HOUSTON, TX (Oct. 14, 2021) — The Houston Symphony announced today that tickets to its 2021–22 PNC Family Series Concerts are now on sale. The PNC Family Series opens December 4, 2021 with Music Director Andrés Orozco-Estrada leading Musical Treats from The Nutcracker─for Kids! Associate Conductor Robert Franz leads music from Pirates of the Caribbean and more in Let’s Be Pirates! February 5, 2022, as well as music from The Lion King and other African-themed works in African Adventure, April 23, 2022. There are two performances in Jones Hall on each concert date at 10 a.m. and 11:30 a.m.
In his final season as Music Director, Andrés Orozco-Estrada leads the first concert in the 2021–22 PNC Family Series Season, Musical Treats from The Nutcracker─for Kids! featuring some of the most beloved melodies from Act Two of Tchaikovsky’s iconic score, including the Russian Dance, the Chinese Dance, and the Waltz of the Flowers. The 11:30 a.m. performance is livestreamed, and both performances also include an appearance by Santa Claus and a dropbox for letters to Santa in the Jones Hall lobby. To get everyone in the holiday spirit, kids are encouraged to come dressed as their favorite holiday character.
All audience seating for Musical Treats from The Nutcracker─for Kids! is socially distanced, with masks required for everyone age 4 and older.
MUSICAL TREATS FROM THE NUTCRACKER─FOR KIDS!
SAT, DEC. 4, 2021, 10 a.m.
SAT, DEC. 4, 2021, 11:30 a.m.*
Andrés Orozco-Estrada, conductor
*livestreamed
LET’S BE PIRATES!
SAT, FEB. 5, 2022, 10 a.m.
SAT, FEB. 5, 2022, 11:30 a.m.
Robert Franz, conductor
AFRICAN ADVENTURE
SAT, APRIL 23, 2022, 10 A.M..
SAT, APRIL 23, 2022, 11:30 A.M.
Robert Franz, conductor
Ticket Information
Subscriptions and single tickets for the 2021–22 Season, including the Classical and Bank of America POPS Series, and now the PNC Family Series are now on sale. For more information, visit houstonsymphony.org or call the Houston Symphony Patron Services Center at 713.224.7575, Monday─Saturday, 12─6 p.m. All programs subject to change.
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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