HOUSTON, TX (Oct. 21, 2021) — Houston Symphony Principal POPS Conductor Steven Reineke is joined by jazz trumpet sensation Byron Stripling for a musical celebration of the life and art of Louis Armstrong, one of the most influential musicians in the history of jazz and popular culture in the United States. The Houston Symphony Bank of America POPS Series presents Wonderful World: The Louis Armstrong Songbook, Nov. 5–7.
A renowned trumpet virtuoso, singer, conductor, and actor in his own right, Byron Stripling currently holds the position of Principal POPS Conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony, and is universally acclaimed for his symphonic tributes to Louis Armstrong. Led by Steven Reineke, the exuberant evening features Stripling and the orchestra taking the audience on a spirited journey through the works that Armstrong made famous, including “Alexander’s Ragtime Band,” “Sweet Georgia Brown,” “Saint Louis Blues,” “Basin Street Blues,” “What a Wonderful World,” and “When the Saints Go Marching In.” This performance is also available via livestream on Saturday, Nov. 6, at 8 p.m. CT.
The livestream performance is available via a private link to ticket holders for $20. Everyone in the audience is required to wear a mask while in Jones Hall. For a comprehensive schedule of safety measures, visit houstonsymphony.org/safety. For tickets and more information, please call 713.224.7575 or visit houstonsymphony.org. Socially distanced seats are available in some portions of the auditorium. All programs and artists are subject to change.
Livestreaming of Houston Symphony concerts is made possible by Barbara J. Burger.
WONDERFUL WORLD: THE LOUIS ARMSTRONG SONGBOOK
Friday, Nov. 6, at 8 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 7, at 8 p.m.*
Sunday, Nov. 8, at 2:30 p.m.
Steven Reineke, conductor
Byron Stripling, trumpet and vocalist
*Livestreamed at 8 p.m. CT
About the Houston Symphony
During the 2021–22 Season, the Houston Symphony celebrates its final season under Andrés Orozco-Estrada as Music Director and continues its second century as one of America’s leading orchestras with a full complement of concert, community, education, touring, and recording activities. 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 $28.8 million (FY22), the full-time ensemble of professional musicians presents nearly 170 (FY19) concerts annually, making it the largest performing arts organization in Houston. Additionally, musicians of the orchestra and the Symphony’s two Community-Embedded Musicians offer over 1,000 (FY19) community-based performances each year at various schools, community centers, hospitals, and churches reaching more than 200,000 (FY19) people in Greater Houston annually, prior to COVID-19.
After suspending concert activities in March 2020 and cancelling the remainder of 2019–20 events due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Symphony resumed activities in May 2020, opening the 2020–21 Season on schedule in September 2020 with small audiences of 150, which the Symphony gradually increased to 450 audience members per performance. Due to the financial impact of the canceled 2019–20 Season events, plus the reduction of sales capacity due to audience social distancing in 2020–21, the Symphony cut expenses, reducing planned spending from $36.2 million in 2019–20 to $22.7 million in 2020–21. The Houston Symphony’s Education and Community Engagement team continued to fulfill its mission through creative and virtual means throughout this period. The Symphony successfully completed a full 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 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
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