HOUSTON (Feb. 12, 2020) – The Houston Symphony gears up for the start of Major League Baseball’s spring training with the baseball-themed, family-friendly program, Take Me Out to the Ballgame, at 10 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. on Feb. 29. The musical morning includes baseball-related activities for kids to enjoy before or after the concert.
Led by guest conductor Christopher Lees, the program includes ballpark tunes like “Take Me Out to the Ballgame,” “Deep in the Heart of Texas,” and a musical narration of the poem Casey at the Bat by Kevin Eschenfelder, sportscaster and current host of Houston Baseball Central on AT&T SportsNet Southwest.
Families enjoy musical activities like the Instrument Petting Zoo in the Jones Hall lobby. Lobby activities take place from 9 to 9:50 a.m. before the 10 a.m. concert and from 12:30 to 1 p.m. after the 11:30 a.m. concert.
Take Me Out to the Ballgame, sponsored by BBVA, takes 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.
TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALLGAME
Saturday, Feb. 29, 10 a.m.
Saturday, Feb. 29, 11:30 a.m.
Christopher Lees, conductor
Kevin Eschenfelder, narrator
About Christopher Lees
Emerging American conductor Christopher James Lees is becoming widely recognized for his passionate and nuanced orchestral performances, his fierce commitment to contemporary music, and his natural charisma in front of audiences around the world.
In 2018, he began an appointment as resident conductor of the Charlotte Symphony and music director of the Charlotte Symphony Youth Orchestra. He curates and conducts more than 70 performances a year on the contemporary AltSounds, Family, Education, CSO On-the-Go, OnTap, and select Pops Series. He made his subscription debut with the orchestra in October 2019.
An active guest conductor, Christopher has returned for performances with the Los Angeles Philharmonic; Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra; the Houston, North Carolina, and Flint Symphonies; and the Detroit, Milwaukee, and Portland Symphony Orchestras; as well as debuts with the Indianapolis and Vermont Symphony Orchestras and Kansas City and Toledo Symphonies.
Additional engagements have taken him to the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Orchestra de chambre de Paris, Aspen Philharmonic Orchestra, Cabrillo Festival Orchestra, and the Music in the Mountains festival and Festival Internacional de Inverno de Campos do Jordão in Brazil.
Only the second American Gustavo Dudamel Fellow with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Christopher made his debut with the orchestra in 2013 and returned for concerts in 2015.
An active pianist and equally comfortable in the opera pit, he has served as music director or assistant conductor for Aida (Atlanta Symphony Orchestra), Peter Grimes and John Harbison’s The Great Gatsby (Aspen Opera Theatre), Louis Andriessen’s De Materie and Philip Glass’s the CIVIL warS (Los Angeles Philharmonic), Don Giovanni and Mark Adamo’s Little Women (University of Michigan), and Nino Rota’s Il capello di paglia di Firenze (A.J. Fletcher Opera Institute).
With the New York Philharmonic and St. Louis Symphony, among others, Christopher has served as an assistant conductor for the world’s leading conductors, including Gustavo Dudamel, Paavo Järvi, Herbert Blomstedt, Leonard Slatkin, David Robertson, Robert Spano, Marin Alsop, Pablo Heras-Casado, Stéphane Danève, Susanna Mälkki, and Nicholas McGegan.
Music Director Robert Spano awarded Christopher the 2011 James Conlon Conductor Prize and the 2012 Aspen Conductor Prize at the Aspen Music Festival and School.
About the Houston Symphony
During the 2019–20 season, the Houston Symphony celebrates its sixth 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 $35.2 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 1,000 community-based performances each year at various schools, community centers, hospitals, and churches reaching more than 200,000 people in Greater Houston annually.
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.
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Eric Skelly: 713.337.8560, eric.skelly@houstonsymphony.org
Mireya Reyna: 713.337.8557, mireya.reyna@houstonsymphony.org
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