Miller Outdoor Theatre: Star-Spangled Salute

Jason Seber is known for his inviting and engaging approach on and off the podium. A strong believer in the eclectic experiences which today’s symphony orchestras offer their communities, he strives to make music of many genres and styles accessible, relevant, and meaningful to diverse audiences across the country.

Jason has conducted many leading American orchestras, including the Houston, Colorado, Detroit, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Milwaukee, Nashville, National, San Diego, and St. Louis Symphonies; the Louisville and Minnesota Orchestras; the Cincinnati Pops; and the Buffalo Philharmonic, among others. Upcoming performances include debuts with the North Carolina Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, and Phoenix Symphony. He has conducted more than 20 full-feature films and has had the pleasure of performing with a wide range of artists, including Patti Austin, Mason Bates, Andrew Bird, Boyz II Men, Jinjoo Cho, Melissa Etheridge, Ben Folds, Cody Fry, Renee Elise Goldsberry, Indigo Girls, Paul Jacobs, Wynonna Judd, Lyle Lovett, Katharine McPhee, Natalie Merchant, Brian Stokes Mitchell, My Morning Jacket, Leslie Odom Jr., Aoife O’Donovan, Pink Martini, Ben Rector, Stephen Schwartz, Doc Severinsen, Conrad Tao, Bobby Watson, and Joyce Yang.

Jason served as associate conductor of the Kansas City Symphony from 2016 to 2022. In this position, he led the Symphony in more than 300 performances on the Classical, Pops, Classics Uncorked, Family, Film + Live Orchestra, Education, and Christmas Festival series. He also served as co-host for the Symphony’s podcast, “Beethoven Walks into a Bar.” Prior to Kansas City, he was the education and outreach conductor at the Louisville Orchestra from 2013 to 2016 and music director of the Louisville Youth Orchestra from 2005 to 2016.

A passionate advocate for music education, Jason has led the Honors Performance Series Orchestra in concert at Carnegie Hall, Sydney Opera House, and Royal Festival Hall in London. He is a frequent guest conductor of the National Repertory Orchestra each summer, and he has served as the All-State Orchestra conductor for Georgia, Kansas, Missouri, and Pennsylvania.

Hailed for his ability to communicate “…romance and heartbreak with his soaring tenor tones,” by Broadway World and “…heroic bravado…,” “…acting chops…,” and “…irresistible mix of Italianate and Latin passion…” by Musical America Worldwide, Opera News, and Classical Voice North America respectively, tenor Rafael Moras is a rising operatic star whose voice, stage presence, and ability to speak off-the-cuff and passionately with audiences has connected and captivated on stages around the world.

In addition to the Houston Symphony, Rafael has performed as a featured soloist with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, LA Philharmonic, Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela, San Antonio Symphony, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Amarillo Opera, Fort Worth Opera, Austin Opera, Opera Idaho, Aspen Music Festival, and San Antonio Mastersingers. He has sung across the world with Grammy Award-winning jazz trumpeter Chris Botti as a featured soloist in the Chris Botti in Concert global tour.

Further career highlights include a Seattle Opera debut as Tariq in the critically acclaimed world premiere A Thousand Splendid Suns; Don José in Carmen, the directorial debut of acclaimed mezzosoprano Denyce Graves; and debuts with Houston Grand Opera and Arizona Opera as Father Matías in the world premiere of El Milagro del Recuerdo, Utah Opera and Holy City Arts & Lyric Opera as Alfredo in La traviata, Sacramento Philharmonic & Opera as the Duke in Rigoletto, and Arizona Opera as Zorro in its inaugural New Works Festival.

A graduate of LA Opera’s Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young Artist Program and The Santa Fe Opera’s Apprentice Program for Singers, Rafael is a two-time recipient of The Santa Fe Opera’s Richard Tucker Fund Award, a Metropolitan Opera Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition Grand Finalist, Operalia Quarter Finalist, and a two-time Eleanor McCollum Vocal Competition Finalist.