HOUSTON (March 20, 2019) – The Houston Symphony announced today the 2019–2020 Bank of America Summer Sounds lineup at Jones Hall with tickets now on sale. This year’s Series melds together symphony music with captivating concert experiences, animated feature films and orchestral arrangements of music by iconic artists. The lineup includes Virtual Reality in Concert: Music Illustrated, The Music of Queen, The Music of Selena and Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” Live in Concert.
The Bank of America Summer Sounds at Jones Hall opens with Virtual Reality in Concert: Music Illustrated, the first full length orchestra concert of its kind. In this cutting-edge program on June 13 & 14, Austin-based artist and dancer Topher Sipes wields Google’s Tilt Brush technology to create life-size 3-D images via virtual reality in real time onstage, choreographed to such iconic works of classical music as Saint-Saëns Danse Macabre and Debussy’s Clair de Lune. Conductor Ming Luke leads the orchestra in this unique concert experience of classical music enhanced by art created onstage with the Tilt Brush.
Guest conductor Brent Havens returns to Houston to lead the electrifying program The Music of Queen, a tribute to the British rock band whose music dominated the music charts in the ‘70s and ‘80s. On July 5 & 6, the Houston Symphony performs Queen’s greatest hits, including “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions,” “Killer Queen” and many more iconic hits, bringing Queen’s ground-breaking rock anthem “Bohemian Rhapsody” back to the classical roots that inspired it.
Paying homage to the “Queen of Tejano Music”, the Houston Symphony performs Selena’s influential songs with a live orchestra. With the help of the Symphony’s Hispanic Leadership Council─which aims to provide meaningful musical experiences to all segments of Houston’s diverse community─The Music of Selena celebrates the timeless and classic songs of singer/songwriter Selena Quintanilla. Formerly a contestant on Telemundo’s La Voz Kids, Isabel Marie Sanchez makes her Houston Symphony debut in the program on July 12 & 13. An acclaimed young recording artist, vocalist, and experienced performer, Sanchez recently gave showstopping interpretations of Selena’s music at the annual Fiesta de la Flor festival in Corpus Christi.
Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” Live in Concert closes out the Bank of America Summer Sounds at Jones Hall with songs and score by award-winning composer Alan Menken and lyricist Howard Ashman. The Houston Symphony brings to life Menken’s beloved Oscar-winning score of the Disney animated classic as the film is projected on a giant screen suspended above the orchestra on Aug. 31 and Sept. 1 at Jones Hall.
All concerts, presented by Bank of America, will take place at Jones Hall for the Performing Arts, 615 Louisiana Street, in Houston’s Theater District. For tickets and information, please call (713) 224-7575 or visit houstonsymphony.org. Tickets may also be purchased at the Houston Symphony Patron Services Center in Jones Hall (Monday–Saturday, 12–6 p.m.). All programs and artists are subject to change.
VIRTUAL REALITY IN CONCERT: MUSIC ILLUSTRATED
June 13 & 14, 7:30 p.m.
Ming Luke, conductor
Topher Sipes, artist
MUSIC OF QUEEN
July 5 & 6, 7:30 p.m.
Brent Havens, conductor
Brody Dolyniuk, vocals
MUSIC OF SELENA
July 12, 7:30 p.m.
July 13, 2:30 and 7:30 p.m.
Andrés Franco, conductor
Isabel Marie Sanchez, vocalist
DISNEY’S THE LITTLE MERMAID LIVE IN CONCERT
Aug. 31, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 1, 2:30 p.m.
Jason Seber, conductor
About the Houston Symphony
During the 2018–2019 season, the Houston Symphony celebrates its fifth season with Music Director Andrés Orozco-Estrada and continues its second century as one of America’s leading orchestras with a full complement of concert, community, education, touring and recording activities. The Houston Symphony, one of the oldest performing arts organizations in Texas, held its inaugural performance at The Majestic Theater in downtown Houston June 21, 1913. Today, with an annual operating budget of $33.9 million, the full-time ensemble of 88 professional musicians presents nearly 170 concerts annually, making it the largest performing arts organization in Houston. Additionally, musicians of the orchestra and the Symphony’s four Community-Embedded Musicians offer over 900 community-based performances each year, reaching thousands of people in Greater Houston.
The Grammy Award-winning Houston Symphony has recorded under various prestigious labels, including Naxos, Koch International Classics, Telarc, RCA Red Seal, 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.
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Eric Skelly: (713) 337-8560, eric.skelly@houstonsymphony.org
Mireya Reyna: (713) 337-8557, mireya.reyna@houstonsymphony.org
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