A junior from Galena Park High School and saxophone student, Salvador excelled locally and nationally under the guidance of Dave Connor, a Houston Symphony Community-Embedded Musician. Salvador’s growth in musical interpretation and execution prepared him for Texas Music Educators Association All-State and Interlochen auditions.
Tonight, Houston Symphony Associate Conductor Robert Franz will lead our orchestra in a fascinating East Meets West program at Miller Outdoor Theatre. Recently, I got to ask Maestro Franz a few questions about his inspiration for this unique and interesting concert. Calvin Dotsey: For our third ExxonMobil Summer Symphony Nights concert this year, you have … 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
Thirteen musicians, ranging in age from 13 through 18, competed in the Houston Symphony League Concerto Competition on January 4, 2014. These exceptionally talented students represented violin, viola, cello, piano, flute, clarinet and horn. Our three judges hailed from NYC, Boulder, CO and Boise, ID. These musicians performed an entire concerto by memory — a … Continued
There are times in your life when you come upon something that defies any sort of logical explanation, a person with such a gift for music that it doesn’t even seem real. I met such a person this week in Houston. Seven year old Jonathan Okseniuk is his name. Jonathan, of YouTube Beethoven 5 fame, won … Continued
I just recently conducted the Houston Symphony’s 100th Anniversary concert which was simulcast on KTRK channel 13, Houston’s local ABC affiliate, and 91.7 FM, our classical music station. The experience was grand in many ways, and an enormous lesson in trust. There were somewhere in the neighborhood of 18,000 people in attendance that night. On … Continued