HOUSTON, TX (September 25, 2024) — The Houston Symphony presents a series of four chamber music concerts, supplementing Music Director Juraj Valčuha’s 2024–25 season subscription mini-festivals, and showcasing the musicians of the Houston Symphony up close and personal, in a casual setting on the newly expanded Janice H. Barrow Piano Tier at Jones Hall.
“Chamber music is one of the most intimate forms of music making, allowing audiences to experience the outstanding musicians of the Houston Symphony in smaller settings, up close,” expressed Houston Symphony CEO, Executive Director, and holder of the Margaret Alkek Williams Chair John Mangum. “It’s critical for the artistic growth of our musicians as well,” he continued “strengthening their ensemble skills in ways that complement their work in the orchestra. There is an intuitive level of communication among the musicians in chamber music, a kind of musical ESP. This is part of what makes chamber music so exciting for audiences.”
The first concert in the series kicks off the Houston Symphony’s season-opening Bohemian Rhapsody Festival, with 13 distinguished Houston Symphony musicians joining forces to perform small ensembles from the rich musical wellspring of Bohemia, comprising Janáček’s Mládí for Woodwinds, Kaprálová’s Trio for Wind Instruments, and Dvořák’s String Quintet in G major. Performing are Judy Dines, flute; Principal Oboe Jonathan Fischer; Christian Schubert, clarinet; Principal Bassoon Rian Craypo; Ian Mayton, horn; Alexander Potiomkin, bass clarinet; Colin Gatwood, oboe; Associate Principal Bassoon Isaac Schultz; Assistant Concertmaster Boson Mo; Annie Chen, violin; Acting Associate Principal Viola Wei Jiang; Christopher French, cello; and Principal Bass Robin Kesselman.
Programming and performers for the remaining three concerts in the series will be announced at a later date, the concerts comprising Vienna Calling Festival: Passport to Vienna on December 1, 2024; Fairytales Festival: Fairy Tale Fantasy on March 16, 2025; and a Chamber Music Musician Showcase on May 18, 2025.
For tickets and information about any of the 2024–25 Season Houston Symphony Chamber Music Series, please call or text 713.224.7575 or visit houstonsymphony.org. Tickets are also available at the Houston Symphony Patron Services Center in Jones Hall (Monday–Saturday, 12–6 p.m.). All programs and artists are subject to change.
Bohemian Rhapsody Festival: Bohemian Rhapsodies
Sunday, September 29, 2024 @ 6:30 p.m., Jones Hall’s Janice H. Barrow Piano Tier
Judy Dines, flute
Jonathan Fischer, oboe
Christian Schubert, clarinet
Rian Craypo, bassoon
Ian Mayton, horn
Alexander Potiomkin, bass clarinet
Colin Gatwood, oboe
Isaac Schultz, bassoon
Boson Mo, violin
Annie Chen, violin
Wei Jiang, viola
Christopher French, cello
Robin Kesselman, bass
Janáček: Mládí (Youth) for Woodwinds
Kaprálová: Trio pro dechové nástroje (Trio for Wind Instruments)
Dvořák: String Quintet in G major
Vienna Calling Festival: Passport to Vienna
Sunday, December 1, 2024 at 6:30 p.m., Jones Hall
Fairy Tale Festival: Fairy Tale Fantasy
Sunday, March 6, 2025 at 6:30 p.m., Jones Hall
Chamber Music: Musician Showcase
Sunday, May 18, 2025 at 6:30 p.m., Jones Hall
About Houston Symphony
Under Music Director Juraj Valčuha, the Houston Symphony continues its second century inspiring and engaging a large and diverse audience in Houston and beyond through exceptional musical performances, and creating enduring impact in the Houston community. One of the oldest performing arts organizations in Texas, the Symphony held its inaugural performance at The Majestic Theater in downtown Houston on June 21, 1913. Today, with an operating budget of $40.7 million, the full-time ensemble of professional musicians presents more than 130 concerts annually, making it the largest performing arts organization in Houston. Traditionally, musicians of the orchestra and the Symphony’s Community-Embedded Musicians also offer nearly 600 community-based performances each year at various schools, community centers, hospitals, senior centers, and churches, annually reaching nearly 200,000 people in Greater Houston in addition to Jones Hall.
After suspending concert activities in March 2020, the Symphony successfully completed a full 2020–21 season with in-person audiences and weekly livestreams of each performance, making it one of the only orchestras in the world to do so. The Houston Symphony remains committed to livestreaming its 2024-25 Season to a broad audience in over 45 countries and all 50 states, one of few American orchestras dedicated to transmitting live performances to a sizeable audience outside its home city through this technology. 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. The Symphony’s most recent recordings include a Pentatone release in January 2022 of its world premiere performances of Jimmy López Bellido’s Aurora and Ad Astra, and a Naxos release in July 2023 of its world premiere performance of Jennifer Higdon’s Duo Duel.
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Eric Skelly: 713.337.8560, eric.skelly@houstonsymphony.org
Madison Mann: 832.930.4065 x120, madison@theckpgroup.com