Music Matters!. .................................................................................... Math According to Music Matters! 14 Student Concerts = 36,000 young Symphony lovers 8 Family Concerts = 6,600 introductions to symphonic music 26 Schools X 4 Performances/yr. = 15,000 music education experiences 2 Student Competitions = Dozens of inspired young artists
All of these Houston Symphony educational activities and the nearly 60,000 young lives they influence annually are coordinated by two staff members. How do they do it, you ask? The answer: volunteers who come from corporations, social organizations and our own Symphony family. The Houston Symphony League and Houston Symphony LeagueBay Area, our longest dedicated groups, provide the majority of volunteers for many events that introduce students to and enhance their appreciation of symphonic music. The David Dewhurst Student Concert series – Symphony Detectives for younger elementary students and Cameron Symphony Explorers for upper elementary-middle school students – are held during the school day. Approximately 15 volunteers meet, greet and seat the 2,600 in attendance at each of the 14 performances. The Weatherford Family Concerts series, presented on four Saturday mornings throughout the year, includes an hour of concert-related activities in the Jones Hall lobby, each of which requires an abundance of volunteers who patiently show youngsters how to hold a violin, make a sound on a brass mouthpiece or create a concert-related craft. The mission of the Houston Symphony League-Bay Area is to expose students in the Clear Creek Independent School District to multiple symphonic experiences. CCISD’s 26 elementary schools are treated to several performances every year. Each grade sees a musical puppet
show or ensemble performance; and – once they’ve reached fifth grade – enjoy an Explorer Concert at Jones Hall. More than 2,900 CCISD fifth graders were Symphony Explorers this year! The Houston Symphony League Concerto Competition is the longest-running project of the Houston Symphony League. Eighteen young musicians from southeast Texas performed on January 8, 2011, at the University of Houston’s Moores School of Music. Dozens of League volunteers were on hand to greet, escort and feed the contestants and judges. The Ima Hogg Competition, held annually in June at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, involves a variety of volunteers working the Semifinals Round – meeting, escorting, announcing, cooking, serving and more, while others transport contestants to and from the airport and other locations throughout the week. Other events, such as our Sounds Like Fun! summer concerts and Magical Musical Morning – a children’s Christmas activity – involve League members as puppeteers or instrument petting zoo-ers. In addition to this plethora of volunteer activities, League members also lend a hand in the Symphony offices, as needed. In order to continue broadening the musical horizons of Houstonarea students, the two Symphony education staff members rely on the hundreds of priceless volunteers who help the Houston Symphony Education Department enhance the lives of children through music. We are grateful to those who tirelessly devote untold hours to help young people appreciate music – our projects could not succeed without you! Change a life; create a spark; bring a community together. Volunteer! Music Matters!
Biographies continued from page 22....................................................................... © Roldan de moras
© jamie schultz photography
Moras
Schultz
© braeden rogers
Annual New York Metropolitan Opera National Council Southwest Region Auditions.
Ray
Institute for Singers (Rice University) is funding his May trip to Florence, Italy to study Italian.
Stephen Anthony Ray, baritone Solo concert repertoire includes Handel’s Messiah, Fauré’s Requiem, Bach’s Magnificat and Poulenc’s Rapsodie nègre. As a United States Senate Page Program alumnus, he had the prestigious honor of singing for Congress. Schultz will complete the graduate program at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music this spring, and has represented the program at Regional Opera Gala Concerts in Aspen, Chicago, Dallas, New York City and San Francisco (2008).
Rafael Moras, tenor
Tenor Rafael Moras is a National Foundation for the Advancement of the Arts (NFAA) Young ARTS Winner (2006), United States Presidential Scholar in the Arts (2006) and Winner of the 51st
Moras debuted in The Magic Flute and subsequently performed in Così Fan Tutte and The Pirates of Penzance (University of Texas at San Antonio Lyric Theater and Orchestra). He participated in the NFAA-sponsored HBO documentary series, Masterclass under Maestro Plácido Domingo, and recently participated in the Wolf Trap Opera’s Studio Program. This spring, he sings in The Secret Garden (UTSA) followed by his Senior Recital. Moras studies under Dr. Diana Allan in pursuit of a Bachelor of Music Degree in Voice Performance (UTSA). He will attend Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music as a graduate student of Dr. Stephen King this fall.
Baritone Stephen Anthony Ray is pursuing the Master of Music in vocal performance degree at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music as a student of Dr. Stephen King. He has participated in Holst’s Savitri, Mozart’s Don Giovanni and Le Nozze di Figaro, Strauss’ Arabella and Saint-Saëns’ Samson et Dalila. Ray twice performed as the baritone soloist in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, was the guest baritone soloist in Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana and performed in Così fan tutte, Die Zauberflöte and Elijah. A Sherwood, Arkansas native, Ray completed his bachelor’s degree in music at Ouachita Baptist University and advanced to the Grand Finals of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions (2008). February 2011 29