Jennifer Higdon’s path to a Pulitzer Prize and Grammy began with a pawn-shop flute . And she didn’t even pick that up until she was 15 years old. “It’s kind of stunning to think about the trajectory. I got a very late start,” Higdon says. Higdon will come to Jones Hall April 17-19, when Robert … Continued
It’s not every day that a young, up-and-coming violinist gets to share the stage with a world-renowned conductor. In fact, most young musicians don’t get that opportunity until they perform with an orchestra. That was not the case for Angel Vela, a 10-year-old boy from Houston whose life was forever changed on November 14, 2014. … Continued
This weekend, the Houston Symphony welcomes back Conductor Laureate Hans Graf for a program of Debussy and Ravel. Recently, I got to ask Maestro Graf a few questions about this shimmering program of musical Impressionism. Calvin Dotsey: Ravel is known as one of the greatest orchestrators of all time. In terms of orchestration, do you … Continued
Last time, we discovered how Rachmaninoff overcame composer’s block with the help of Dr. Nikolai Dahl’s hypnosis therapy and ultimately produced once of his best loved pieces, his Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor. What I didn’t tell you, though, was that Rachmaninoff also fell in love during this period, much to the dismay … Continued
Last week, two of Houston’s many community orchestras joined forces with Robert Franz and the Houston Symphony for two evenings of side-by-side rehearsals. The Houston Civic Symphony rehearsed with the Houston Symphony on Tuesday, September 2, and the Texas Medical Center Orchestra rehearsed with them on Wednesday, September 3. Each member of each community orchestra … Continued
While many are familiar with Jason Alexander’s unforgettable, nine-season performance as George Costanza on the hit sitcom Seinfeld, musical theater aficionados know him as a Tony Award-winning man of the stage. Recently, I had the chance to ask Jason Alexander some questions about his career on Broadway in advance of his upcoming show with the … Continued