December 2022

2022-23 Season Festival Preview
This season, Music Director Juraj Valčuha will lead the orchestra and special guests in two unforgettable festivals taking place over two weekends: Riots & Scandals: Classical Music that Rocked the World (January 13–15, 2023, and January 20–22, 2023) and Songs of Earth (February 10–12, 2023, and February 17–19, 2023). Here’s a sneak peek of what you can look forward to!
Riots & Scandals: Classical Music that Rocked the World
For the opening weekend of Riots & Scandals (January 13–15, 2023), one of today’s most acclaimed and admired pianists, Yefim Bronfman, returns to perform with the orchestra. Bronfman will take on the staggering virtuosity of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concert No. 3, a piece so demanding that it is often described as the “Mt. Everest” of concertos. Also on the program is British composer Hannah Kendall’s The Spark Catchers.
Finally, Bartók’s Miraculous Mandarin, featuring the Houston Symphony Chorus alongside the orchestra, closes the evening. Incendiary when first premiered in 1926, the one act pantomime ballet was banned on moral grounds for its themes of sensuality and violence. Thankfully, Bartók’s explosive musical score remains, and these concerts are your chance to experience every white-hot note.
On the second weekend of the Riots & Scandals festival (January 20–22, 2023), the orchestra will perform Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring’s pounding rhythms, propulsive energy, and sonic energy for an electrifying experience unlike anything else in the art. “The work of a madman … sheer cacophony!” That is how composer Giacomo Puccini described Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring shortly after its premiere in 1913. And yet, a century after the ballet and orchestral work was met with derisive laughter and outrage, it is regarded as one of the most important musical works of the twentieth century.
Also in the program, Georgian-French pianist, Khatia Buniatishvili makes her Houston Symphony debut, joining Valčuha and the orchestra for Tchaikovsy’s Piano Concerto No. 1. The program also features Sensemayá by Silvestre Revueltas—widely considered one of the most significant figures of twentieth century Mexican music.
Songs of The Earth
The second festival, Songs of the Earth, features programming that melds music from the East with Western compositions. On the first weekend (February 10–12, 2023), world-renowned vocalists Sasha Cooke and Clay Hilley join Valčuha and the orchestra for one of Mahler’s most stunningly powerful masterpieces, the “song-symphony” Das von der Erde (The Song of the Earth). The soul-stirring meditation on life and death, featuring poignant texts drawn from ancient Chinese poetry, is fittingly paired with Chinese-French composer Qigang Chen’s Itinerary of an Illusion.
The second weekend (February 17–19, 2023) of Songs of the Earth pairs music from prominent Japanese composers with pieces by Ravel and Debussy. The concert opens with Ravel’s well-known Mother Goose Suite, which musically depicts in each movement a character from the Mother Goose fairytales. Next, Tōru Takemitsu’s haunting concerto for two pianos and orchestra, Quotation of Dream (Say Sea, Take Me)—which fittingly uses music motifs from Debussy’s symphonic poem La Mer—sees the Houston Symphony debut of Dutch piano duo Lucas and Arthur Jussen performing on two pianos.
Toshio Hosokawa’s breathtaking mediation on nature, Autumn Wind, which features a solo role for the shakuhachi, a Japanese and ancient Chinese vertical flute made of bamboo, follows. To play this unique instrument, the Houston Symphony welcomes Kojiro Umezaki, a Japanese-Dutch performer and composer in his debut with the orchestra. The Songs of the Earth festival concludes with Debussy’s La Mer, one of classical music’s most unforgettable and immersive experiences, whisking the listener through a glowing Impressionistic dreamscape of shimmering beauty and mystical, awe-inspiring power.
Don’t miss out on these two dynamic festivals coming up this spring! To purchase tickets for these incredible performances, visit houstonsymphony.org/tickets.

The Sounds of the Season are at the Houston Symphony! Music is a magical medium that makes the holidays special—can you imagine December without those familiar yuletide favorites? These unforgettable festive notes created by your talented orchestra make the season even brighter.
This holiday season, we are celebrating all that you do to help us share the joy of live orchestral music with our city—and we sure have a lot to celebrate! We had a strong start to the 2022–23 Season as we welcomed a new era of artistic leadership with Juraj Valčuha as our Music Director. And with an 88-member full-time orchestra comprised of some of the greatest talent from around the world, we have attracted some of music’s biggest stars to Houston. This season features performances with virtuosos such as Joshua Bell, Itzhak Perlman, Yefim Bronfman, Lise de la Salle, Camilla Thomas, and more!
We are also celebrating the expansion of our Education and Community Engagement initiatives. We continued our Student Concert Series, which we anticipate will serve 42,100 students this season, and launched DeLUXE K!ds In Harmony, a new program in partnership with the Fifth Ward Cultural Arts District and the American Festival of the Arts (AFA) that provides exceptional violin training and social development for 3rd and 4th grade students from Houston’s Fifth Ward neighborhood.
You can share the Sounds of the Season by making a gift to the Houston Symphony this holiday season. When you donate, you help to bring the joy of music to more than 400,000 people through our in-person and virtual artistic programming, robust array of education programs, and our community engagement initiatives. You also support the brilliant musicians that bring our innovative and exciting musical performances to life.
Visit houstonsymphony.org/donate to make your gift online or email giving@houstonsymphony.org to learn about additional ways to give by our December 31 deadline.
For more information about the Sounds of the Season campaign, please contact Tim Richey, Director, Individual Giving at tim.richey@houstonsymphony.org or 713.337.8531.
Spotlight: PNC Family Series
The Houston Symphony’s PNC Family Concert Series returns for another season of fun and educational orchestra concerts! This series, which takes place on Saturday mornings at 10:00 a.m. and 11:30 a.m., is open to children of all ages and includes interactive concert experiences, themed arts and crafts activities, and our popular Instrument Petting Zoo. This season’s series features exciting concerts, including Celebrating Black Composers: Ellington, Hendrix, Price & More; Ho-Ho-Holiday!: Polar Express, Frozen, & More; Blast Off to Space!; and Fairy Tales for Kids!
Starting with the 2021–22 Season, PNC Bank has sponsored the Houston Symphony’s Family Concert Series as part of their unwavering commitment to preparing children, particularly underserved children, for success in school and life. Research shows that 90% of a child’s brain develops by age five. Research has also proven that exposure to music education and music-making experiences in a child’s early years can lead to markedly accelerated brain development. PNC Bank believes that it’s never too early to invest in a child’s future and supports initiatives that help young minds flourish. Through the Houston Symphony’s PNC Family Concert Series, PNC seeks to provide everyone increased and equitable access to the arts—even the youngest concertgoers.
The Houston Symphony thanks PNC Bank for all they have done and their continued support!
Spotlight: The Wortham Foundation, Inc.
The Houston Symphony is fortunate to have the generous and longstanding support of The Wortham Foundation, Inc. whose grants play a vital role in maintaining the orchestra’s artistic excellence and organizational strength. The Wortham Foundation, Inc. has been a partner of the Houston Symphony for more than 45 years, and their investment in the Symphony has been invaluable to the organization’s artistic growth.
The Houston Symphony has made strides to establish itself as a leader in the performing arts and has accomplished several key achievements in pursuit of this goal.
- 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 for the same recording at the 60th annual ceremony in the Best Opera Recording category in 2018.
- Also in 2018, the Houston Symphony embarked on a two-week European tour—our first of the continent in more than 20 years—with superstar violinist Hilary Hahn, performing for enthusiastic audiences in eight of the world’s most renowned concert halls.
- September 2019 marked our first livestreamed concert when the orchestra performed Stravinsky’s The Firebird, broadcasting the performance to patrons across the country and around the world.
- In 2020, the Symphony held a two-week Schumann Festival, exploring the works of the romantic composer and featuring pop-up chamber performances and lectures at various venues around the city of Houston.
- Since 2012, the Symphony has also attracted and retained highly talented musicians, hiring 25 full-time professional orchestra members.
These successes have raised the reputation of not only the Symphony, but of Houston as a cultural arts center—all possible, in part, due to the support of The Wortham Foundation, Inc. The Wortham Foundation, Inc. has also generously provided additional support and leadership funding at critical times following natural disasters and public health crises. This has allowed the Houston Symphony to weather unforeseeable events with the financial stability and strength befitting the oldest and largest performing arts organization in the city of Houston.
We are grateful for our partnership with The Wortham Foundation, Inc. and thank them for their continued support over the years!

A Conversation with Legacy Society Member Tammie Johnson
During this season of giving, the Houston Symphony is grateful for the Legacy Society, whose members have included the Houston Symphony Endowment in their long-term estate plans. Through a bequest in a will, life income gift, or other planned giving arrangements, Legacy Society members invest in the durability and growth of our orchestra.
In this issue, we spotlight Houston Symphony League member and Legacy Society Crescendo Circle member Tammie Johnson.
The Texas-native has a deep appreciation and passion for orchestral music and has devoted a great deal of time to the Houston Symphony. Tammie previously served on the Houston Symphony Board of Trustees where she was on several committees, including the Education and Development committees. She is currently a Houston Symphony League Executive Board Member and has previously served on League committees, including the Auction and Ima Hogg Competition committees. In addition, Tammie—along with her husband, Dr. Charles Anders Johnson—has been a Legacy Society member since 2021.
We spoke to Tammie about her passion for music, her involvement in the Houston Symphony, and why she decided to join the Legacy Society.

What sparked your passion for music and the arts?
My mother sparked my love for music and the arts when I was a small child because she was a musician, herself—she sang, played the piano, and played the oboe. My mother was also an artist and she loved painting with oils. She would make frequent trips to Puerto Vallarta to paint landscapes. Because of my mother’s love for the arts, I began playing the piano in middle school and continued playing for three years.
When I had children, I wanted to teach them to love and appreciate music and the arts like my mother had done for me. My daughter, Brittney, began playing the violin at the age of six. She learned to play the violin using the Suzuki learning method, which emphasizes parental involvement, so we practiced together every day for years. She earned the position of second chair violin with the Austin Youth Orchestra when she was eight years old. Brittney continued playing the violin until the age of 13, and she especially loved playing Beethoven pieces. I enjoyed the arts and music so very much that I went to graduate school at Rice University where I studied arts, social science, and music, and graduated with a master’s degree in Liberal Studies.
What initially attracted you to the city of Houston and what made you stay?
I was born in San Antonio, and I lived in Houston when I was a child. I have lived in five states including: New York, Massachusetts, South Carolina, Georgia, and Texas. As an adult, I moved back to Texas and lived in Austin for 18 years. I met my husband—my soulmate—in Austin 20 years ago. He is a very busy ophthalmologist based in Houston with the Texas Eye Institute, so I moved back to Houston, and we were married in 2003. Without a doubt, Texas is my favorite state and Houston is my favorite city!
All three of our children graduated from high school in Houston and graduated from Texas colleges. Our whole family loves Texas and Houston! We have three beautiful, precious granddaughters—two live in Houston and one lives in San Antonio. Our whole family enjoys the Houston Symphony, the Astros, and Tex-Mex food!
When was the first time you saw a Houston Symphony performance? Could you describe what it was like?
I saw my first Houston Symphony performance was when I was in middle school, and I was around 12 years old. Since I was taking piano lessons at the time, my parents took me to a concert to help me develop a love and appreciation for the orchestra. I remember being thrilled to see all the different instruments, and I was incredibly impressed with the conductor and musicians!
When did you decide to become a Houston Symphony donor? Why?
I decided to become a Houston Symphony donor when I joined the Houston Symphony League in 2018. I wanted to get involved at the Houston Symphony because of my appreciation for music, the arts, and Houston. The Houston Symphony attracts some of the world’s finest classical musicians and popular artists to perform with our incredible orchestra! The Symphony also brings great joy to me, my children, and grandchildren. Although I am delighted to be a part of the Houston Symphony for these reasons, one of the most important reasons that I chose to be a donor is because the Houston Symphony includes free and low-cost programs, events, and concerts in schools, hospitals, senior centers, and other community venues through their Community-Embedded Musicians initiative. The Houston Symphony also offers Student Concerts, which sparks the imagination of children!
My mother taught me from a young age that when much is given, much is required. Being a Houston Symphony donor and giving my time and resources to this organization brings me great happiness. I have chaired several Houston Symphony events, and I enjoy being a small part of a large mission. The Houston Symphony is one of the very best orchestras in the country, and the Houston Symphony gives back to the Houston community. I am thrilled to be a donor for the Houston Symphony because of my deep roots in Houston, arts appreciation, and my philosophy of giving back to the community. This is why my husband and I support the Houston Symphony as Legacy Society donors.
How did you learn about the Houston Symphony Legacy Society and why did you decide to join?
My husband and I learned about the Legacy Society through Betty and Jesse Tutor, who are the Houston Symphony Legacy Society Chairs. When Betty and Jesse shared information with us about the Houston Symphony Legacy Society, Charles and I were very impressed. We wanted to be a part of its mission to preserve and build up the orchestra. We decided to join the Legacy Society because we love music and the arts, and we appreciate that the Houston Symphony gives back to the community.
We included the Houston Symphony in our estate plans because we understand that a strong endowment is integral to the stability and growth of the orchestra. As an added benefit, Houston Symphony Legacy Society donors can receive a variety of tax and estate benefits. Most importantly, being a Houston Symphony Legacy Society donor helps ensure that the gift of live orchestral music will be available for future generations.
What is your favorite Houston Symphony memory?
I cannot name just one favorite Houston Symphony memory. I have many favorite Houston Symphony memories. Some of my favorites include: my first Houston Symphony concert as a teenager, being a Houston Symphony Trustee, joining the Houston Symphony League, meeting new Houston Symphony friends, chairing Houston Symphony events—especially Magical Musical Morning with my children and grandchildren—and joining the Houston Symphony Legacy Society. Charles and I love the Houston Symphony and we are thrilled to be a part of the Symphony family now and for many years to come!
For more information on creating a legacy gift and becoming a member of the Legacy Society, contact Christine Ann Stevens, Director of Major Gifts, at christine.stevens@houstonsymphony.org or 713.337.8521.

Very Merry Pops
It’s the most wonderful time of the year! This year, the Symphony and Chorus, led by former Principal POPS Conductor, Michael Krajewski, are joined by Broadway star, N’Kenge, to perform holiday classics and festive favorites at Very Merry Pops. There’s still time to buy tickets to this Houston Symphony tradition—don’t miss out!
Symphony Notes Archive

Music Director Juraj Valčuha
Juraj Valčuha’s Inaugural Season
On September 16, 2022, the Symphony kicked off Jujaj Valčuha’s inaugural season with a rousing performance of Verdi’s Requiem, the composer’s largest nonoperatic work. The 2022–23 Classical Season is shaping up to be one of our most exciting yet and there’s many more thrilling performances to look forward to.
Here are some upcoming highlights of Juraj’s inaugural season:
- Holst’s The Planets on November 11–13, 2022, with New Zealand-born conductor Gemma New, cellist Camille Thomas, and the Women of the Houston Symphony Chorus
- Two appearances by Houston Symphony Artistic Partner Itzhak Perlman performing with the orchestra, as well as a special recital by Mr. Perlman on February 26, 2023
- A tribute to John Barbirolli, Houston Symphony music director from 1961 to 1967, with a replica of one of his programs on May 12–14, 2023, including Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6, Pathétique
- Seven appearances by the Houston Symphony Chorus, including Messiah in December
- A season conclusion on May 19–20, 2023, with a multimedia presentation of Stravinsky’s opera-oratorio Oedipus Rex, featuring the artistry of tenor Sean Panikkar, mezzo-soprano Michelle DeYoung, and visual artist Adam Larsen
You will not want to miss out on these upcoming world-class performances. This extraordinary season was made possible due to your support and contributions. Thank you for helping us create an amazing season!

Dr. Allen Hightower and the Houston Symphony Chorus at the first rehearsal of Verdi’s Requiem
A Conversation with Dr. Hightower
Juraj Valčuha is not the only new addition to the Houston Symphony’s artistic leadership this year! This season we also welcomed our new Director of the Houston Symphony Chorus, Dr. Allen Hightower.
A seventh-generation Texan, Allen is the director of choral studies at the University of North Texas (UNT), and serves as conductor of UNT’s A Cappella Choir, Grand Chorus, and the early music vocal ensemble, Vox Aquilae. Allen previously served as the artistic director of the Houston Masterworks Chorus and Orchestra and is currently on the music staff of Stonebriar Community Church in Frisco, Texas. Now, he brings his years of knowledge and experience to the Houston Symphony!
We spoke with Allen about his inaugural season with the Symphony, his career, and the upcoming season of chorus performances.
How did your career begin, and when did you realize that you loved choral music and conducting?
Like so many vocal musicians, it started in the church. I was first struck by the power of music as a kid singing in children’s choirs and by the time I was in high school, I was at the piano and the organ playing for church. I was also in public school music programs where I played the French horn and played for, and sang in, choirs. I grew up in a small town north of Houston called Livingston—it’s a little town of maybe 5,000 people, but it had strong music teachers in the schools. I’m definitely the product of great Texas public school music programs. My family is full of lawyers and judges, so I thought that I would head in that direction, but by the time I was a junior in high school, I started to wonder if maybe music could be a real career for me. I had a lot of support and I decided to pursue my first degree in piano performance and music education.
I taught high school choir for six years, which was really terrific for me. I could have taught high school for my whole career—I really enjoyed what I did. But there came a time when I wanted to do more training, so I got my master’s in choral conducting from Eastman [School of Music], I went to Baylor University and got a master’s degree in orchestral conducting, and then went to UCLA where I got my doctorate [in conducting]. From the time I was a junior in high school, I felt very energized about being in front of an ensemble, helping them make decisions, and guiding them musically. By the time I got my undergraduate degree, I had a pretty good idea that leading choirs was intuitive to me and something that I had a pretty strong gift at doing.
Why were you interested in this position?
One of my great loves is the choral-orchestral repertoire. I love working with choirs without any accompaniment, and I love the great English tradition of cathedral music with the choir and organ, but there’s something really special about music that’s written for the choir and orchestra together. I have a pretty strong background in that arena, as well. In my role at the University of North Texas, I’m either preparing our Grand Chorus for my colleague, the orchestra conductor, or I’m the person who’s actually conducting the performance with choir and orchestra. Additionally, in my role at the University of North Texas, I conduct our early music vocal ensemble, which partners with our Baroque Orchestra. There’s a special kind of training that goes into getting the choir ready to sing with a large orchestra. Singing a cappella without any accompaniment is one thing, singing with an organ is another thing, but singing with an orchestra—it takes another level of skillsets for the singers.
My friend, Betsy Cook Weber, led the Houston Symphony Chorus for eight seasons and I’ve long had respect for her, and we’ve had a really great friendship. When she decided to step down last February, she recommended me for the post. They made an offer, and I was greatly honored to accept.
You have had a long and distinguished career—holding various director positions and traveling to 30 states, Asia, and Europe to teach and conduct. Out of all your artistic accomplishments so far, what has been especially meaningful to you?
Within our profession, there are these conferences, like the American Choral Director’s Association or the Texas Music Educators Association, and I’ve been privileged to have my choirs sing for those conferences on a number of occasions at the state level and the national level. Those were very gratifying because you’re able to go and share the accomplishments of your students with your peers. I’ve also enjoyed touring with choirs and making several European tours. There’s something really special about choral music when you sing in a sacred space like a cathedral. The position I had before coming to the University of North Texas was at Luther College, and I remember touring Italy. And we sang at a place called Assisi, a church in Italy. I remember going in the lower chapel with the Nordic Choir for a very short rehearsal before we were supposed to sing for a service. It was the most extraordinary acoustic I’d ever had a choir sing in. It was as though, out of roughly 70 people, every individual could hear every other individual in the most perfect way. So that was a very gratifying experience artistically.
I’d also say the privilege of conducting the UNT orchestra and Grand Chorus in large works has been another source of great joy for me. Since I’ve been at UNT, I’ve conducted works like the Brahms’ Requiem and Mendelson’s Elijah. I love preparing the choir for other people, but it’s also very gratifying to be on the podium as well.
Who are some of your favorite composers? And what are your favorite works to conduct?
I have a particular interest and affinity for sacred works, and I love Baroque music. There’s something that’s energizing to me about that vocabulary. When I think of the great masterworks, such as Bach’s St. Matthew and St. John Passions, and the Mass in B minor, and the wonderful works of Handel and those composers—those are particularly of interest to me. In the role that I have with the Houston Symphony Chorus, the vast majority of repertoire I will be preparing for the maestro will not be Baroque music, it will be later music—music of the Classical and Romantic periods, as well as twentieth and twenty-first century-composers. I think from the standpoint of my own education, knowledge, and evolution, having a post like with the Houston Symphony Chorus allows me to have a reason to learn repertoire that I wouldn’t necessarily prepare myself. I’m energized by that opportunity.
As you know, we kicked off the season with Verdi’s Requiem. The piece was a huge undertaking—not only for the orchestra, but for the Chorus as well. How did you prepare for that?
It was a grueling piece, there’s no question about it. We started preparing in August and the performance was in September, so it was a fast preparation. There were some singers in the ensemble who had sung it before, and that was helpful. So, we had some sectional work and a weekend intensive to kind of help get prepared. I think it’s a work that is very gratifying for the singers—it’s fulfilling because there’s a great deal of choral music in that work. Sometimes, you’ll have a major work where the chorus is less important, but I think the Chorus is singing extensively throughout the Verdi, so it’s gratifying for them. My very first meeting with the Chorus was the first Verdi Requiem rehearsal in early August. So, it was basically, “Hi! I’m Allen Hightower. I’m your new Director, let’s go! We have lots of work to do.” The Chorus worked really hard. I’m delighted with their sense of commitment to the organization and their commitment to music. It’s a fully volunteer chorus, so I’m really inspired by the desire of these singers—their daily work might be a music teacher, they might be a doctor, they might be a lawyer, and yet they come to those Tuesday night rehearsals with full commitment to reach the highest of artistic standards.
The Chorus has a few performances coming up—including Holst’s The Planets, Handel’s Messiah, and Very Merry Pops. Which program are you most looking forward to directing? Why?
I have a pretty robust commitment schedule at the University of North Texas and at my church position, so I actually won’t be preparing Very Merry Pops this year, but I will be preparing Messiah for Matthew Halls, who is a brilliant English musician and conductor. So, I’m really excited about that. I’ve seen his work before, several years ago with the Oregon Bach Festival in Eugene, Oregon and he’s a fabulous musician. Messiah is a work I’ve prepared and conducted with orchestras like the Fort Worth Symphony before and with other groups, so I’m particularly delighted to prepare this piece. It’s a perennial favorite for the singers and for the audience. I never get tired of preparing Messiah, as many times as I’ve worked on that piece.
The 2022-23 Season is the start of a new era at the Houston Symphony—from the organization’s recent rebranding to the addition of Music Director, Juraj Valčuha. What are your initial thoughts about working with Juraj?
I would just say, the week of working with Juraj preparing Verdi’s Requiem was really a thrilling experience. I think he’s just brilliant and has a wonderful way with the singers. I think that is, in part, because of his interest and experience in opera. He was able to really coax a wonderful response from the singers in the Chorus, as well as from the orchestra and soloists. For me, it’s been an ongoing inspiration and music education, really, working with musicians of this caliber.
What do you enjoy doing outside your various music-focused roles?
I’m a husband and a father—I’ve got two darling teenage daughters at home. So, I love just spending time with my family. I’m also a church musician so that takes up a portion of my time as well. I enjoy reading and I particularly enjoy reading biographies about leaders. I’m a big fan of Abraham Lincoln, for instance, and Winston Churchill—people who have been in leadership roles during pivotal times. I learn a lot about leadership by learning about their lives. That’s really what a conductor is called to be–a leader who brings people together. With a choir, you have to take a group of singers and provide leadership and a vision for them.
Have you spent much time in Houston? If so, what are your favorite things about the city?
I was actually born in Houston. The first orchestra I ever heard was the Houston Symphony as a high school kid, so I feel a certain affinity for the Symphony. I also sang in the Houston Symphony Chorus when I was a high school teacher at Klein High School back in the 90s. I love Houston and I’ve spent lots of time in the city. As many people point out, the food scene here is great, lots of great restaurants, and just a lot of lovely people. It’s a powerfully diverse city in terms of so many cultures coming together. I appreciate that Houston is passionate about its arts scene, whether that’s in theater, choral music, ballet, or groups like the Houston Chamber Choir. It’s just a world-class city. I’ve lived in lots of different places, but Houston is a combination of so many different wonderful things. There’s just something for everyone here, really.
So, you went from being a singer in the Symphony Chorus to being the director. What a full circle moment!
It is! Having sung in the Houston Symphony Chorus and having sung in other large symphonic choirs like the Los Angeles Master Chorale, I want to bring my perspective of the singer’s side to this leadership role. Charles Hausmann, Betsy Cook Weber, and their predecessors did lovely work with the Chorus, so I just consider it a great honor to carry on that tradition. My goal is to bring my sound to the Chorus, my unique fingerprints, and my perspective which is born out of my own journey as a musician and all the influences that have been in my musical journey thus far. And, again, partnering with a world-class orchestral conductor like Juraj to experience this music at such a high level is really thrilling. I feel greatly honored.

Meet New Development Staff Members
The Houston Symphony’s Development department has added some new members that you will be seeing at Jones Hall and upcoming Symphony events. We are happy to introduce these outstanding additions to the team!

Lauren Buchanan, Development Communications Manager
Development Communications Manager Lauren Buchanan is a Houston native who grew up in the Third Ward neighborhood. She earned her B.A. in Journalism from Howard University, with a minor in Art History. Lauren has a background in public relations, communications, and project management and has worked in a variety of settings including government agencies, PR and advertising agencies, and Capitol Hill. After living in Washington, D.C. for 9 years, Lauren moved back to her hometown late last year before joining the Symphony.
Lauren’s love for the arts was instilled in her at a very young age. Her mother, a retired speech pathologist, is a visual artist, and her father, a physician, plays the guitar, drums, and bass guitar. She began playing piano at the age of 5 and trained in the Suzuki method until her adolescence. She was involved in the chorus and handbell choir at Parker Elementary School and participated in several musical theater productions in middle school. In addition to music, Lauren also trained in classical ballet at the Houston Ballet Academy’s Pre-Professional Program throughout her childhood. Her favorite classical composers are Beethoven, Mozart, and Schumann. She also loves listening to music genres of all kinds—especially pop, classic rock, ‘80s new wave, and K-pop.
Outside of music, Lauren enjoys film and art history. She regularly visits the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, where she is a member of the African American Art Advisory Association (5A). When she isn’t working, you can find her working out, catching a movie in theaters, or practicing roller-skating (her newly acquired pandemic hobby).
A self-proclaimed “pop culture afficionado”, Lauren is always happy to talk about reality TV, entertainment news, or the British Royal family!

Christine Ann Stevens, Director of Major Gifts
Christine Ann Stevens is a familiar face at the Houston Symphony. She previously served as both a Major Gifts Officer and Director of Individual Giving and, after serving as the Director of Development at Theatre Under The Stars, she recently returned to the Symphony. A graduate of the University of Houston, Christine is a life-long learner, is an active member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, and earned her Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) credential in 2018. She is currently pursuing her MBA from the University of Houston-Downtown, earning her graduate certificate in finance in May 2022 and completing her MBA in December 2022.
Christine credits her family for her love of music and the arts. Growing up, her parents loved to attend ballet and symphony performances and often brought Christine and her sister along with them. Her family moved frequently due to her father’s military career, and every time they relocated, their first order of business was to find their local performing arts hall and attend a performance. For her whole life, the arts have provided a sense of familiarity, comfort, and community no matter where she lived. Her favorite composer is Haydn, and she has recently loved getting to know the work of contemporary composer Reena Esmail. Although she loves classical music, she listens to and appreciates all genres of music equally.
When she is not working with her stellar team of Major Gifts officers, Christine and her husband, Richard, enjoy attending a wide variety of performing arts performances. She also dabbles in playing the violin, watercolor painting, and is an avid traveler—her favorite vacation destination is Portugal.
Christine and Richard are proud parents to several furry friends—be sure to ask about their newest addition, a precious pup named Oliver!

Sarah Thompson,
Institutional Giving Associate
Institutional Giving Associate Sarah Thompson grew up in the Heights neighborhood of northwest Houston. She attended Kinder High School for Performing and Visual Arts (HSPVA) and earned her B.A. in History and Classical Studies from Trinity University in San Antonio, with a minor in Arts, Letters, and Enterprise—a unique program that provides business classes specifically tailored for humanities students. Sarah interned at the San Antonio Symphony before joining us at the Houston Symphony in June.
Sarah has always felt a natural affinity towards music. Sensing her interest, her parents put Sarah in clarinet lessons when she was in fourth grade. Sarah went on to play the clarinet for eight years and played in the band at HSPVA. Sarah had a Houston Symphony connection before she started working with us—in high school, she took clarinet lessons from Carol LeGrand, wife of Associate Principal Clarinet and E-flat Clarinet, Thomas LeGrand. Today, she enjoys playing the guitar and singing. Some of her favorite composers are Stravinsky and Gershwin. Outside of classical music, she likes listening to pop and rock music.
Sarah loves playing video games, practicing guitar, and playing Dungeons & Dragons in her spare time. She also spends a lot of time with her cat, Zuko, whom she adopted in November 2020.

Tim Richey,
Director of Individual Giving
Director of Individual Giving Tim Richey is another familiar face at the Houston Symphony. Tim previously served as Manager of VIP Patron Services here from 2006 to 2011, before moving on to serve as the Director of Major Gifts at the Alley Theatre. More recently, he comes to us from the 4th Wall Theatre Company, where he served as Managing Director. A Virginia-native, Tim moved to Houston in 2004 and considers himself a proud Houstonian.
Tim started his career in the arts by working as a box office manager. After getting his bachelor's degree in business management from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, and his master’s in sport administration from Central Michigan University, he originally wanted to go into the sports industry. However, once he landed a job as the box office manager of a small community theater, he fell in love with the energy of the live performances and enjoyed the creativity and dedication of the artists that surrounded him. He has been involved in the arts ever since, eventually moving into Development. Some of Tim’s favorite classical composers are Mozart and Beethoven. When he is not listening to classical music, his favorite music genres include punk, indie rock, and 80s new wave—he especially loves the music of Prince.
Outside of work, Tim enjoys playing the drums, writing songs, and reading. He also likes to spend time with his cats and new dog, Cynthia Rose, who he adopted during the pandemic.
Tim loves traveling and has visited all 50 states except Vermont. If you have any Vermont travel tips or must-see destinations, feel free to let him know!
Please say hello to these newest members of your Symphony Development staff the next time you’re in Jones Hall. They look forward to meeting you!

Looking Ahead To The 2022–23 Season
With the current season wrapping up, it’s time to look ahead to the 2022–23 Season, Juraj Valčuha’s first as the orchestra’s sixteenth music director and fifth holder of the Roy and Lillie Cullen Chair.
Valčuha, currently Music Director of the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples, Italy and First Guest Conductor of the Konzerthausorchester Berlin—where he works with former Houston Symphony Music Director Christoph Eschenbach—is known for his authenticity, passion, musical excellence, and ability to communicate brilliantly with the orchestra. In the 2022–23 Season, you will experience his plans for the orchestra: combining masterpieces of the Classical and Romantic periods with new and rarely performed works of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, while also featuring powerful dramatic works for voice and orchestra.
He will have a major impact on the orchestra, conducting fully half of the 2022–23 Season. He opens the Classical Season on the Symphony’s Opening Night weekend of September 16-18, 2022 with a towering masterpiece of the repertoire, Verdi’s Requiem. For this program, the orchestra is joined by the Houston Symphony Chorus and a stellar group of vocal soloists, including Houston favorite soprano Ana María Martínez and three artists making their Houston Symphony debut: mezzo-soprano Marina Prudenskaya, tenor Jonathan Tetelman, and bass Dmitry Belosselskiy.
Another Valčuha-led highlight of the season will be two festival-style spotlights, each taking place over two consecutive concert weekends. Riots & Scandals: Classical Music that Rocked the World explores works that caused a major public ruction when they premiered. On January 13-15, 2023, Bartók’s Miraculous Mandarin—incendiary when first premiered in 1926 and banned on moral grounds—features the Houston Symphony Chorus performing with the orchestra; this program also spotlights world-renowned pianist Yefim Bronfman performing “the Mount Everest of concertos,” Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3, and young British composer Hannah Kendall’s The Spark Catchers.
The second weekend of Riots & Scandals, January 20–22, 2023, centers on the work that set off the most famous riot in classical music history, Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring, in a program that also welcomes Georgian-French pianist Khatia Buniatshvili for Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 and features Mexican composer Silvestre Revueltas’s Sensemayá.
Another festival, Songs of the Earth, melds music from the East with Western compositions. On February 10–12, 2023, vocalists Sasha Cooke and Clay Hilley join Valčuha and the orchestra for Mahler’s stunning “song-symphony,” Das Lied von der Erde (The Song of the Earth). This piece, with text drawing on classical Chinese poetry, is fittingly paired with Chinese-French composer Qigang Chen’s Itinerary of an Illusion.
The following weekend, February 17–19, 2023 pairs music by prominent Japanese composers with pieces by Ravel and Debussy in a concert features spellbinding and unusual soloist performances. Tōru Takemitsu’s haunting concerto Quotation of Dream: Say sea, take me!, which adapts motifs from Debussy’s La Mer, sees the Houston Symphony debut of a Dutch piano duo, brothers Lucas and Arthur Jussen. And Toshio Hosokawa’s Autumn Wind spotlights Japanese-Dutch musician Kojiro Umezaki on the shakuhachi, a Japanese and ancient Chinese vertical flute made of bamboo.
Other highlights of the 2022–23 Classical Season include:
- A world premiere by Nico Muhly on September 23–25, 2022, written in honor of Valčuha’s inaugural season
- Two concerts exclusively featuring female leading artists:
- All Mozart on October 28–30, 2022, conducted by Jane Glover with two orchestra musicians in soloist roles, Concertmaster Yoonshin Song and Acting Principal Viola Joan DerHovsepian
- Holst’s The Planets on November 11–13, with New Zealand-born conductor Gemma New, cellist Camille Thomas, and the Women of the Houston Symphony Chorus
- Two appearances by Houston Symphony Artistic Partner Itzhak Perlman, as well as a special recital by Mr. Perlman on February 26, 2023
- A tribute to John Barbirolli, Houston Symphony Music Director from 1961 to 1967, with a replica of one of his programs on May 12-14, 2023, including Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6,
- Six appearances by the Houston Symphony Chorus, including Messiah in December
The season concludes in spectacular fashion on May 19 and 20, 2023 with a multimedia presentation of Stravinsky’s opera-oratorio Oedipus rex, led by Valčuha and featuring the artistry of tenor Sean Panikkar, mezzo-soprano Michelle DeYoung, and visual artist Adam Larsen.
This promises to be a season of world-class music and new frontiers for the orchestra you love and support. Thank you for making it possible!

The Houston Symphony’s New Look
The arrival of Juraj Valčuha last week for his first performances as Music Director Designate was the perfect time for the Houston Symphony to unveil its new visual identity for a new era!

Designed by FÖDA, a branding and design firm in Austin, the Symphony’s new mark, shown above, combines elegance with a suggestion of motion and action befitting a dynamic orchestra in a bustling, active city. At the same time, elements of the design emphasize Houston Symphony tradition; for example, the typeface comes from the carvings on Jones Hall’s exterior travertine wall.
And, of course, the new branding evokes the world-class music performed by your Symphony. FÖDA points out that the new mark resembles a piece of musical notation; can you spot it in the table of musical symbols below?
Click or tap for larger image
You will see the Symphony’s visual identity in all branded material, including houstonsymphony.org, InTune magazine, Symphony Notes, and much more. Be on the lookout for it and let us know what you think!

Awards for the Houston Symphony League and Symphony Board President
In 2021, the Texas Association for Symphony Orchestras (TASO) honored the Houston Symphony League with two Gold Level awards for Recognized Projects. TASO brings together organizations across Texas that support their respective orchestras, to share learning opportunities and to recognize projects with the greatest impact and to present Awards of Excellence for business leaders, volunteers, patrons, and legislators.
A total of 12 TASO awards were granted in 2021: eight Gold Level awards and an additional four Silver Level awards. One of the League-honored Gold Level awards was presented for “Interface Improvements between the Houston Symphony and the Houston Symphony League websites and Improvements for the HSL website” chaired by League Vice President of Membership and Board of Trustees member, Leslie Nossaman. The other Gold Level Award was for “Conversation with a Houston Icon” chaired by League members, Marla Hurley and Ann Ayre, a fundraising event created by Betty Tutor, Board Governing Director and long-time Symphony donor and supporter.
Additionally, Houston Symphony Society President John Rydman, President and Owner with wife Lindy of Spec’s Wines, Spirits & Finer Foods, were recipients of the Business Award of Excellence for their major and continuing support of the Houston Symphony. John, who also won the Patron Award of Excellence 20 years ago, sets a precedent by winning two TASO Awards of Excellence.
League member April Lykos brilliantly presented the two awards at the recent TASO Conference in Lubbock, Texas and accepted the awards on the League’s behalf. League member and past president Fran Peterson beautifully introduced John and Lindy Rydman at the Award of Excellence dinner.
Recently, the League also won the Innovator Award from the Association of Major Symphony Orchestra Volunteers (AMSOV). The award celebrates trailblazing and groundbreaking projects and is brand new this year. The “Conversation with a Houston Icon” fundraiser was recognized as an innovative and creative project with this award. League member Jo Dee Wright will travel to Washington, D.C. in June to accept the award on the League’s behalf.
Congratulations to our award winners for 2021 and 2022! These are outstanding achievements for the Houston Symphony League, Board President John Rydman and Lindy Rydman, and the Houston Symphony!

Neighborhood Concert Series
Inspiring and engaging the diverse communities of Greater Houston is a central part of the Symphony’s mission. One way we strive to meet that responsibility is through the Neighborhood Concert Series that sees our world-class musicians perform free concerts at venues throughout the city each summer. For many who attend, the Neighborhood Concerts are their first time hearing your orchestra!
This summer’s concerts include:
- June 21: Lilly Grove Missionary Baptist Church in South Union
- June 23: Kashmere High School in Trinity Gardens
- June 24: Waltrip High School in Central Northwest
Each concert is scheduled for 7:30 p.m, and is conducted by Yue Bao, the Symphony’s Ting Tsung and Wei Fong Chao Foundation Assistant Conductor. The program includes engaging music from a wide range of genres and traditions, reflecting the diversity of communities that comprise our city:
- Tchaikovsky’s Suite from The Sleeping Beauty
- Bizet’s Suite No. 2 from Carmen
- Copland’s Four Dance Episodes from Rodeo
- Chinese folk song Jasmine Flower
- Shostakovich’s Tahiti-Trot
- Florence Price’s Symphony No. 1
- José Pablo Moncayo’s Huapango
- Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s The Bamboula
- Arturo Márquez’s Danzón No. 2
As a Houston Symphony donor, you are giving people across the city a gift of meaningful, relevant music performed at the highest level. Thank you for helping bring communities together for a shared experience of world class music.

Stella Artois Summer Series at the Hobby Center
The Houston Symphony’s Summer Series has a new sponsor and a new location in 2022!
One of the world’s most iconic brands, Stella Artois has been crafting the finest lager with quality ingredients, with over 600 years of brewing heritage since its first brew in Leuven, Belgium. We are thrilled that they have joined the Houston Symphony as title sponsor of the Stella Artois Summer Series.
This year’s series moves two blocks west to The Hobby Center for the Performing Arts to allow for further renovations to Jones Hall during the summer. These changes to the orchestra’s performance home are part of an ongoing multi-year plan to improve your experience of Houston Symphony concerts. We hope you will take advantage of the opportunity to hear your orchestra in a different performance space by attending one or more of these Hobby Center concerts this summer:
On June 10 and 11, the popular teen wizard’s final year at Hogwarts™ begins with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows™ in Concert! This concert, with the orchestra and chorus performing Alexandre Desplat’s Grammy-nominated score live to film, continues the Houston Symphony’s complete Harry Potter saga, which began in 2017.
On June 17 and 18, the orchestra welcomes back conductor Brent Havens to celebrate “the heaviest band of all time” (according to Rolling Stone) with The Music of Led Zeppelin.
Haven returns on the following evening, July 19, for a one-night-only tribute to “The Voice” with The Music of Whitney Houston, featuring Broadway star Rashidra Scott.
Celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the beloved video game series on July 22 and 23 with Distant Worlds: music from Final Fantasy, a multimedia experience with guest conductor Arnie Roth leading the orchestra and chorus in the music of composer Nobuo Uematsu.
On July 29 and 30, Principal POPS Conductor Steven Reineke welcomes Common, the award-winning hip-hop artist, film producer, poet, and actor to perform a special orchestral showcase of biggest hits, including “Love of My Life,” “Glory” from the film Selma, and more.
Finally, on August 6, the Symphony partners with the Indo-American Association of Houston for Celebrating India’s 75th Independence Day. The unique event celebrating the people, culture, and achievements of India features violin icon Dr. L. Subramaniam leading the world premiere of his Mahatma Symphony, vocalist Kavita Krishnamurthy, and an ensemble of traditional Indian instruments played alongside members of the Houston Symphony Chorus.

Houston Symphony Board President John Rydman, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, Music Director Andrés Orozco-Estrada, and Executive Director/CEO John Mangum
Eight Years With Andrés Orozco-Estrada
After eight years of glorious music, Andrés Orozco-Estrada will lead the Houston Symphony in his final three concerts as music director on April 29-May 1. The organization’s full performing forces, including the orchestra and Houston Symphony Chorus, will join him for Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, Resurrection, one of the most epic and moving works in the repertoire.
The Symphony was proud to pay tribute to its fifteenth music director and holder of the Roy and Lillie Cullen Chair with the two-week Andrés Fest on March 18-27. The celebration launched with the unveiling of Orozco-Estrada’s star on Jones Hall Patio, alongside previous music directors Christoph Eschenbach and Hans Graf. On hand to recognize him were Houston mayor Sylvester Turner, who proclaimed March 17, 2022 Andrés Orozco-Estrada Day in the city of Houston, Houston Symphony Board President John Rydman, and Executive Director/CEO and holder of the Margaret Alkek Williams Chair John Mangum.
Music Director Andrés Orozco-Estrada was presented with a commemorative star for his remarkable service to the Houston community
Andrés Fest featured a varying selection of music over two weeks of concerts, selected to recall highlights of Orozco-Estrada’s tenure and to provide solo spotlights for multiple orchestra musicians, including Joan DerHovsepian, acting principal viola, Scott Holshouser, principal keyboard, MuChen Hsieh, principal second violin, Mark Hughes, principal trumpet, Dave Kirk, principal tuba, Mark Nuccio, principal clarinet, and William VerMeulen, principal horn.
Amidst these performances, Orozco-Estrada joined Mangum on the Jones Hall stage for “Music and Memories,” a conversation reviewing his eight remarkable years with our orchestra. They discussed highlights including the Symphony’s European Tour and visit to Medellín, Colombia—Andrés’ hometown—multi-year explorations of the works of Ives, Mahler, Shostakovich, Dvořák, and Beethoven, and multiple recordings for the Pentatone label.
The conductor shared many revealing—and funny—stories, including the “James Bond” nature of his audition to become music director. Orozco-Estrada praised the Houston Symphony for encouraging him and inspiring new approaches to connecting with audiences. In Houston, he learned a great deal about how to communicate with audiences through discussions from the podium and audience participation, skills that he has translated into his concerts for European audiences.
The full conversation can be found at this link: Watch Music & Memories

Spotlight: Houston Livestock Show And Rodeo
The Houston Livestock Show and RodeoTM, one of our region’s signature organizations, held its 90th anniversary season, and its first uninterrupted season since 2019, this February and March—and the Houston Symphony was proud to be a part of it.
Yue Bao, the Symphony’s Ting Tsung and Wei Fong Chao Foundation Assistant Conductor, led a cohort of 15 orchestra musicians—11 brass and four percussionists—in a performance of “The Star Spangled Banner” at the Rodeo’s opening night on February 28, before country singer Cody Johnson’s concert. A recording of the Symphony’s performance was played at the following 17 nights of the Rodeo, through March 19.
This is far from the first collaboration of these two iconic Houston institutions. The Show has supported Houston Symphony education programs for thirty years, and is currently the title sponsor of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Middle School Concerts, part of The Robbins Foundation Student Concert Series. These hourlong Jones Hall performances are designed to inspire band and orchestra students to continue their musical studies.
Symphony musicians have also performed at numerous events related to the Show’s efforts to support education, including the Livestock Show, an annual dinner for more than 2,000 Rodeo scholarship winners, and the Steer Auction Gala. Over its first 90 years, the Show has committed $550 million in college scholarships for more than 20,000 students.
The Houston Symphony salutes the Houston Livestock Show and RodeoTM for its efforts on behalf of students, and is proud to continue and strengthen our partnership.

Join The Houston Symphony League
The Houston Symphony League has a rich history with the Symphony and with the Houston community. The League has been a major source of support for the orchestra through fundraisers, volunteering, and education activities since 1937—just five years after the Symphony began regular performances.
Please consider joining the League and helping to back the Symphony, while also making new friends who are music enthusiasts like yourself. The League provides many ways to show your support. To learn more and to join, visit the League website, www.houstonsymphonyleague.com, or contact Cheryl Byington, current President-elect and President starting this June, at cherylabyington@gmail.com, or Leslie Nossaman, Vice President of Membership, at peoranun07@gmail.com. They will be happy to help you and provide further information.

A Conversation with Matthew Strauss
Houston Symphony associate principal timpani and percussionist Matthew Strauss steps into the spotlight to perform alongside Svet Stoyanov—making his Houston Symphony debut—in the world premiere of Jennifer Higdon’s Duo Duel for Two Percussionists and Orchestra on May 6, 7, and 8.
The Duo Duel will be recorded for commercial release on a CD with an earlier Houston Symphony performance of Higdon’s Concerto for Orchestra. We spoke with Strauss about premiering a new work by an acclaimed composer, his rehearsal process, and his career.
What are you looking forward to about Duo Duel?
It’s really exciting to be a soloist on a piece composed by the Pulitzer and Grammy winning composer, Jennifer Higdon. It’s so relevant, creative, and something I’m really looking forward to doing. I’m looking forward to hearing it with the full orchestra next month.
It’s great to work with Svet Stoyanov. He’s a world-class soloist originally from Bulgaria, and I have known him for quite a while. He’s head of the percussion department at the University of Miami, where I also taught for ten years. We’ve only collaborated as performers once before, but we’ve been teaching colleagues for a long time.
How are the two of you preparing the piece?
I started learning my part about nine months ago, and Svet and I started rehearsing together in Miami in February. We’ve been rehearsing in both Miami and Houston since then. You need to have that much time with a new piece like this that is so complex and intertwined. It’s like a very difficult chamber duet—that just happens to be two soloists’ parts with the orchestra.
It’s a very cool, virtuosic piece. The first section has beautiful sounds, with slower, rich harmonies. Then it gets very energetic and most of the rest of it grooves on a marimba, vibraphone as well as dueling timpani.
How are the two of you working with the composer, Jennifer Higdon, and the conductor, Robert Spano?
We have been in touch with Jennifer a lot, especially lately, through email. In the process of rehearsing, we sometimes find techniques that might work better logistically, so we work with her to make sure we can perform this piece as well as we can without changing the spirit of it.
I have a long history with Robert Spano, going back to when I was in a high school program at Tanglewood. I’ve performed with him at the Chicago Symphony, the Atlanta Symphony—where he used to be music director—and lot of other places. He and the composer have worked together for years. Additionally, the Houston Symphony performed her Concerto for Orchestra with Robert Spano a few years ago.
How did your career begin, and when did you realize that percussion is your instrument?
I come from an artistic family—my mother was a pianist and teacher, my father was into visual arts, and my sister used to dance ballet. I grew up on Long Island, and my parents took me to Tanglewood every summer, plus a lot of concerts at Lincoln Center.
I chose drums in the third grade. I thought it would be fun to play a drum set, and after a few years a started playing with orchestras and symphonic bands. When I was in the eighth grade, I told my mom I wanted to go to Juilliard, and that’s what I did. I got my B.A. there, and then I my M.A. at Temple, where I studied with Alan Abel. Alan also taught two other members of our section, and he was such a big influence as a player and as an educator. I learned a lot from him about how to play, to audition, and to play as a team of musicians. He passed away from COVID in 2020, and I try to keep his legacy going as I teach at Rice.
With Andrés Orozco-Estrada’s last performances as our music director coming up at the end of April, what will you remember about his tenure?
The most specific thing I will remember is the successful European Tour. Andrés led the orchestra to step up and really shine in some great music cities: Vienna, Brussels, Warsaw, cities in Germany. He loved showing Europe that our orchestra and our town are world-class.
As a conductor, I love this combination he has of technique and fire. He is excellent at conveying what he wants very clearly. At the same time, when you, as a musician, try something different or dynamic, he appreciates that. Andrés likes when musicians try new things. I love that dialogue he has with musicians.

Meet New Development Staff
The Houston Symphony’s development team has added two new members you will be seeing at Jones Hall and other Symphony events. We’re happy to introduce these outstanding young professionals!

Special Events Associate Meghan Miller grew up in the Willowbend neighborhood in southwest Houston. She attended the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in its previous Montrose location, and was a violist in its orchestra program. She went on to play with the Moores School Symphony Orchestra at the University of Houston, where she majored in history with a minor in Classical Studies. Meghan has lived in many places around town, primarily in Montrose and the Museum District.
Music has been a crucial aspect of her life since childhood. In addition to having many pianists and music teachers on the father’s side of her family, Meghan has been playing both viola and piano since age seven, and fell in love with Anglican choral music at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, where she still sings today. She also listens to all kinds of music and likes to explore different genres—she might listen to Lotti’s Crucifixus one minute and K-Pop the next. Her favorite orchestral composers include Beethoven, Shostakovich, and Mahler.
Besides music, Meghan loves film and history, and spends a lot of time watching movies, documentaries, and anime. She says she is “very nerdy,” and will always be happy to talk sci-fi, fantasy, and history!

VIP Ticket Concierge Alexa Ustaszsewski comes to Houston from her hometown of Columbus, Ohio. She earned a B.A. in anthropology from Ohio State University, with a minor in German, and also worked at a cartoon art museum. Wanting to escape the cold weather, she moved to Texas and a job at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, before joining the Symphony this year.
She enjoys a variety of outdoor activities—running, swimming, hiking—and her favorite spot in Houston is Hermann Park. An avid traveler, her favorite trip so far was to El Salvador, where she enjoyed great food, the beautiful landscape of mountains, beaches, lakes, and the warm and welcoming people.
Alexa grew up in a musically-oriented family; her mother is a singer and her father plays guitar. She took up the viola in elementary school before moving to the cello in high school, and has played with a variety of orchestras and ensembles, both at school and in the community. She still plays, and also dabbles with guitar and ukulele. Her favorite composers are Dvořák, Tchaikovsky, and Haydn, as well as contemporary film composers like Alexandre Desplat and Hans Zimmer. She grew up listening to classic rock and country, alternative music, and show tunes.
If you’re worried about how to pronounce her last name, use a phrase Alexa’s family shares: “Use the chef’s key.” She assures us that will be close enough!
Please say hello to these newest members of your Symphony development staff. They look forward to meeting you!

Legacy Society Luncheon Returns After Two Year Hiatus
Originally scheduled for March 14, 2020, the annual Legacy Society Appreciation Luncheon & Concert made a joyous return to the Symphony calendar on February 26, 2022, at the Briar Club. Luncheon Chair Jackie Mazow and Co-Chair Aggie Foster, together with Legacy Society Committee Chairmen Betty and Jesse Tutor, celebrated the 180 member households of the Legacy Society, a group of committed patrons who have made the Houston Symphony Endowment part of their estate plans, totaling more than $35 million in commitments.
Symphony Musicians Boson Mo, Violin, Amy Semes, Associate Principal Second Violin, Joan DerHovsepian, Acting Principal Viola, and Christopher French, Associate Principal Cello, delighted the attendees with a beautiful program, including Schubert’s Quartettsatz in C minor, D. 703 and Mozart’s Divertimento in D Major, K. 136.
Use this link to see more photos from this fabulous event!
The annual Luncheon is one of the best benefits of being a member of the Houston Symphony Legacy Society, in addition to other special events invitations, VIP ticketing, and Virtuoso Lounge access for life. At the Crescendo Level, you can receive additional benefits like valet parking. If you are interested in joining the Legacy Society by making the Houston Symphony Endowment a beneficiary of a retirement account, life insurance policy, trust, or will, please contact Alex de Aguiar Reuter at alex.reuter@houstonsymphony.org or 713.337.8532.

Ting Tsung and Wei Fong Chao Foundation Assistant Conductor Yue Bao
The Symphony And Spec’s Salute Houston’s Educators
Each year, the Houston Symphony honors educators for their outstanding impact on the lives of young people and our community with the
Spec’s Charitable Foundation Salute to Educators concert.
Houston’s teachers work tirelessly to help students grow and succeed, and we are proud to support them in enhancing their students’ education through music. The Houston Symphony is dedicated to inspiring and engaging audiences, both in Jones Hall and throughout the community. Symphony education programs, in collaboration with schools and partner programs across Greater Houston, serve more than 110,000 students annually.
Since 1990, the Salute to Educators concert has been a way to recognize and thank Houston-area teachers with an appropriate gift from the Symphony: a concert in honor of their efforts. This year’s Salute to Educators took place in conjunction with the performance of Elgar’s Enigma Variations, conducted by Ting Tsung and Wei Fong Chao Foundation Assistant Conductor Yue Bao on Sunday, February 27.
This annual celebration also features the presentation of the Spec’s Charitable Foundation Educators Award. Traditionally, the award is given to an exemplary fine arts teacher in Greater Houston. This year, we are proud to present the award to all the principals, administrators, and fine arts teachers participating in the Fine Arts Initiative throughout the Chavez Feeder Pattern Houston Independent School District (HISD). This multifaceted initiative, which is further detailed below, features collaborations with several Houston arts institutions, including the Symphony, which has helped to develop a robust, sustainable string program, first at Lewis Elementary School and then at other campuses. The work of educators at these east area schools has made music and the arts a fundamental part of school culture and student development, and the 2022 award is presented to recognize their outstanding efforts.
Spec’s and the Symphony
The Spec’s Charitable Foundation Salute to Educators concert bears the name of the Houston Symphony’s Principal Corporate Guarantor, Spec’s Wines, Spirits & Finer Foods/Spec’s Charitable Foundation. A retail chain with 200 stores throughout Texas, Spec’s is a family business led by owners John and Lindy Rydman; their daughter, Lisa Rydman Lindsey, partners with Spec’s through her company, Phoenix Marketing. John and Lindy are passionate about music, having met as fellow music majors at the University of North Texas, and John currently serves the Houston Symphony as President of its Board of Trustees.
The Rydmans are dedicated to the importance of music in schools; as John says, “We want to educate as many people as possible about the beauty and power of live music.” John brings the characteristic Spec’s hands-on style to ensuring that events like the Symphony Ball, the Wine Dinner and Collector’s Auction, and the company’s own Vintage Virtuoso are outstanding experiences. In total, Spec’s has contributed more than $6 million to the Symphony since 1996
Reflecting the Rydmans’ passion for the arts, Spec’s supports many arts organizations, notably the One O’Clock Lab Band, UNT’s renowned jazz ensemble. In 2015, the company was recognized with a BCA 10 Award for exemplary involvement in the arts nationwide. We thank John, Lindy, and Lisa for their ongoing commitment to music education.
Spec’s Charitable Foundation Educators Award
2022 Recipient: The Fine Arts Teachers of HISD’s Chavez Feeder Pattern
In the 2016-17 academic year, Houston ISD’s District III Fine Arts Initiative conceptualized a series of programs in eight schools in the Chavez Feeder Pattern in Houston’s east area. At the time, students in these schools suffered from a lack of support and resources to promote arts education effectively.
Today, more than 10,000 students at Bonner, Lewis, Park Place, Patterson, and Rucker Elementary Schools, Ortiz and Stevenson Middle Schools, and Chavez High School have access to programs in choir, band, dance, orchestra, theater, and visual arts, including offerings such as ballet folklorico and mariachi that reflect HISD’s diversity. Partnerships with Houston’s arts organizations have enhanced and provided valuable resources for this fine arts initiative.
“Innovative and timely, our Fine Arts Initiative has reinvigorated the way students in the East District are nurtured by the arts,” says Dr. Sabrina Nguyen, HISD fine arts specialist in the east area. “This continuing project has become an essential element, allowing our children to find and develop their individual talent.”
Students playing drums - Stevenson Middle SchoolThe Chavez Feeder Pattern has made great gains in just five years, with students advancing to UIL and other regional competitions, and performing all around the city. Graduates have gone on to universities to major in fine arts, and some have become pre-professional performers.
“We have been able to cultivate our students’ talents and passion for the arts,” says Marlen Martinez, Principal at Ortiz Middle School. “This initiative continues to expand by attracting students from all areas of the city to attend our east area magnet schools and their exceptional fine arts programs.”
The Houston Symphony and Spec’s Charitable Foundation salute the principals and fine arts educators of the Chavez Feeder Pattern for their work, which demonstrates the power of the arts in education.

Spotlight on M.D. Anderson Foundation
The Houston Symphony relies on the loyal members of our donor family to make world-class music possible in our city. One supporter of very long standing, the M.D. Anderson Foundation, has played a key role in enabling the orchestra to perform music on a grand scale, as exemplified in projects like Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle in 2019, the Schumann Festival in 2020, and this year’s upcoming Andrés Fest. Crucially, the Foundation has also made special contributions helping the orchestra to adapt to the new and shifting challenges of the pandemic.
Founded in 1936 by Monroe Dunaway Anderson, it is best known for its role in creating the Texas Medical Center, and for establishing M.D. Anderson Cancer Center—another institutional partner of the Houston Symphony through the Music and Wellness initiative. The Foundation is also a supporter of numerous organizations helping to improve the life of Greater Houston, and the Symphony is proud to be one of them.
The M.D. Anderson Foundation has contributed to the Houston Symphony since the 1970s. After many years of support at the Guarantor level, its Trustees have made a series of special gifts that helped the orchestra respond creatively, first to the aftereffects of Hurricane Harvey in the 2017-18 Season, and most recently to the unique array of challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Houston Symphony thanks the Trustees of the Foundation for its decades of supporting performances that inspire, and salutes them for their service to our city.

The Symphony on stage at the Houston City Auditorium in the 1940s
10/25/50/75 Years Ago
The Houston Symphony’s first performance was in 1913. It’s hard to fathom the number of concerts, rehearsals, broadcasts, parties, board meetings, and hours of work by musicians, guest artists, employees, and volunteers over such a long, eventful century. Instead, we offer you a series of snapshots showing what your Symphony was doing 10, 25, 50, and 75 years ago:
The 2011-12 Season (10 years ago)
Ten years may seem a short time, but so much has changed since that remarkable season. Frank Huang, now with the New York Philharmonic, had just been appointed the orchestra’s concertmaster, and then-Music Director Hans Graf gave Huang a spotlight performance in Berg’s Violin Concerto.
Graf was already in the tenth season of his tenure, and the rest of the orchestra’s leadership was also different from today: Bobby Tudor was Board President and Mark Hanson was Executive Director/CEO. Mike Krajewski, who returns for this month’s Very Merry Pops, was in the middle of his long term as Principal Pops Conductor, and Dr. Charles Hausmann led the Houston Symphony Chorus.
Highlights of that season included the premiere of Earth—An HD Odyssey, the second multimedia program of what eventually became the HD Odyssey trilogy, featuring works such as John Adams’s Short Ride in a Fast Machine and Strauss’s Also sprach Zarathustra. In May 2012, the orchestra performed at Carnegie Hall. And the 2012 Symphony Ball, Rock Me Amadeus, was chaired by Mariglyn and Stephen Glenn, treasured members of the Symphony family to this day.
The 1996-97 Season (25 years ago)
The Houston Symphony opened this season with the largest orchestra in its history: 99 musicians under the leadership of Music Director Christoph Eschenbach. Eschenbach was instrumental in many of that year’s highlights, including: the orchestra’s first appearance in Chicago’s Ravinia Festival in June 1996; the Shell 1997 European Tour, which visited England, France, the Netherlands, Germany, and Austria in February and March; and even the 1997 Ball, Ode to Joy, chaired by Mrs. Wesley West, which featured a concert led by Eschenbach himself.
The artistic leadership also included Stephen Stein, who conducted the POPS Series, concertmaster Uri Pianka, and, again, Chorus Director Dr. Charles Hausmann. The organization’s board and staff were led by Board President Barry Burkholder and Executive Director David Wax, respectively.
The 1971-72 Season (50 years ago)
This was a season of important beginnings and endings for the orchestra. The Houston Symphony became a full-time, year-round orchestra, signing its first 52-week contract with musicians. It was also Raphael Fliegel’s final season as concertmaster—although he would remain with the orchestra as Principal Second Violin until he retired in 1995, ending an amazing 60-year career with the organization. Today, the Symphony honors Fliegel’s legacy with the Raphael Fliegel Award for Visionary Artistic Leadership, which will be presented to Executive Director/CEO John Mangum at next month’s Symphony Ball.
1971-72 was also the first season for Music Director Lawrence Foster, after a two-year interregnum following the departure of Sir André Previn. A native of Los Angeles, the 30-year-old Foster opened his tenure with an all-Beethoven program on October 14, 1971, and later in the year began a four-year cycle of Haydn’s London symphonies.
Symphony leadership included Board President Charles Jones, Executive Director Tom Johnson, and Chorus Director Donald Strong. The Symphony Ball was not yet an annual tradition, but this was the year when four of the orchestra’s most generous supporters—Miss Ima Hogg, Maurice Hirsch, Gus Wortham, and Charles Bybee—were the first recipients of the Gold Baton Award.
The 1946-47 Season (75 years ago)
Turn the clock back another quarter century, and we see a Houston Symphony not far from its beginnings. Music Director Ernst Hoffmann, in the final season of his 11-year tenure, was the “first great builder” of the orchestra, and Symphony co-founder Miss Ima Hogg was serving as Board President for the second time. Some important traditions were already in place: the orchestra had been playing student concerts for nearly ten years, and were already performing outdoor concerts at the original Miller Outdoor Theatre. Most performances took place at the City Auditorium, although this season also saw a special performance of Gluck’s Orpheus, alongside the Houston Civic Ballet, at Bayou Bend.
At the same time, the Symphony was establishing the foundations of future success. On October 29, 1946, Principal Cello Alfred Urbach held the first rehearsal of the Houston Chorale, which would later be known as the Houston Symphony Chorus; Urbach served as its first director. Also, coincidentally, this was the first season of Raphael Fliegel’s 26-year tenure as concertmaster. Called a “Bayou City prodigy,” Houston native Fliegel had been performing with the orchestra since he was a student at San Jacinto High School.
Some of the year’s highlights reflect the times. The orchestra was back to full strength following World War II, during which more than 15 of its musicians were in the service (although the Symphony kept performing for the duration of the war). In those pre-television days, the orchestra was often heard on the radio: every week on the Texas Quality Network, sponsored by Texas Gulf Sulphur Company, as well as a national radio broadcast on February 22, 1947—including Brahms’ Symphony No. 4 in honor of the 50th anniversary of the composer’s death.
In all these different eras, it’s heartening to know that the Houston Symphony was an important feature of our community and a source of outstanding live music—as we hope to be 10, 25, 50, and 75 years into the future. And beyond.

Student Concerts Are Back
The Robbins Foundation Student Concert Series has an energy unlike any other Houston Symphony performance. Yellow school buses circling the block along Louisiana, Texas, Travis, and Capitol Streets. Dedicated teachers, staff, and Symphony League volunteers directing intricate flows of the happy audience. More than 25,000 children from dozens of schools across Greater Houston, awestruck by first views of the Jones Hall lobby and auditorium, and first times hearing one of the world’s premier orchestras.
In January 2022, for the first time in two years, we are thrilled to welcome students and teachers back to Jones Hall for an incomparable live music experience. Generations of Houstonians still remember their first time hearing the orchestra through student concerts, which began in 1937.
As a world-class orchestra serving a major world city, the Houston Symphony has a responsibility to use its resources in service of arts education across Greater Houston. Music education helps to develop creativity, self-expression, teamwork, and problem-solving skills that correlate with academic achievements and success in life. In recent years prior to the pandemic, the Series saw total concert attendance of more than 40,000 each school year.
Last year, field trips downtown were out of the question—so the Houston Symphony created unique classroom tools for music educators. Rather than just providing recordings of previous seasons’ student concerts, we edited and made available curated videos of livestreamed Symphony performances, accompanied by orchestra musicians introducing their instruments and discussing musical concepts related to the performances. These virtual resources were targeted to more than 270,000 students across 26 area school districts, and teachers unanimously praised their classroom effectiveness.
The 2021-22 Robbins Foundation Student Concert Series
The 2021-22 Robbins Foundation Student Concert Series returns to incomparable educational opportunities for more than 28,000 students that come with live concerts. Between January 12 and February 2, nine Upper Elementary School Concerts and four Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Middle School concerts will welcome students and teachers from every part of Greater Houston to Jones Hall. Students in Spring Independent School District have already experienced the first concert of the year, on October 12 at Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion.
Upper Elementary Student Concerts are 50-minute full orchestra concerts, presented in Jones Hall or at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion during the school day for students in grades 4 and 5. Students hear the Houston Symphony perform and learn about the orchestra. The goal of Upper Elementary concerts is to inspire students to play an instrument and to facilitate students’ acquisition of active listening skills.
The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Middle School Concerts are 55-minute full orchestra concerts, presented at Jones Hall for band and orchestra students in grades 6-8. The Symphony provides pre-concert resources to connect the repertoire in the concert program with concepts students are learning in their band and orchestra classrooms. Middle School music students benefit from discussion and demonstration of more advanced musical concepts and techniques, and these concerts are designed to inspire them to persevere in their studies and further their enjoyment of music.
Student Concert Series conducted by Assistant Conductor Yue Bao
The 2021-22 Robbins Foundation Student Concert Series is conducted by Yue Bao, the Houston Symphony’s Tin Tsung and Wei Fong Chao Assistant Conductor. At all concerts, a guest host will serve as the interface between the orchestra and audience, narrating the performance, soliciting responses, and taking questions. The Symphony first used a host for Elementary School concerts during the 2019-20 school year, with notable success and approving feedback from participating teachers; 2021-22 will be the first year with a host for the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Middle School Concerts. Joining Bao and the host are the 81 world-class musicians of the Houston Symphony orchestra.
Another new development this year is an increasing role in shaping the concerts’ instructional component by the Houston Symphony’s Community-Embedded Musicians: Rainel Joubert, violin, and David Connor, double bass. Rainel and David both have more than five years’ experience with the Houston Symphony in their role as highly skilled orchestra musicians who spend the majority of their time working on community projects, including student concerts; they are highly trained in Social and Emotional Learning education and have worked with Houston-area students for many years in classroom settings. They will have an enhanced role this year: identifying the instructional needs of Houston-area teachers, recording pre-concert videos with classroom extensions for both Upper Elementary and Middle School concerts, and co-writing the script to be used by the host during student concerts to emphasize specific curricular aspects of the program relevant to music education.
The Houston Symphony thanks the generous organizations whose leadership support makes this series possible:
The Robbins Foundation, title sponsor of the student concert series, has been supporting the program for eight years. The Foundation, established by William K. and Mary Jo Robbins, supports organizations and activities involving missions and various religious programs, healthcare, education, universities, art and culture nonprofits as well as various youth programs.
One of our city’s signature institutions, The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is title sponsor of Middle School Concerts. Their support of this program reflects the Show’s longstanding commitment to the importance of education, which also includes scholarships to more than 2,300 students this year, and more than 20,000 total in the past 64 years.
This year, the Houston Symphony is thrilled to welcome a new leadership underwriter, the Kinder Morgan Foundation. A company foundation that supports students in grades K-12, they have supported the Symphony’s student concerts since the 2008-09 Season; their increased support this year reflects a strong commitment to the importance of arts education in Houston.

Houston Symphony Principal Double Bass Robin Kesselman
A Conversation With Robin Kesselman
Earlier this month, Houston Symphony Principal Double Bass Robin Kesselman performed Bottesini’s Grand Duo Concertante with renowned violinist Gil Shaham. We asked Robin about the performance, his career with the Symphony, and thoughts about our current and designated music directors.
What’s it like to perform alongside Gil Shaham?
There are certain dreams you don’t even think to have—because they’re so far beyond what you’d expect to ever happen. Getting the initial phone call in June, I shocked and thrilled.
Any time I’m featured with my symphony colleagues in a solo role, it’s a tremendous opportunity; it comes along only a few times in a career, and it’s magnified to the category of once-in-a-lifetime when Gil Shaham is involved.
Anybody of Gil’s generation or younger grew up listening to him and being inspired. We’re sofortunate that he comes to Houston on a regular basis. When I look back on any season, his concerto week is always a highlight. With his artistry, you’re happy to hear him play anything. Somehow, he always manages to serve the composer and give an electric performance, while also always sounding like himself. That’s the highest gift.
What do you think of the Grand Duo itself?
The Grand Duo is such a fun piece. Bottesini had an important conducting career—he premiered several Verdi operas in addition to touring as the “double bass Paganini.” By that I mean he wrote and performed music, created a repertoire that didn’t yet exist for the instrument, and changed how people thought about what the bass is able to do. His music is wonderfully operatic – lyrical with pyrotechnic flash.
This piece is one of the pillars of his work, but it isn’t performed that often—partly because the violin part is beastly hard! I had always known I wanted to learn the Duo; it looked like such a fun thing to do. So, I got the call in June, learned the piece in July, and got married in August!
Tell us about the special bass you used for this piece.
Due to a strange quirk of double bass soloing, the piece requires the instrument to be tuned differently, strung a step higher. It gives the instrument a timbral bump, so it can be heard in a large hall over a large orchestra. This summer, I was playing a festival with one of my teachers from Los Angeles, and he offered to put me in touch with Robertson & Sons, an instrument shop in Albuquerque. They loaned me this amazing instrument, a beautiful 19th century French bass. I’ve learned so much through playing it.
After the last year and half, what’s it like to be playing with the full orchestra again?
First and foremost, it feels great to have audiences back. The nature of live performance is different when people are present for it. The energy and timing of a performance, the way it changes over the course of a weekend, is palpable. It’s fantastic to have that experience again.
The feel of playing with the orchestra is also different. The first rehearsal with reduced social distancing, when we were able to share stands, was the moment when it felt like “we’re back!” Nothing can simulate the experience of being in the same place, picking up on each other’s visual, sonic, and tactile cues. At its best, it’s like we read each other’s minds.
Andrés Orozco-Estrada has been Music Director throughout your time in Houston. What will you remember from his time here?
Far too many things to say. For me personally, I credit him with giving me my musical life in its current landscape. You have a special relationship with the music director who appoints you, even after that person leaves.
The way our personalities connect took that relationship and multiplied it. His support for the orchestra has been incredible. When I arrived here, I had a lot of growing to do, and he provided the perfect ecosystem to do that. He gave me the opportunity to grow into my position and develop my skills, offering counsel, encouragement, and advice, both musically and personally.
What are your initial thoughts on Juraj Valčuha, our music director designate?
Juraj is completely and wholly dedicated to his craft and bringing the most out of the musicians he works with. The audience will see his level of dedication and intensity in every piece he does. At the same time, his music making feels very selfless. He has an incredible presence, but he’s also a conduit for the 80-100 musicians on stage with him, directing us all into a column of intentional sound. He can’t help but raise the level of the orchestra.
The last time he was here, in March, was a hard program, combining Beethoven with pieces influenced by jazz, and I remember he was so prepared—he was in his room studying scores before and after every rehearsal and performance. His drive is contagious, and you can’t help but feel that.

Create Your Legacy
A Meaningful Way to End the Year – Plan for the Future
The end of the year is a busy time. Between preparing for time-honored traditions like the Symphony’s Very Merry Pops or Messiah performances, family events, traveling, and finishing up your yearly tasks, there is plenty to keep you moving in these final months of 2021. But there is something you need to be sure you add to your end of the year to-do list, no matter how busy you are: estate planning.
Now is also the perfect time to review your plans and share them with loved ones. Here’s why:
You are surrounded by loved ones.
The holidays often invite family gatherings, making them an ideal time to sit down and share your plans with the people who need to know. Provide them a roadmap of your documents so they know what to do should something happen to you. You can also share why you made the decisions you did. You will all have peace of mind after your talk, and you get the chance to share your story with those who matter most.
You may have experienced key life events.
A lot can happen over the course of a year. A change in marital status, a new child or grandchild, or a move to a new home can impact your future plans. Right now, these events are fresh in your mind, making it easier to know how your plans may need to change.
It is your last chance to maximize your giving in 2021.
Tax time is around the corner and the extended CARES Act benefits are scheduled to expire soon. As you make or review your plans, meet with your advisor to ensure you have made the most of your giving options this year and plan for next year. The CARES Act includes:
- An expansion of the universal charitable deduction for cash gifts. The new deduction is $300 for single filers and $600 for married couples filing jointly. This is available to taxpayers who take the standard deduction. This tax incentive is available for cash gifts to qualified charities (but not to supporting organizations or donor advised funds).
- An extension of the cap on deductions for cash contributions. The CARES Act lifted the cap on annual contributions for those who itemize, increasing it from 60% to 100% of adjusted gross income. Any excess contributions available can be carried over to the next five years. (For corporations, the law raised the annual limit from 10% to 25% of taxable income.)
We Can Help
You can use your estate plan to extend your support of the Houston Symphony into the future, creating a legacy that protects both your family and the places you are passionate about. To learn more about this smart and heartfelt giving option, visit our website, or contact Alex de Aguiar Reuter at 713.337.8532 or alex.reuter@houstonsymphony.org.

Holidays at the Symphony
How big are the holidays at Jones Hall this year? They begin in November and end in January!
This time of year is for gathering with our loved ones, including those we have not seen in a while. So the 2021 season promises to be especially meaningful as, for the first time in two years, the Houston Symphony offers a full holiday concert lineup: 18 concerts between November 26 and January 9.
The festive season begins with two concert weekends featuring works by Tchaikovsky, a composer connected to so many of our holiday memories. Many Houston-area families have made the Symphony a Thanksgiving weekend custom, and this year’s program on November 26-28, led by guest conductor Fabien Gabel, features music from Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty, as well as a thrilling performance of Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1 with a Houston favorite, Simone Lamsma, accompanied by the orchestra.
Then, on December 3-5, Music Director Andrés Orozco-Estrada helps us celebrate with music from Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker—beloved music as you’ve never heard it before, performed by the entire Houston Symphony with solo turns by Principal Bass Robin Kesselman and guest violinist Gil Shaham. If you would like to hear The Nutcracker in a fun concert designed for kids and their families, Orozco-Estrada will be conducting his first-ever PNC Family Series concert in two performances on the morning of Saturday, December 4.
December 10–12 sees the triumphant return of the Houston Symphony Chorus, to perform Handel’s Messiah for the first time since 2019. And it wouldn’t be December without the traditional Very Merry Pops, in four twice-daily performances on December 18 and 19, featuring the ever-popular Mike Krajewski and Broadway singer Rodney Ingram joining the orchestra for treasured carols and holiday favorites.
Finally, start 2022 off right with Pink Martini on January 7–9. Principal POPS Conductor Steven Reineke leads this performance of sophisticated pop that fuses Brazilian samba, Parisian café music, cabaret, and vintage jazz.
The Houston Symphony’s holiday programming is made possible by a Cultural Districts grant from the Texas Commission on the Arts.
As a Houston Symphony donor, you have helped to protect and sustain the orchestra during the challenges of the last 20 months. We hope you will join us at Jones Hall or via livestream to celebrate all you have helped the Symphony accomplish on the way to the joy and fellowship of the season.

New Commissions: Growing Our Artform
As one of America’s leading orchestras, the Houston Symphony will play a major role in keeping the musical tradition we cherish alive and relevant in the 21st century, inspiring generations of music lovers not yet born. As a Houston Symphony donor, you are a custodian of that legacy, and we would like to share news about the four new orchestral works we have commissioned for the 2021-22 Season.
For two weeks in March 2022, under the guidance of Orozco-Estrada, the Symphony will celebrate the world-class musicians of our orchestra, with a series of performances featuring many of our own players as soloists. As a reflection of our commitment to bringing new music of the Americas, including the music of composers of diverse backgrounds, we will feature the world premiere of two Houston Symphony commissions: a horn concerto by Bruce Broughton and a tuba concerto by Wynton Marsalis.
Bruce Broughton is an American orchestral composer who has composed several highly acclaimed soundtracks over his extensive career and has contributed many pieces to music archives. He has won ten Emmy Awards and has been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Score. Broughton’s Horn Concerto will feature Principal Horn William VerMeulen as a soloist.
Wynton Marsalis is an African American trumpeter, composer, teacher, and artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. He has won nine Grammy Awards, and his Blood on the Fields was the first jazz composition to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music. Marsalis is the only musician to win a Grammy Award in jazz and classical during the same year. The performance of the concerto will feature Principal Tuba Dave Kirk as a soloist.
Later in the spring, on May 6-8, we look forward to the world premiere of Jennifer Higdon’s Double Percussion Concerto, featuring Houston Symphony percussionist Matthew Strauss and guest percussionist Svet Stoyanov in a work showcasing the full expressiveness of their instruments. One of America’s most frequently performed contemporary composers, Higdon has won three Grammy Awards and the Pulitzer Prize. Her works represent a wide range of genres, from orchestral to chamber, to wind ensemble, as well as vocal, choral and opera. Her music has been hailed by Fanfare Magazine as having "the distinction of being at once complex, sophisticated but readily accessible emotionally", with the Times of London citing it as “...traditionally rooted yet imbued with integrity and freshness.”
Finally, we look forward to performing Kyle Rivera’s new orchestral arrangement of Henry—A Ballad, by George Bridgetower (1778-1860), a British musician of African descent. Rivera, a Colorado-based composer and violinist, earned a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Houston’s Shepherd School of Music. He most recently collaborated with the Symphony as part of the Resilient Sounds initiative in 2019 which featured his Bella Laeta inspired by the recollections of a Houston-settled refugee from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Rivera’s version of Henry will be performed during a concert weekend to be determined—so be sure to look out for it, as well as all of the new Houston Symphony commissions made possible by your support.

Become A Musician Sponsor
88 of the world’s most outstanding musicians make up the heart of your Houston Symphony. Each of them has their own fascinating story—of passion for music, years of honing their skills, and working alongside Houston Symphony colleagues to create the performances you love.
One of the most meaningful ways for a Symphony donor to connect with the music is to become a Musician Sponsor for one of these artists. Sponsors and musicians meet and mingle at Musician Sponsorship events and other opportunities for personal involvement.
Recently, Bill Kopp, a member of the Houston Symphony family for five years, became the Musician Sponsor for Principal Timpani Leonardo Soto. We spoke with Bill about his sponsorship and the importance of supporting orchestral music.
Symphony Notes: What motivated you to sponsor Leo?
Bill Kopp: Well, I want to support fine music, particularly symphonic music. Symphonies are suffering around the country nowadays, and there is a sense of lack of funding around orchestras. I also like the idea of supporting a young musician.
What have been some of your favorite performances of Leo’s?
That’s an impossible question! [laughs] I’ve enjoyed them all. He’s a handsome young man with a wonderful personality, and a devoted musician. He has an interesting background and I’m looking forward to learning more about him.
He and I both like symphonic music as well as jazz music, and I think we have many things in common. I’m also looking forward to attending orchestra rehearsals; I’m especially interested to see how the new conductor [Music Director Designate Juraj Valčuha] works with the orchestra when he arrives.
As a former timpanist and percussionist, I also want to learn more about percussion instruments, and their technical aspects. Frankly, I enjoy discussing music with musicians!
Tell me a little about your own background with music and with the Symphony.
Music has been a big part of my life. When I was growing up, symphonic music was on the radio every Sunday and I listened to orchestra concerts with my family.
I studied percussion instruments as a youngster, and attended music clinics at the University of Michigan, at the Interlochen arts camp. Overall, I spent more than ten summers there as a student and staff member, three years as a high school student and seven on the staff. I was a counselor, I was in the kitchen, and I was the camp physician who took care of the campers. I also spent 12 years as a student in Ann Arbor, where they have a superb classical music program throughout the year. I probably heard the Philadelphia Orchestra at least 70 times there! [laughs]
Music has been very important in my family as well. I met my wife Alice at Interlochen in 1948—she was a pianist and violinist—and my son was a superb French horn player, although now he’s a cardiologist.
Houston Symphony Principal Timpani Leonardo Soto demonstrates how to replace a timpani head.
The Symphony’s goal is to have a Musician Sponsor for every member of the orchestra! If you’d like to join Bill as a part of this special group of donors, please contact Samantha Sheats, Major Gifts Officer, at 713.337.8534 or samantha.sheats@houstonsymphony.org.

Fiesta Sinfónica
On October 2, after a yearlong COVID-induced absence, the annual Houston tradition of Fiesta Sinfónica returned to the stage in full force! Selling out more than a week before the performance, Fiesta brought together music lovers from Houston and beyond to take pleasure in this nostalgic, colorful, and rhythmic program that had people singing and dancing in their seats.
Fiesta Sinfónica has been sponsored by Chevron since it was first performed 29 years ago, and Barbara Burger, Houston Symphony Governing Director, was on hand to welcome the audience on Chevron’s behalf, along with Osvaldo Corral from Univision, the concert’s media sponsor.
Guest conductor Rafael Enrique Irizarry, current Associate Conductor of the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra (PRSO), delivered a memorable Houston Symphony debut leading the orchestra through a lively, multicultural program while spotlighting his native Puerto Rican roots. Irizarry’s onstage energy and pride was contagious among the listeners.
The Houston Symphony is proud to have continued this wonderful tradition in the 2021-22 Season.

Meet New Symphony Staff

Ikayani Soemampauw, Development Associate, Gifts and Records
Ikayani Soemampauw, or Ika, is the Houston Symphony’s new Development Associate, Gifts and Records. She will ensure that your contribution is properly recorded and receipted, but you will also see her at concerts—she first became a Houston Symphony fan as a child when she discovered the Instrument Petting Zoo, and it’s been a dream of hers to work for the organization since she was in high school in Alief.
Ika has played piano since age nine and took up percussion a little later—her favorite instrument is the marimba—and she has performed at venues including Carnegie Hall and Sydney Opera House. She loves classical music and names “Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity” from Holst’s The Planets as her favorite piece; she also enjoys hip hop, R&B, and pop music. This year, she graduated from the University of Houston with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, and she is an accredited Certified Nonprofit Professional. She is currently in the MBA program at UH.
Ika is passionate about the importance of music and is interested in after-school programs to provide music education to economically disadvantaged students. When she’s not at work, she is a competitive powerlifter, avid world traveler (next on her list is Korea or Egypt), and proud owner of Corndog, her stray dog she adopted this summer. She’s enthusiastic about meeting people and learning about Houston Symphony donors like you.

Natalie Wheeler, Development Officer
Natalie Wheeler, Development Officer, joined the Symphony in August after working in the development department at Houston Grand Opera. In her position, she works with donors like you to make sure your involvement with the Symphony and concert experience are excellent!
A skilled musician, Natalie graduated from Southwestern University in Georgetown, where she majored in classical guitar performance and also sang in the choir. She went on to earn a master’s degree in performing arts administration from New York University.
Natalie enjoys singing and playing guitar, trying out new songs using the Ultimate Guitar app. Her tastes encompass a wide variety of music, from baroque and contemporary classical music to popular artists including Dolly Parton, John Denver, and Ariana Grande. In her spare time, she plays with Freckles, her Australian cattle dog, and has gotten into cooking and taking care of plants during the lockdown.
Working for nonprofit performing arts organizations, Natalie understands the importance of your support, and that your donation makes this wonderful music possible. She likes to work with donors like you individually, helping you to make a difference to the Houston Symphony.

Jones Hall Renovation
Since it first opened 55 years ago, Jones Hall has seen countless musical triumphs under the leadership of seven music directors. In that time, the Houston Symphony has developed into one of the nation’s most innovative and artistically accomplished orchestras. But a performance hall built in the 1960’s needs to be reimagined for the 21st century—providing the best possible acoustic environment for our world-class orchestra while retaining the elements of the venue that generations of Houston music lovers have cherished.
The Foundation for Jones Hall, which runs the venue’s operations, took the opportunity of the pandemic to prioritize needed upgrades to the hall: in the auditorium, backstage, and in the public areas. The summer of 2021 has seen the first step in a planned multi-year process of upgrades.
A year ago, the Foundation made the first significant change to the auditorium, creating aisles that separate the orchestra level into three sections of seats. If you attended a concert during the 2020-21 Season, you have already seen the aisles, which have made it easier for patrons throughout the orchestra level to reach their seats.
This summer’s renovations to the auditorium, which began on June 1 and will be completed in the last week of August, are focused on improving the acoustics of the hall—a need which both musicians and audiences have recognized. Above each of the double doors leading into the auditorium section is a tall alcove reaching up to the ceiling; in the past, these alcoves have trapped and muffled the sound of the orchestra. The Foundation has installed attractive wooden panels to cover these alcoves to ensure a more “live” sound throughout the hall.
Regular Jones Hall patrons are familiar with the venue’s unique acoustic ceiling, comprised of an array of hexagonal panels that can be raised and lowered to affect the sound within the auditorium. This was a vital innovation when Jones Hall was shared by most of Houston’s major performing arts groups. But the ceiling is currently on its third electronic control system, which was installed over 20 years ago, and there is less need now for the expense and maintenance of this complex mechanism. So the ceiling will now be “parked” in one position. During the month of August, measurements will be taken to focus the acoustics in the space to determine the optimal position for the ceiling.
The summer of 2021 is phase one of the planned renovations to the Hall, which have also included some upgrades to the backstage area. We believe that these changes will make Houston Symphony concerts a richer, more enjoyable experience, and as plans for future renovations are finalized, we look forward to sharing them with you.

Meet New Symphony Development Staff

Zitlaly Jimenez, Annual Fund Manager
Zitlaly Jimenez, Annual Fund Manager, comes to the Symphony from the Houston Center for Photography, where she was Development Coordinator. She has a strong background in the visual arts and art history, but she is excited to be in the orchestra world now. As she says, “Music is one of the most accessible art forms…it’s always around us.”
Born in Mexico—her first name means “star” in the Aztec (Nahuatl) language—Zitlaly moved to Brazoria, Texas with her family at a young age. She still enjoys living in Brazoria: “it’s great to be in the countryside, which feels very different from Houston. At the same time, Houston is our largest neighbor, and it has such a big cultural space. It’s been great to see it grow, especially the focus on the arts.”
She enjoys exploring music from around the world—“I never let language stop me from enjoying music!”—from the bubbly pop of the Eurovision Song Contest to Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata. She’s looking forward to her first season with the Symphony, in particular the POPS Series and its “diverse range…there’s something for everyone!” In her spare time, she “she enjoys gardening, reading, listening to podcasts, watching comedies, and playing with her two six-month-old lab mix puppies.
Zitlaly says, “I’m excited to learn more about the Symphony and about the people within it, including patrons and donors. I know they’re here for a reason, and it’s exciting when people share their passions.

Katie Salvatore, Development Officer and Board Liaison
Katie Salvatore, Development Officer and Board Liaison, an accomplished oboe player, comes to the Symphony from the University of Houston, where she worked with the Board of Visitors and the President’s Office.
As a classical musician, she loves composers from Mozart to Barber, but her favorite symphony is Mahler’s Second, so she’s thrilled that Andrés Orozco-Estrada will lead the orchestra in that work in his final bow. She’s also eagerly anticipating Barber’s Violin Concerto, Bach’s Double Concerto for Oboe and Violin, and Elgar’s Cello Concerto, and is “thrilled to be joining the Symphony as we return to live music in the concert hall.”
A native of Spring, Texas, Katie returned to Houston after several years in London and Chicago, because she loves the city’s diversity: “it has everything you could want and truly is a world-class city, but so down to earth, welcoming, and full of friendly, supportive people.”
In addition to playing the oboe, she enjoys teaching, reading, ice skating, dancing (ballet and ballroom, among others), and historical swordfighting.
Katie’s passion is “to build a more beautiful world, specifically a more musical one. I think people contain universes and I love getting to meet and know them—the people and places they love, what inspires them.”

One Market Square: Discounts For Patrons
Parking for a memorable evening at Jones Hall is quick and simple at One Market Square Garage, just two blocks from Jones Hall.
The new garage, located at 800 Preston Street—with entrances on Milam, Prairie, and Travis—is at the epicenter of downtown. One Market Square is convenient to the entire Theater District, as well as Central Business District office towers and Historic District restaurants, and is easily accessible from I-45, I-10, US-59, Memorial Drive, and Allen Parkway.
In partnership with the Houston Symphony, One Market Square Garage enhances your concert-going experience from prelude to coda. In addition to the 24/7 on-site staffing, One Market Square Garage offers a 20% discount on parking for Symphony patrons. Bring your parking ticket with you to use the validator kiosk in the Jones Hall lobby before or after the concert, or during intermission.

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