher. VerMeulen has been principal horn of the Houston Symphony since 1990 and has performed as a guest principal horn with the Chicago Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Cincinnati Symphony, St. Louis Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, and St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. Prior to joining the Houston Symphony, he was employed with the orchestras of Columbus, Honolulu, and Kansas City.

VerMeulen has been an artist of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and participates as a performer and on faculty with the finest music festivals and chamber music presenters, among which include the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Aspen Music Festival, Music@Menlo, Banff Centre, Da Camera of Houston, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Joshua Bell and Friends, Tanglewood, Sarasota Music Festival, Strings Music Festival, Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival, New World Symphony, Domaine Forget, Chamber Music Northwest, and the Sun Valley Summer Symphony where he also serves as principal horn.

VerMeulen has performed to critical acclaim on four continents as a soloist and chamber musician and is a popular artist at International Horn Society Symposiums where he was a member of the advisory council. He serves as a board member of the International Horn Competition of America. Along with the dozens of orchestral recordings in his discography are numerous solo and chamber recordings, including the complete Mozart Horn Concerti with Christoph Eschenbach and the Houston Symphony, Texas Horns featuring the Dallas and Houston horn sections, and “The Christmas Horn” which features VerMeulen combined with his students from Rice University, conducted by Dale Clevenger. He has recorded live the Brahms Trio op. 40, Mozart Quintet K. 407, Beethoven Septet, Ravel Tombeau de Couperin for wind quintet, Schubert Octet, Spohr Nonet, Ligeti Bagatelles, and the Bach Brandenburg Concerto No. 1. A champion of new music, VerMeulen has had numerous pieces written for him including concerti by esteemed American composers Samuel Adler, Pierre Jalbert, Tony DiLorenzo, and the horn cantata “Canticum Sacrum” by Robert Bradshaw. He recorded the Canto XI by Samuel Adler for a CD called First Chairs. Among his awards and honors, VerMeulen received first prize at the 1980 International Horn Society Soloist Competition and the Shapiro Award for Most Outstanding Brass Player at the Tanglewood Festival.

Regarded as one of the most influential horn teachers of all time, VerMeulen recently retired as professor of horn at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University. His students perform in numerous major orchestras throughout the world including the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Israel Philharmonic, Canadian Brass, Cleveland Orchestra, and the San Francisco, Cincinnati, Montreal, St. Louis, Toronto, Detroit, Dallas, and Houston Symphonies. Over 250 positions of employment have been offered to his students. In 1985, he was invited to the White House to receive a Distinguished Teacher of America Certificate of Excellence from President Reagan and the White House Commission on Presidential Scholars.

VerMeulen received his training from Dale Clevenger at Northwestern University and the Interlochen Arts Academy and is founder and president of VerMeulen Music, L.L.C., which offers music and products for horn players worldwide at www.vermeulenmusic.com

VerMeulen is married to Houston Opera and Ballet violinist Sylvia VerMeulen, and they have two lovely children, Michael and Nicole. In his rare free time, he enjoys having good friends over to share in his passion for fine cooking and wine.

Robert Johnson enjoys a growing career as an orchestral and chamber musician, soloist, and teacher of horn. Before joining the Houston Symphony in 2012 as Associate Principal Horn, Johnson was Assistant Principal/Utility Horn of the Cincinnati Symphony and Pops Orchestras, Principal Horn of both the Dayton Philharmonic and Richmond Symphony, and Fourth Horn of the Honolulu Symphony. He has also performed with the Houston Grand Opera, IRIS Orchestra, Rochester Philharmonic, Saint Louis Symphony, San Antonio Symphony, and both the Los Angeles Philharmonic at Disney Hall and Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra as a guest Principal Horn.

Johnson has performed as a Concerto Soloist with the Dayton Philharmonic, Houston Symphony, New World Symphony, Texas Music Festival, at Chicago’s Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic, and nationwide as a recitalist and chamber musician. In the summers, he has performed with the AIMS, Aspen, Cascade, Colorado, Strings, and Tanglewood Music Festivals, as well as the Perlman Music Program and Sun Valley Summer Symphony. He can be heard performing on numerous recordings, commercials, and soundtracks made with the Cincinnati Symphony and Pops Orchestras, Dayton Philharmonic, Nashville String Machine Studio Orchestra, and the Houston Symphony.

In the Fall of 2013, Johnson joined the faculty of the Moores School of Music as an Affiliate Artist at the University of Houston, thus fulfilling a long-held dream of expanding his teaching to the collegiate level. Also a faculty member at the Texas Music Festival, he is in demand to lead masterclasses and lectures nationwide, most recently at the Colburn School in Los Angeles. Johnson’s previous students have enjoyed acceptance and appointment to a multitude of prestigious universities, conservatories, summer music festivals, and professional ensembles. Acceptances include the Banff Centre for the Arts, Boston University’s Tanglewood Institute, Carnegie Hall’s National Youth Orchestra of the United States, Interlochen Arts Camp and Academy, Yamaha’s Young Performing Artist Program, as well as the Brevard, Domaine Forget, Hot Springs, Lucerne, Pacific, Sarasota, and Texas Music Festivals. Collegiate acceptances include Carnegie Mellon, DePaul, Indiana, Northwestern, Rice, and Roosevelt Universities, the New England, Oberlin, and San Francisco Conservatories, as well as the University of Cincinnati-College Conservatory of Music, Eastman School of Music, and Peabody Institute. His students have performed with a number of professional ensembles, including City Music Cleveland, Hawaii Symphony, Houston Symphony, and the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, among others.

A graduate of Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, he studied with William VerMeulen and received further training as a fellow with the New World Symphony. Johnson is a lifetime member of the International Horn Society and has authored for The Horn Call magazine. He is married to flutist and teacher Ariella Perlman, with whom he chases their twin boys, Ezra and Reuben.

Nathan Cloeter, a native of Lake Jackson, Texas, was appointed as Assistant Principal/Utility Horn of the Houston Symphony in 2023 by Music Director Juraj Valčuha. He has previously performed with the Houston Symphony, Houston Grand Opera, and the Naples Philharmonic, and he has spent summers as a fellow of the Tanglewood Music Center. While a fellow at Tanglewood, he earned many plaudits for a performance as the solo horn of Mahler’s Fifth Symphony conducted by Andris Nelsons. Cloeter holds a bachelor’s degree from Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music where he studied with William VerMeulen.

Ian Mayton, a native of Durham, North Carolina, was appointed fourth horn of the Houston Symphony by Music Director Andrés Orozco-Estrada in November 2014. Mayton has performed with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and the North Carolina Symphony. After completing his Bachelor of Music degree at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Mayton spent a year in the Master of Music program at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music studying with William VerMeulen.

Brian Mangrum joined the Houston Symphony as Third Horn in June of 2023. From Montreal, he started horn lessons with Denys Derôme in the sixth grade, later studying with John Milner at the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal and with John Zirbel at Collège Marianopolis and over the summers at the Aspen Music Festival and School. Brian attended Rice University in Bill VerMeulen’s studio, and began his tenure as Principal Horn of the Columbus Symphony upon graduation, in 2018.

In addition to his positions in Houston and Columbus, Brian has performed with orchestras across North America, notably as guest principal horn with the San Francisco Symphony, the Detroit Symphony, the National Arts Center Orchestra of Canada and the Cleveland Orchestra.

Mark Hughes “knows how to spin out a long line with the eloquence of a gifted singer,” says Derrick Henry of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Hughes developed his abilities at Northwestern University where he studied with the late Vincent Cichowicz of the Chicago Symphony. After graduation, he joined the Civic Orchestra of Chicago as a scholarship student of Adolph Herseth, the legendary Principal Trumpet of the Chicago Symphony.

Hughes then began touring with Richard Morris as the popular organ and trumpet duo, “Toccatas and Flourishes,” performing throughout the United States and Canada. His appointment as Associate Principal Trumpet with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra followed, which he held for 12 years. During his time with the ASO, he appeared as soloist with the orchestra on numerous occasions, performed on dozens of recordings, and was an active studio musician.

Hughes is currently Principal Trumpet of the Houston Symphony, a position he has held since 2006. He has appeared as soloist with the orchestra on several occasions, including the performance of the Shostakovich Concerto no. 1 for Piano and Trumpet with Jon Kimura Parker, a performance heard nationally on American Public Radio’s SymphonyCast. Since his arrival in Houston, Hughes has performed and recorded with the Boston and Chicago Symphony Orchestras and continues to be in demand as a soloist with orchestras and in recital. In addition, he serves on the faculties of the Brevard Music Center and the Texas Music Festival each summer. Hughes lives in Bellaire with his wife, Marilyn, and their two children, Thomas and Caroline.

John Parker, a native of High Point, North Carolina, joined the Houston Symphony in May of 2016 as Associate Principal Trumpet. Previously, he was Principal Trumpet with the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, a position he attained after his undergraduate studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC). While at UNC, Parker was a recipient of the Kenan Music Scholarship and also the Frank Comfort Education Scholarship. Parker has also performed as Principal Trumpet of the Charleston Symphony, the Roanoke Symphony, and the Greensboro Symphony. He attended the Aspen Music Festival and School on a full fellowship in both 2012 and 2013 and has also performed twice as a soloist at the National Trumpet Competition.

Robert Walp joined the Houston Symphony as Assistant Principal Trumpet in 1983. Originally from Pasadena, California, Walp studied with Walter Laursen (Principal Trumpet, Pasadena Symphony) and Thomas Stevens (Principal Trumpet, Los Angeles Philharmonic) before moving to Chicago to study with Vincent Cichowicz at Northwestern University.

As a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, Walp studied with Adolph Herseth and Arnold Jacobs of the Chicago Symphony. After graduating from Northwestern University in 1982, Walp worked with Albert Calvayrac in France, and Timofei Dokschitzer (Solo Trumpet, Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra) in Moscow.

Well known for his success in teaching young people, Walp substituted for Vincent Cichowicz at Northwestern University, leading master classes, teaching, and giving a recital at his alma mater. Walp also served on the faculty of Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music for five years. His students are some of the most sought-after musicians by major conservatories and schools of music.

An active chamber musician and recitalist, Walp has performed with the Carmel Bach Festival in California, Rheingau Musikfestival in Germany, Albi Festival in France, and Gidon Kremer’s Laurie Festival in Köln and St. Petersburg, Russia. His solo appearances include numerous recitals throughout the United States and Europe, and concerti performances with the Houston Symphony.

After leading an amateur brass band for over a decade, Robert Walp has founded an all-professional group, The Magnolia City Brass Band. The debut concert will be at the Hobby Center’s Zilkha Hall on Sunday, November 14, 2021. Mr. Walp joined the faculty of the University of Houston’s Moores School of Music in January of 2015.

Robert Walp is a Yamaha Performing Artist.

Richard Harris joined the Houston Symphony as second trumpet in 2018.  Previously, he was a member of the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra where he performed for 8 years. In March of 2018, Harris gained the distinction of being the only musician in an American orchestra to have won auditions for each position in one orchestral trumpet section.  He achieved this notable accomplishment during his tenure at the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra where he won nationally held blind auditions for the positions of Second Trumpet (2009), Associate Principal / 3rd Trumpet (2014) and Principal Trumpet (2018). As a soloist, Harris has performed J.S. Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto no. 2, Copland’s Quiet City, and Concerti by Vivalidi, Hummel, Haydn, and Neruda. As an artist for Conn- Selmer (Vincent Bach Trumpets), he has enjoyed performing in orchestras all over the world including the Seoul Philharmonic in South Korea and the Jalisco Philharmonic in Guadalajara, Mexico. He has also performed with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Kansas City Symphony, as well as many others.

An avid educator, Harris has given masterclasses at universities and high schools across the country. Currently he serves on the faculty at Texas Tech University, and at AFA Texas. He served on the faculty at Winthrop University from 2013–2018 and at UNC Charlotte from 2007–2009.  He also had the privilege of serving as the brass coach for the Charlotte Symphony Youth Orchestra for 7 years. He strives to create a fun and relaxed atmosphere where students are encouraged and inspired to improve their playing. His primary goal is to ensure that their love of music remains an important and positive part of their lives, even beyond the stage. Harris’ students have enjoyed successful auditions for orchestras, wind ensembles, and prestigious programs of study.

In addition to his passion for playing trumpet, Harris is a chess enthusiast.  His volunteer work with inner-city schools in Charlotte allowed him to teach and run chess camps for underprivileged kids. As a master level chess player, he uses this game as a teaching tool to foster a sense of patience, sportsmanship, strategic thinking, and calm under pressure.

Harris has studied with Thomas Booth, Barbara Butler, and many others. His degrees from Texas Tech University and Southern Methodist University (SMU) gave him a strong foundation. While a student at SMU he had the honor of playing two seasons with the National Repertory Orchestra. During his time at SMU he was hailed by the Dallas Observer as “a dream of a principal trumpet player.” Also, while a student at Texas Tech he won the concerto competition. He performed the Haydn Concerto at the Las Vegas Music Festival in 2003 as an invited soloist.

Harris was born in Lander, Wyoming as the youngest of five siblings. Originally, he began his musical studies at age 5 on the cello. At age 8, he discovered his lifelong passion as he also began studying the trumpet. When he was given his first trumpet he felt instantly that it was the instrument he couldn’t put down.

In 2013, he met his wife, Angela, and they have two children between them, Edward and Eva.

Nick Platoff harnesses the power of music to deliver compounding benefit to the world. He enjoys a multi-faceted career as a trombonist, composer/producer, singer, educator, conductor, and concert producer. After eight seasons as Associate Principal Trombone of the San Francisco Symphony, where he was appointed by Michael Tilson Thomas at age 23, Nick joined the Houston Symphony Orchestra as Principal Trombone in September 2024.

Nick loves using music to delight, inspire, and empower audiences, and does so in a wide variety of mediums and genres as a soloist as well as in collaboration with artists like Jacob Collier, KNOWER, esperanza spalding, Common, Metallica, Steve Lacy, Sigur Ros, Nu Deco Ensemble, the New York Philharmonic, and Yo-Yo Ma.

Recent highlights include conducting the Stanford Brass Ensemble on a concert which included the world premiere of his “The Fanford Stanfare”, composing music for Ramazan Nanayev’s film “Ikigai” and producing a silly music video about spies, both to be premiered Fall 2024. In August 2024, he toured Spain with Zirzuví, a Santa Cruz based band specializing in Sephardic music. Other proud moments include the August 2023 world premiere of his Symphony No. 1 with the SF Civic Symphony, and the November 2022 release of his debut album “Limousine of Creative Potential” featuring songs written and recorded in his friend Joel’s limousine during the pandemic.

Nick’s compositions center on themes of family, hope, mental health, and nature, and he genre-hops between the symphonic world, silly-pop, bumpin’ funk bangers, heartfelt tributes, and jungle soundscape. He regularly performs as a singer-songwriter on the Sofar Sounds series.

Nick joined the faculty of the University of Houston Moores School of Music in September 2024, and has previously served as a faculty member at Stanford University, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music Pre-College Division, and the SF Symphony Youth Orchestra. As a guest educator, he has taught recently at Rice, Yale, Juilliard, the National Orchestral Institute, and Amateur Music Network. He has collaborated as video producer and co-host with his father, musicologist John Platoff, on various SF Symphony online educational events as well as the Professor Platoff YouTube channel. Nick is a proud alumnus of New Haven’s Neighborhood Music School, Northwestern University, and the New World Symphony.

Bradley White, trombone, joined the Houston Symphony in the fall of 2001 as Associate Principal and Second Trombone. He is a native Houstonian and earned his Bachelor of Music in Trombone Performance from Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music in 1993. He went on to study at the Manhattan School of Music in New York City where he received a Master of Music in 1997. White has performed with Ambient Brass, the Houston Ballet and Grand Opera Orchestras, and the San Antonio and Hawaii Symphonies.

Phillip I FREEMAN was appointed bass trombonist of the Houston Symphony in 2007 after six seasons with the Sarasota Opera. He has also performed with the Dallas Symphony, the Grant Park Music Festival, the Houston Ballet, the Minnesota Orchestra, Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, the Sarasota Orchestra, the San Antonio Symphony, and the Utah Symphony.

A graduate of the University of Houston, Freeman received his bachelor’s degree in music, satisfying the requirements for both composition and euphonium performance. After taking up bass trombone during his senior year he continued its study at the Manhattan School of Music and the Tanglewood Music Center.

He has taught at the Moores School of Music, the Shepherd School of Music, and the Texas Music Festival, and has presented masterclasses and recitals at Baylor, McGill, and UTSA.

Freeman is a MICHAEL RATH TROMBONES performing artist.

phillipifreeman.com

Dave Kirk is Principal Tubist of the Houston Symphony and an Associate Professor at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, positions held since 1982.

Kirk was selected for his teaching and playing positions during his final year of undergraduate studies at New York’s Juilliard School. While at Juilliard, he studied with Don Harry. Dave’s other teachers include Chester Schmitz, Warren Deck, Neal Tidwell, and his Houston Symphony colleagues.

Kirk appears as a guest performer and teacher in North America and Japan. He enjoys an international reputation for his teaching of musicianship and physical aspects of wind playing. Locally, he is an active recitalist, chamber music collaborator, and conductor.

His orchestral playing is heard on Houston Symphony recordings under conductors Sergiu Comissiona, Newton Wayland, Christoph Eschenbach, Michael Krajewski, Hans Graf, and Andrés Orozco-Estrada. Kirk’s solo playing is featured on Mark Custom Recordings’ The Music of Leroy Osmon, Volume 1.

Leonardo R. Soto, Jr. was appointed Principal Timpanist of the Houston Symphony in 2018. Before arriving to Houston, Leo served as Principal Timpanist of the Charlotte Symphony from 2009 to 2018, and the Michigan Opera Theatre-Detroit Opera House from 2003 to 2009. He was also an active member of Miami’s Nu-Deco ensemble.

Leo has the unique distinction of being the first native Hispanic Timpanist to play in a major orchestra in the United States.

As an educator, Leonardo was faculty at Queens University of Charlotte as well as Artist in residence at Central Piedmont College, and an instructor for the Charlotte Youth Symphony program. As a clinician, he has taught master classes including PASIC’s Pennsylvania day of percussion, the University of North Carolina, Eastern Michigan University, Filarmónica Joven de Colombia, University of Georgia, Rice University, University of Houston, Universidad de Antioquia de Colombia and schools throughout South America. Leo often travels back to his native Chile to perform recitals, master classes and clinics at the National University of Chile, the Youth Symphony Foundation and the National Symphony.

Leonardo has appeared as a soloist with the Charlotte Symphony, Amarillo Symphony and the Houston Symphony. In January 2017 he performed the world premiere of “Evolution Percussion Concerto,” written for him by composer Leonard Mark Lewis.

He began his musical education at the University of Chile and was the recipient of the Teatro Municipal of Santiago National Scholarship. Concurrently, he was trained as a Latin percussionist by his father, Mr. Leonardo Soto, Sr., one of Chile’s most prominent musicians in the field. Leo embarked on his professional career with the Santiago Philharmonic Orchestra and the National Symphony Orchestra of Chile, where he gained experience in orchestral, opera and ballet repertoire. In 1997, he received the Fundación Andes International Scholarship, which brought him to the US and Carnegie Mellon University, where he studied with Timpanist Timothy Adams from the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. He was made an honorary student at Cleveland State University by Tom Freer of the Cleveland Orchestra.

Leonardo has worked with ensembles such as the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, New World Symphony, City Music Cleveland, Fort Wayne Philharmonic, Toledo Symphony, Grand Rapids Symphony, among others. As a Latin percussionist, he has recorded and toured with a number of artists from the Pennsylvania, Southern Michigan and New York areas.

Working with Luft Mallets Leo launched this own signature line of Timpani sticks to the market and is a proud performing artist for Pearl/Adams Percussion, Adams Percussion, Remo Drumheads, and Luft Mallets.

Matthew Strauss has been applauded throughout the United States as an energetic percussionist and timpanist with a diverse musical background. In addition to his position as Associate Principal Timpanist / Section Percussionist with the Houston Symphony, Mr. Strauss is an Associate Professor of Percussion at Rice University and faculty member at the Texas Music Festival at the University of Houston. Prior to his post in Houston, Mr. Strauss performed as a member of the percussion section in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra throughout the 2002-03 and 2003-04 seasons.

He also has performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra, Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, to name a few. Solo appearances include performances with the Houston Symphony, Texas Music Festival Orchestra, Akron Symphony, New Hampshire Music Festival, Reading Symphony Orchestra and Delaware Symphony Orchestra. An active chamber musician, Mr. Strauss has performed with the Chicago Chamber Musicians, Da Camera of Houston, Foundation For Modern Music, Bard Festival Chamber Players, Tucson Winter Chamber Music Festival, Skaneateles Music Festival, and has participated in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s contemporary chamber series, Music Now, under the batons of Pierre Boulez and Esa-Pekka Salonen.

Mr. Strauss received his bachelor’s degree in Percussion Performance from the Juilliard School and his master’s degree in Performance from the Temple University. He is an alumnus of both the Tanglewood and Aspen Music Festivals and has participated in the Spoleto Music Festival in Charleston, South Carolina. Prior to his post at Rice University, Mr. Strauss taught percussion performance as a Visiting Lecturer at the Frost School of Music at University of Miami for ten years. He has presented master classes and clinics at numerous schools, festivals, and conventions such as the Percussive Arts Society International Convention, New World Symphony, Juilliard School, Aspen Music Festival, Northwestern University, Texas Bandmasters Association Convention, Conservatoire de Region in Paris, Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel, Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw, Temple University, Bard Conservatory, New York University, Peabody Conservatory, Tanglewood Music Center, University of Maryland, George Mason University, Boston University Tanglewood Institute, Roosevelt University, and DePaul University. Mr. Strauss is a performing artist and clinician for Promark, Evans Heads, Zildjian Inc., and Pearl/Adams Corporation.

Brian Del Signore is the Principal Percussionist of the Houston Symphony. Brian joined the Houston Symphony in 1986. Prior to the Houston Symphony appointment, he held a one-year position as principal percussionist of the Grand Rapids Symphony in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and performed with numerous other orchestras including the Pittsburgh Symphony and Philadelphia Orchestra.

Born in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, Brian Del Signore earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Carnegie-Mellon University in 1981, where he studied with the Pittsburgh Symphony percussionists. In 1984, Mr. Del Signore earned a Masters in Music from Temple University where he studied with Alan Abel of the Philadelphia Orchestra. He began piano lessons at age six and drums at age eleven. His first drum teacher in the late 1960’s was Lou Carto, pop star Bobby Vinton’s drummer and bandleader at that time.

Besides keeping a very busy schedule with Houston Symphony performances, Mr. Del Signore heads the percussion department at Houston Baptist University. Additionally, he has presented clinics and master classes at music schools around the USA including Baylor University, New England Conservatory, Boston Conservatory, Yale University, The Julliard School, Manhattan School of Music, New York University, Curtis Institute of Music, Temple University, Peabody Conservatory, Carnegie Mellon University, Cleveland Institute of Music, Texas A&M Commerce, Sam Houston State University, The Colburn School in Los Angeles, and San Francisco Conservatory. He also maintains a local education and outreach schedule, presenting percussion programs in elementary schools, and percussion clinics in high schools across the Houston area.

As a composer and soloist, Brian Del Signore premiered his Percussion Concerto with Houston Civic Symphony in 2018 and performed the Marimba Movement from that concerto with Houston Symphony in 2021.

Brian Del Signore endorses and is sponsored by manufacturers of high-quality percussion instruments. These companies: Remo Corporation, Sabian Cymbals, Pearl/Adams Percussion, ProMark Sticks (D’Addario), and Black Swamp Percussion, support Mr. Del Signore’s educational and outreach programs. For more information on these programs please visit www.briandelsignore.com.

Brian and his wife Leah have three grown children, Damian, Dominique, and Dione.

Mark Griffith joined the Houston Symphony in 2004. Before coming to Houston, he was a member of the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra and the New World Symphony, performing regularly under the baton of conductor Michael Tilson Thomas. He has also performed with the Honolulu Symphony, Buffalo Philharmonic, Charleston Symphony, Naples Philharmonic, and the National Repertory Orchestra.

Having grown up in Dallas, Griffith is a native Texan but received his education in various parts of the country. He did undergraduate music studies at Wheaton College outside of Chicago and earned a Master of Music from the University of Michigan. While at Wheaton, Griffith twice won the university’s concerto competition, performing marimba concertos by Paul Creston and Jorge Sarmientos. He was the recipient of the University of Michigan’s prestigious Charlie Owen Memorial Scholarship. His teachers include Alan Abel of the Philadelphia Orchestra, Salvatore Rabbio of the Detroit Symphony, Michael Udow of the Santa Fe Opera, and renowned marimba soloist Leigh Howard Stevens.

Griffith’s playing can be heard on a growing number of Houston Symphony recordings, as well as those of the New World Symphony. One particularly unique recording features a concerto for electric guitar and orchestra, performed by composer and guitar soloist Steve Mackey with the New World Symphony. In addition to percussion, Griffith is a trained pianist and organist. He and his wife Katherine are the proud parents of their son, Benjamin, and daughter, Katie.