HOUSTON (April 8, 2020) – The Houston Symphony announced that it is extending its concert cancellations, canceling all previously scheduled concerts and community activities through the months of May and June 2020 in order to protect the health of audiences, musicians, and staff.
“Our hope is that we will be able to reschedule some of these programs and this repertoire in the future,” said Executive Director, CEO, and holder of the Margaret Alkek Williams Chair John Mangum, “We look forward to announcing our summer line-up as soon as we’re able, and to coming back stronger than ever in our 2020–21 season, which begins in the fall. We are so grateful to the remarkable, resilient Houston community we serve.”
The concerts affected by the cancellations include the Symphony’s season-ending concerts Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy and The Best of John Williams─Star Wars & More with Chorus, Game On!, Coco—Film with Live Orchestra, The Music of Pink Floyd, two performances at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, the annual Neighborhood Concerts, and the Ima Hogg Competition.
The Houston Symphony has established a relief fund to help mitigate between $6 and 7 million in lost revenue caused by this crisis.
The Houston Symphony is also reaching out to ticket-holders for the canceled concerts via email, phone, web, and social media to ask that they:
• donate the cost of the tickets to the Symphony. The Symphony will provide a donation form for the ticket value for tax purposes.
• exchange their ticket(s) for another scheduled performance in 2020 or for a voucher for the value of their purchase, allowing the ticket-holder more time to decide on another performance later on, or
• The Symphony’s Patron Services Center is available by phone to answer any questions or help with exchanges at 713.224.7575 during operating hours: Monday–Saturday, 12 noon–6 p.m.
The Houston Symphony encourages people to follow their social media pages and visit houstonsymphony.org/listenathome for daily content updates including musician videos, blogs, archival audio and video performances, and more.
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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