InTune — The Houston Symphony Magazine — September 2017

THE HOUSTON SYMPHONY MAGAZINE

SEPTEMBER 2017

ELLA AT 100 20

September 1, 2, 3

OPENING NIGHT 24

FIESTA SINFÓNICA 30

September 9

September 10

September 14, 16, 17

MAHLER & DVORˇÁK 34

ANDRÉS CONDUCTS SCHUMANN 38

GARRISON KEILLOR 42

September 22, 23, 24

September 25

RUSSIAN MASTERS 44

September 28, 30, October 1

INAUGUR AL

the SEASON of Steven Reineke

InTUNE | S E P T E M B E R

2017

Programs

Ella at 100

September 1, 2, 3 ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������20 Opening Night

September 9 ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������24 Fiesta Sinfónica

September 10 ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������30 Mahler & Dvořák

September 14, 16, 17 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Andrés Conducts Schumann

September 22, 23, 24 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Garrison Keillor

September 25 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Russian Masters

September 28, 30; October 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Features

Letter to Patrons ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������2 The Music Man: Steven Reineke ��������������������������������������������������������������8 Rising Star: Jimmy López . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 ABC/Do-Re-Mi: Music & Literacy ������������������������������������������������������ 14 Backstage Pass with the Houston Symphony Chorus ���������������56

Events

Upcoming Broadcasts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Houston Symphony Ball Recap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Your Houston Symphony

Andrés Orozco-Estrada, Music Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Orchestra Roster ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������5 Houston Symphony Chorus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Staff Listing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Our Supporters

Society Board of Trustees ��������������������������������������������������������������������������� 17 New Century Society . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Leadership Council . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Vision 2025 Implementation Fund . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Houston Symphony Donors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Education and Community Engagement Donors . . . . . . . . . 51 Corporate, Foundation and Government Partners ���������������������52 Young Associates Council . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 Houston Symphony Endowment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Sustainability Fund. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Learn about our new Principal POPS Conductor Steven Reineke.

8

InTUNE InTUNE — September — September 2017 2017| 1| 1

InTUNE is published by the Houston Symphony.

615 Louisiana, Suite 102, Houston, TX 77002 713.224.4240 | houstonsymphony.org All rights reserved.

LETTER TO PATRONS

InTune is produced by the Houston Symphony’s Marketing and Communications department.

Trazanna Moreno. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chief Marketing Officer Vanessa Astros. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Senior Director, Communications Calvin Dotsey. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Publications Editor Melanie O'Neill. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Publications Designer Editorial Contributors Anna Diemer, Chorus Manager/Artistic Coordinator Pam Blaine, Chief of Education and Community Programming Elaine Reeder Mayo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Editorial Consultant Charles P. Young Co.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Printing Ventures Marketing Group. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Advertising The activities and projects of the Houston Symphony are funded in part by grants from the City of Houston, the National Endowment for the Arts and the Texas Commission on the Arts.

The Houston Symphony currently records under its own label, Houston Symphony Media Productions, and for Pentatone and Naxos.

Houston Symphony recordings also are available on the Telarc, RCA Red Seal, Virgin Classics and Koch International Classics labels.

CAMERAS, RECORDERS, CELL PHONES & PAGERS Cameras and recorders are not permitted in the hall. Patrons may not use any device to record or photograph performances. Please silence cell phones, pagers and alarm watches and refrain from texting during performances.

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In THE HOUSTON SYMPHONY

InTUNE

HELLO SEPTEMBER 2017

September is a month of new beginnings: students are settling into a new year of school and Houstonians are getting back outdoors as the summer heat gives way to autumn’s cooler weather—fingers crossed! At Jones Hall, we’re starting our 104th season with two important additions to the Houston Symphony family: our new Principal POPS Conductor Steven Reineke and our new Composerin-Residence Jimmy López. Get to know these dynamic musicians on pages 8 & 12.

Our busiest month, September is packed with exciting concerts and events. Steven Reineke opens the 2017-18 BBVA Compass POPS Season with a tribute to the legendary Ella Fitzgerald, followed by this year’s glamorous Opening Night Concert and Gala, La Vie en Rose, featuring “America’s favorite mezzo” (Gramophone Magazine), Susan Graham. Our Classical Series commences with Music Director Andrés Orozco-Estrada conducting music by Dvořák, Mahler and Schumann, plus the world premiere of Jimmy López’ Aurora, a concerto he composed specially for Spanish violinist Leticia Moreno and the Houston Symphony. Other special guests include NPR veteran and storyteller Garrison Keillor and renowned Russian conductor Vassily Sinaisky.

This is just a taste of the exciting concerts and events in store this season. On behalf of our musicians, staff and board, welcome back to Jones Hall.

MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2016

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DECEMBER 2016

VERY MERRY

24

I LOVE A PIANO

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32

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InTUNE — September 2017 | 3

ANDRÉS OROZCO-ESTRADA

M U S I C D I R E C T O R ROY AND LILLIE CULLEN CHAIR

Houston Symphony Music Director Andrés Orozco-Estrada began his tenure in the 2014–15 season. He immediately established a dynamic presence on the podium and a deep bond with the musicians of the orchestra.

Orozco-Estrada carefully curates his programs to feature engaging combinations of classical masterworks paired with the music of today, significant artistic collaborations with composers and guest artists, and innovative use of multimedia and visual effects, all in order to make meaningful connections with the audience.

In the 2017–18 season, Andrés continues to engage with audiences both with casual commentary from the stage and discussions with guests in “Behind the Scenes with Andrés” videos. On the recording front, Andrés and the orchestra will soon release a Music of the Americas disc, featuring Gershwin’s An American in Paris, Revueltas’ Sensemayá, Piazzolla’s Tangazo and Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances from West Side Story, recorded in early 2017. Additional projects with Pentatone include Haydn’s The Creation. In the 2016–17 season, Andrés and the Symphony released the third disc in their critically acclaimed series featuring Dvořák’s last four symphonies, his first commercial recording project with the orchestra.

Born in Medellín, Colombia, Andrés began his musical studies on the violin and started conducting at age 15. At 19, he entered the renowned Vienna Music Academy, where he studied with Uroš Lajovic (pupil of the legendary Hans Swarowsky), and completed his degree with distinction conducting the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra at the Musikverein. Andrés burst on the international scene with two substitutions with the Vienna Philharmonic: the first, his debut in 2010, standing in for Esa-Pekka Salonen, and then in 2012, substituting for Riccardo Muti at the Musikverein. Andrés now regularly appears with many of the world’s leading orchestras, including the Vienna Philharmonic, the Santa Cecilia Orchestra in Rome, the Orchestre National de France, the Staatskapelle Dresden, the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra.

He recently debuted with the Philadelphia and Cleveland Orchestras; Chicago and Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestras; and the San Francisco Symphony as well as the Berlin Philharmonic. Following a thrilling debut the previous year, summer 2016 marked his return to the Salzburg Festival with Nicolai's opera Il templario and—in place of Nikolaus Harnoncourt—Beethoven's Ninth with the Concentus Musicus Wien.

In addition to his post in Houston, Andrés is chief conductor of the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra and principal guest conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2016, Andrés and the Frankfurt Symphony Radio Orchestra released two recordings on Pe to great acclaim: Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring and Richard Strauss’ Ein Heldenleben.

4 | Houston Symphony

ROSTER

ORCHESTRA Andrés Orozco-Estrada Music Director Roy and Lillie Cullen Chair FIRST VIOLIN Eric Halen, Co-Concertmaster Ellen E. Kelley Chair Qi Ming, Assistant Concertmaster Fondren Foundation Chair Marina Brubaker Tong Yan MiHee Chung Sophia Silivos Rodica Gonzalez Ferenc Illenyi Si-Yang Lao Kurt Johnson Christopher Neal Sergei Galperin Anastasia Sukhopara*

DOUBLE BASS Robin Kesselman, Principal David Malone, Associate Principal Mark Shapiro Eric Larson Andrew Pedersen Burke Shaw Donald Howey Michael McMurray FLUTE Aralee Dorough, Principal General Maurice Hirsch Chair Matthew Roitstein, Associate Principal Judy Dines Kathryn Ladner PICCOLO Kathryn Ladner

SECOND VIOLIN MuChen Hsieh, Principal Rebecca Reale, Associate Principal Hitai Lee Mihaela Frusina Annie Kuan-Yu Chen Jing Zheng Martha Chapman Tianjie Lu Tina Zhang Jenna Barghouti* Jordan Koransky* Katrina Bobbs Savitski* Lindsey Baggett*

OBOE Jonathan Fischer, Principal Lucy Binyon Stude Chair Anne Leek, Associate Principal Colin Gatwood Adam Dinitz

Community-Embedded Musicians David Connor, double bass Rainel Joubert, violin Anthony Parce, viola Hellen Weberpal, cello

HORN William VerMeulen, Principal Robert Johnson, Associate Principal Jesse Clevenger*, Assistant Principal Brian Thomas Nancy Goodearl Ian Mayton TRUMPET Mark Hughes, Principal George P. and Cynthia Woods Mitchell Chair John Parker, Associate Principal Robert Walp, Assistant Principal Caroline Schafer TROMBONE Allen Barnhill, Principal Bradley White, Associate Principal Phillip Freeman BASS TROMBONE Phillip Freeman TUBA Dave Kirk, Principal TIMPANI Ronald Holdman, Principal Brian Del Signore, Associate Principal

ENGLISH HORN Adam Dinitz

VIOLA Wayne Brooks, Principal Mr. & Mrs. Jesse B. Tutor Legacy Society Chair Joan DerHovsepian, Associate Principal George Pascal, Assistant Principal Wei Jiang Linda Goldstein Sheldon Person Fay Shapiro Daniel Strba Jarita Ng Phyllis Herdliska CELLO Brinton Averil Smith, Principal Janice and Thomas Barrow Chair Christopher French, Associate Principal Anthony Kitai Louis-Marie Fardet Jeffrey Butler Kevin Dvorak Xiao Wong Myung Soon Lee James R. Denton** Yewon Ahn*

Steven Reineke Principal POPS Conductor Robert Franz Associate Conductor, Sponsor, Ms. Marie Taylor Bosarge Betsy Cook Weber Director, Houston Symphony Chorus

CLARINET Mark Nuccio, Principal Thomas LeGrand, Associate Principal Christian Schubert Alexander Potiomkin E-FLAT CLARINET Thomas LeGrand BASS CLARINET Alexander Potiomkin Tassie and Constantine S. Nicandros Chair BASSOON Rian Craypo, Principal Eric Arbiter, Associate Principal Elise Wagner

PERCUSSION Brian Del Signore, Principal Mark Griffith Matthew Strauss HARP Megan Conley, Principal KEYBOARD Scott Holshouser, Principal *Contracted Substitute ** On Leave

CONTRABASSOON Position Vacant

Orchestra Personnel Manager Michael Gorman

Librarian Thomas Takaro

Assistant Orchestra Personnel Manager Shana Bey

Assistant Librarians Hae-a Lee Michael McMurray

Stage Manager Kelly Morgan

Stage Technicians Ritaban Ghosh Jose Rios Ryan Samuelsen David Stennis

InTUNE — September 2017 | 5

CHORUS

HOUSTON SYMPHONY CHORUS Betsy Cook Weber Director

Anna Diemer Chorus Manager Scott Holshouser Accompanist Tony Sessions Librarian/Stage Manager

The Houston Symphony Chorus, the official choral unit of the Houston Symphony, consists of highly skilled and talented volunteer singers. Over the years, singers in this historic ensemble have learned and performed the world’s great choral-orchestral masterworks under the batons of Andrés Orozco-Estrada, Steven Reineke, Michael Krajewski, Hans Graf, Robert Shaw, Christoph Eschenbach, Peter Schreier, Helmut Rilling and Nicholas McGegan, among many others. In June 2017, the Chorus sang the closing subscription concerts with the Prague Symphony Orchestra in the Czech Republic. The Houston Symphony Chorus holds auditions by appointment and welcomes inquiries from interested singers.

Betsy Cook Weber | Director of the Houston Symphony Chorus Dr. Betsy Cook Weber is Professor of Music and Director of Choral Studies at the University of Houston’s Moores School of Music and is also internationally active as a conductor, clinician, adjudicator and lecturer. In 2013, Dr. Weber became the 13th person and first woman to receive the Texas Choral Director Association’s coveted Texas Choirmaster Award. She is editor of the Betsy Cook Weber choral series with Alliance Music Publishing.

Choirs under Dr. Weber’s direction, including the Moores School Concert Chorale, have been featured at multiple state and national conventions. Internationally, the Chorale has won prizes and received acclaim at prestigious competitions in Wales, France and Germany.

Dr. Weber has prepared singers for Da Camera of Houston and for early music orchestras Ars Lyrica and Mercury Houston. She prepares singers for touring shows, including Josh Groban, NBC’s Clash of the Choirs, Telemundo’s Latin Grammy, Star Wars: In Concert and Andrea Bocelli.

Before joining the University of Houston, Dr. Weber taught vocal music, K-12, in public schools. Prior to her appointment as Houston Symphony Chorus Director in 2014, she served from 1990 to 1997 as Assistant and, later, Associate Director of the Chorus. She holds degrees from the University of North Texas, Westminster Choir College (Princeton, NJ) and the University of Houston.

CHORUS ROSTER

Mahler & Dvořák September 14, 16, 17

EMERITUS MEMBERS

REHEARSAL CONDUCTOR

Bruce Boyle Barbara Bush Anne Campbell James R. Carazola Carol Carthel James Carthel Rochella Cooper Debby Cutler Roger Cutler Marilyn Dyess Sally Evans Richard Field David Fox Clarice Gatlin Bill Goddard John Grady Chuck Izzo Berma Kinsey David Knoll John MacDonald Joan Mercado Dave Nussmann Janis Parish Linda Peters Nina Peropoulos Peter Peropoulos Jan Russell June Russell Menthold Stevenson Tony Vazquez Jim Wilhite Pam Wilhite Patsy Wilson

Ben May

6 | Houston Symphony

ROSTER Steve Abercia Bob Alban David Alfaro-Lopez Anthony Allen Ramona Alms Yoset Altamirano Kelli Amick Joe Anzaldua Stuart Aron Marcie Baker R. Ellis Bardin Enrique Barrera Lauren Bass Justin Becker John Bice Claude Bitner Randy Boatright Cris Bocanegra Joanne Bonasso Harvey Bongers Jonathan Bordelon Robyn Branning Sara Brannon Timothy Browning James Bue Christian Bumpous Patricia Bumpus Kimi Butler Jason A. Carson Susan Casper Tsung Yen Chang Tatiana Chavanelle

William Cheadle Elizabeth Chrisman Nancy Christopherson Nicole Colby Carlos Cordero Emer Cordoba Victoria Crossan Diana Davis Anna Diemer Keith Dixon Michael Dorn Steve Dukes Randy Eckman Deborah Edwin Paul Ehrsam Raul Enriquez Chris Fair Brianna Fernandez Ian Fetterley Julia FitzGerald Angelina Fonseca Raymond Fonseca Katie Fry Joseph Frybert Mary Gahr John Gallagher Michael Gilbert Rex Gillit Katura Gilmore Robert Gomez Hannah Gronseth Will Hailey Julia Hall Susan Hall Austin Hart Jen Hart Scott Hassett Megan Henry Eileen Holshouser

Chuck Hooten Catherine Howard George Howe Laura Howey Jillian Hughes Sylvia Hysong Phillip Jackson Sean Jackson Stephen James Chris Kersten Karen King-Ellis Nobuhide Kobori Kat Kunz Yoka Larasati Anthony Larson CindieLavenda Heather Leal Joyce Lewis Zachary Lewis Frank Lopez Benjamin Luss Katie Marcell Jarrod Martin Lisa Marut-Shriver Qwi Massingill Ken Mathews Carver Mathis Amanda Matthys Ben May Sarah McConnell Melissa Medina Janet Menzie Scott Mermelstein Dan Miner Jim Moore Jeb Mueller Robert Nash Theresa Olin David Opheim

Heather Orr Janwin Overstreet-Goode Marie Parisot Bill Parker Casey Parrish Katy Parrott Jennifer Paulson Charnele Pendarvis Thea Persinger Benjamin Peters Chantel Potvin Julianne Preddy Lauren Price Jayna Queen Greg Railsback Karen Ramirez Jessica Rangel Emily Reader Linda Renner Douglas Rodenberger Carolyn Rogan Tyson Ruhmann Alex Schaaf Nathaniel Schweitzer Gary Scullin Angela Seaman Tony Sessions Jeff Simmons Howard Solis Christopher Song Katie Spanos Dewell Springer Mark Standridge Meridith Steiniger Ashley Stouffer HyeHyun Sung Caitlyn Surkein Grace Svatek Elizabeth Taylor

Suzanne Thacker Marin Trautman Lisa Trewin Yen-Kuei (Peter) Tu Ricardo Valle Paul Van Dorn Abby Veliz Mary Voigt Christine Voss Lori Wagner Jenny Warkentin Beth Weidler Kat White Lauren Wickett Lance Wilcox Lee Williams Vanessa Winslow Victoria Zielinski Richard Zwelling The Houston Symphony Chorus would like to honor its retired members for their many years of service to the Chorus.

The Houston Symphony thanks supporters of the Chorus Endownment. For a list of donors, please see page 55.

STAFF

ADMINISTRATIVE

The Houston Symphony Administrative Staff is made up of 73 full-time professionals who work diligently behind-the-scenes to ensure all operations within the organization are run effectively and efficiently. This inspiring team is dedicated to bringing the great music of the Houston Symphony to our community.

SENIOR MANAGEMENT GROUP

FINANCE/ADMINISTRATION/IT/HR

Pam Blaine, Chief of Education and Community Programming David Chambers, Interim Co-Executive Director/

Chief Development Officer Amanda T. Dinitz, Interim Co-Executive Director/

Chief of Strategic Initiatives Vicky Dominguez, Chief Operating Officer Danny Granados, Chief Financial Officer Trazanna Moreno, Chief Marketing Officer Christine Kelly-Weaver, Executive Assistant/Board Liaison

Lucy Alejandro, Accountant I Caitlin Boake, IT Associate Brittany Eckert, Support Engineer Heather Fails, Manager, Ticketing Database Joel James, Senior HR Manager Janis Pease LaRocque, Manager, Patron Database Mateo Lopez, Finance/HR Associate Anthony Stringer, IT Associate Christian Swearingen, Accounts Payable Analyst Justine Townsend, Director of Finance Brandon VanWaeyenberghe, Director,

Information Technology and Business Analytics Ariela Ventura, Office Manager/HR Coordinator

DEVELOPMENT Michael Arlen, Associate Director,

Individual Giving and Major Gifts Liam Bonner, Manager, Annual Giving Groups Tiffany Bourgeois, Development Associate, Annual Fund Julie Busch, Development Associate, Special Projects &

Liaison to the Chief Development Officer Irma M. Carrillo, Development Manager, Gifts and Records Timothy Dillow, Manager, Individual Giving Events Noureen Faizullah, Development Director,

Strategic Initiatives and Special Projects Denise Furlough, Manager, Special Events Vickie Hamley, Director, Volunteer Services Sydnee E. Houlette, Development Associate, Institutional Giving Rachel Klaassen, Special Events Associate Leticia Konigsberg, Director, Corporate Relations Michelle Montabana, Development Assistant, Gifts,

Records and Planned Giving Mary Beth Mosley, Director, Institutional Giving and Stewardship Patrick Quinn, Director, Planned Giving Martin Schleuse, Development Communications Manager Monica Simon, Director, Special Events Molly Simpson, Director, Individual Giving and Major Gifts Sarah Slemmons, Patron Donor Relations Manager Christina Trunzo, Associate Director,

Foundation & Government Grants EDUCATION AND COMMUNITY PROGRAMMING Keisha Cassel, Manager, Education Allison Conlan, Director, Education Emily Nelson, Associate Director,

Education and Community Programming Ragan Rhodes, Manager of Education and

Community Programming

MARKETING/COMMUNICATIONS Vanessa Astros-Young, Senior Director, Communications Kristen Bennett, PR Specialist Jeffrey Block, Associate Director of Marketing Calvin Dotsey, Communications Specialist Elizabeth Faulkinberry, Front of House Manager Brian Glass, Marketing Coordinator James Grant, Graphic Designer Kathryn Judd, Director, Marketing Jason Landry, Senior Manager, Patron Services Melanie O'Neill, Publications Designer Sarah Rendón, Assistant Manager, Patron Services Vanessa Rivera, Digital Marketing Manager Katie Sejba, Senior Director, Marketing & Sales Marylu Treviño, Digital Communications Manager Linsey Whitehead, Director, Creative Services Jenny Zuniga, Director, Patron Services OPERATIONS/ARTISTIC Shana Bey, Assistant Orchestra Personnel Manager Carlos Andrés Botero, Musical Ambassador Becky Brown, Director, Operations Anna Diemer, Chorus Manager/Artistic Coordinator Michael Gorman, Orchestra Personnel Manager Hae-A Lee, Assistant Librarian Michael McMurray, Assistant Librarian Lauren Moore, Operations Manager Kelly Morgan, Stage Manager Lesley Sabol, Director, Popular Programming Thomas Takaro, Librarian Roxanna Tehrani, Artistic Assistant Meredith Williams, Associate Director, Operations Rebecca Zabinski, Artistic Administrator InTUNE — September 2017 | 7

“THE BOTTOM LINE IS THAT I WANT US ALL TO HAVE A LOT OF FUN” — Steven Reineke

the

MUSIC MAN INTRODUCING OUR NEW PRINCIPAL POPS CONDUCTOR, STEVEN REINEKE

This season, the Houston Symphony welcomes its dynamic new Principal POPS Conductor, Steven Reineke.

In addition to his new post in Houston, this in-demand conductor is also the music director of The New York Pops at Carnegie Hall, principal pops conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and principal pops conductor of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Get to know the charming new maestro and emcee of our BBVA Compass POPS Series in this exclusive InTune interview.

8 | Houston Symphony

Houston Symphony: What inspired you to become a pops conductor? When did you know this was what you wanted to do?

HS: As our new Principal POPS Conductor, what do you hope to bring to the Houston Symphony’s BBVA Compass POPS Series?

Steven Reineke: I didn’t consider being a pops conductor (or any conductor for that matter) until my mid-20s. I started out wanting to be a professional trumpet player, but then my love of composition took over, and I focused on becoming a film music composer in Los Angeles for a few years. My path started to become clearer for me when I became Erich Kunzel’s assistant at the Cincinnati Pops in 1995. Although I was serving as the principal composer and arranger for the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, I began conducting lessons with Maestro Kunzel within my first few years of working with him. I guess you could say that is when I caught a serious bug to become a conductor and to focus on popular music. I love the wide array of musical styles Pops offers, and I certainly love the showmanship and entertainment aspect of the job. By age 27 or so, I knew I had found my true calling in life.

SR: I’m looking forward to some incredibly entertaining and interesting programming and guest artists. I hope to reach out to the greater Houston community and expand our audience with a diverse mix of fun music. It’s also very important to me to continually raise the bar of excellence for the orchestra. The bottom line is that I want us all to have a lot of fun at each show and to be amazed at how incredible our magnificent Houston Symphony is.

HS: So far, what have been some of your most memorable concerts as a conductor?

SR: One of my favorite concerts of all time was a family concert we created for The New York Pops at Carnegie Hall, The Musical World of Jim Henson. I shared the stage with Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy and the rest of the Muppets, all while being heckled incessantly by the curmudgeonly Waldorf and Statler from their box seats.

Another concert I’m very proud of was a recreation of Marvin Gaye’s iconic album What’s Going On that featured John Legend. In between songs, we incorporated commentary and poetry by teenagers of all backgrounds from around the country, juxtaposing their views on “what’s going on” now with Marvin Gaye’s brilliant lyrics and music of the ’60s and early ’70s.

I helped create that show for performances at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. with our National Symphony Orchestra, and we subsequently performed it at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles with the LA Philharmonic.

HS: While this will be your first season as Principal POPS Conductor, you have already appeared with the Houston Symphony many times. What have been your impressions of Houston so far?

SR: My biggest draw to accept the position was the incredible talent and musicianship of the orchestra, plus the fact that the players are such nice people and very easy to work with. I’ve also made some friends outside the orchestra that I always enjoy seeing when I’m in town.

HS: You’ve decided to begin your first season as Principal Pops Conductor with Ella at 100—a musical celebration of Ella Fitzgerald’s 100th birthday. Why begin with Ella?

SR: I have often been asked in interviews “Who haven’t you worked with as a guest artist that you would like to work with?”

Invariably, I throw them off with my answer of Ella Fitzgerald. I’m not often star-struck anymore, but I would give just about anything to have met Ella or to have seen her perform. She is my personal favorite “girl singer” of all time. When I’m cooking dinner or having a party at my place, I almost always put on Ella as my background soundtrack. Not only was she one of the greatest jazz singers of all time, male or female, but her repertoire is full of extraordinary songs. There is so much more I want to say about Miss Ella, but I’ll save that for the concert.

HS: What are some of the other BBVA Compass POPS concerts Houston audiences can look forward to this season?

SR: I must say that the entire series is terrific—you won’t want to miss anything! To take one example, I’m very excited about November’s Broadway Today program, which I’ve done at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center to rave reviews. It will feature a dear friend of mine named Betsy Wolfe, who is currently starring in the hit musical Waitress on Broadway. It contains some of the biggest hit Broadway songs of the past 30 years all the way up to today, including a few surprises—but you’ll have to be there to witness them.

I’m also really looking forward to our Very Merry Pops concerts this year, as I’m creating a new show with the brilliant Megan Hilty based on her incredible holiday album. Another highlight will be a show called One Hit Wonders with the inimitable Storm Large as guest vocalist. I’ve been wanting to create this show for years, and I’m so happy to finally debut it in Houston.

— Calvin Dotsey

The POPS series is proudly sponsored by:

InTUNE — September 2017 | 9

Superstar Soloists on Houston Public Media Tune in to Houston Public Media's News 88.7 FM Sunday nights at 8:00 pm for broadcasts of Houston Symphony concerts! This month features superstar soloists including Yo-Yo Ma, Allison Balsom and André Watts, plus 2017 Ima Hogg Competition Silver Medalist Rainer Crosett.

SEPTEMBER 2017 BROADCAST SCHEDULE | ALL BROADCASTS AIR AT 8PM September 3 News 88.7 September 6 Classical

Alexander Prior, conductor Rainer Crosett, cello, silver medal winner, 2017 Ima Hogg Competition Verdi: Overture to I Vespri Siciliani Haydn: Cello Concerto No. 1 Brahms: Symphony No. 4 in E minor, Opus 98

RECORDED:

July 1, 2017

September 17 News 88.7 September 20 Classical

Andrés Orozco-Estrada, conductor André Watts, piano Frank: Karnavalingo (World Premiere) Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 2 R. Strauss: Ein Heldenleben

RECORDED:

September 19-21, 2014

September 10 News 88.7 September 13 Classical September 13, 2014

Andrés Orozco-Estrada, conductor Alison Balsom, trumpet Mozart: Overture to The Marriage of Figaro Haydn: Trumpet Concerto Mussorgsky/Ravel: Pictures at an Exhibition

September 24 News 88.7 September 27 Classical

Andrés Orozco-Estrada, conductor Yo-Yo Ma, cello Gershwin: An American in Paris Dvořák: Cello Concerto

RECORDED:

RECORDED:

February 4, 2017

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VERY MERRY POPS Megan Hilty, vocalist

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MOZART’S JUPITER SYMPHONY Johannes Moser, cello Leticia Moreno, violin

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th Mika Hasler

Mika Hasler Competition Foundation

th Mika Hasler 9 Sunday, January 21, 2018

Competition

Duncan Hall, Rice University Sunday, January 21, 2018 Duncan Hall, Rice University

Uri Pianka All instruments may apply Age: Under 23 by Dec. 15, 2017

First Prize: $5,000 Second Prize: $1,000 Deadline for application: December 15, 2017 Winners recital: Feb. 4, 2018, Duncan Hall, Rice University Apply online at: www.mikahaslercompetition.org

All instruments may apply Age: Under 23 by Dec. 15, 2017 Winners recital: Feb, 4, 2018, Duncan Hall, Rice University InTUNE — September 2017

First Prize: $5,000

| 11

Rising Star

MEET JIMMY LÓPEZ, THE HOUSTON SYMPHONY’S NEW COMPOSER-IN-RESIDENCE

This season, the Houston Symphony welcomes a new Composerin-Residence, Jimmy López. Born in Peru, trained in Finland and currently living in San Francisco, López’ star has been on the rise in recent years, most notably with the high-profile world premiere of his opera Bel Canto at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. For our second Classical Series concert this season, the Houston Symphony has commissioned him to write Aurora, a violin concerto. Get to know the man behind the music in advance of this exciting world premiere.

Houston Symphony: When did you first begin composing? What prompted your first compositions?

Jimmy López: I started composing when I was about 12 years old. I remember the music teacher at my school started playing some inventions by Bach, and all these different voices playfully interacting lured me in. I knew around that age that I wanted to do something with music, but I wasn’t sure exactly what it was.

During those years of discovery, I started practicing piano a lot.

I would sometimes take a page of a sonata and try to get into the composer’s mind, thinking, “Well, what would I do next if I were the composer?” I found myself constantly modifying the pieces I was practicing, and that’s when I realized that composing was 12 | Houston Symphony

what I really wanted to do. I always say that composition is a profession that chooses you, in a way.

HS: How would you describe your musical style? How did you find your personal voice as a composer?

JL: A composer is in constant evolution. Nevertheless, I do feel that I now have an identifiable, individual voice. I would say that through my 20s I was trying to absorb different styles and incorporate what I found interesting. It’s a little bit like cleaning up your room. When you are young, you have a lot of ideas and a lot of things you want to try, but then as you mature, you start realizing that there are some things that you don’t really need, or you start becoming more economical. That’s how you start defining your style.

I would say that my style is cosmopolitan, but definitely rooted in Peru. The incorporation of Peruvian elements into my music actually started somewhat late. It didn’t happen until I moved to Finland, because when I was living in Peru, I was really fixed on European composers. Then when I went to Europe, I found that people were expecting something different from me, because I was coming from, for them, a distant country with a very rich folk music tradition. That prompted me to look back into my own

JL: Aurora was inspired by the northern lights, the aurora borealis, and it has three movements, each named after a different kind of aurora. During the seven years I lived in Finland, I witnessed this breathtaking phenomenon, and the composition process was very HS: The vast majority of your works have descriptive titles. What much informed by trying to convey, through sound, the feast for sources of inspiration do you draw on when composing? the eyes that it is. I think the challenge was trying to transform JL: Each piece really has its own source, its own unique world. As waves of light into waves of sound and trying to envelop the a composer, it is good to have a guiding idea that gives you unity, audience with those sounds. In a way, I am trying to help audiences whatever you’re writing about. At the same time, I also feel that a discover what they would experience if they were looking up at title is a great tool for communicating with the the auroras, or at least communicate what audience. For example, my cello concerto has that experience elicits within me. We’re also four different episodes, which are the different engaging a visual artist so we can have an stages of the flight of a condor. We have the additional element in the concert, so I think it’s “I ALWAYS SAY cello as the condor and the orchestra as nature, going to be quite interesting overall.

THAT COMPOSITION in a way, echoing the sound.

HS: Do you know what your next world premiere IS A PROFESSION But at some point the music has to make with the Houston Symphony will be? sense on its own as well. When I actually THAT CHOOSES JL: I actually do! I wrote a symphony last dive into the musical material, I am more year for the National Orchestra of Spain, and YOU, IN A WAY.” concerned with the actual construction of somehow I got bit by the symphony bug. So I the phrases and the musical language itself.

– Jimmy López want to write a second one for the Houston It’s hard to explain, but I would say it’s good to Symphony, but this time rooted in something find a balance. that is very important to Houston—the space HS: What has been your proudest program. I think this wonderful gift Houston accomplishment as a composer so far? Why? has given to the world has inspired all of us; I know I have been JL: That’s an easy answer right now, because I wrote an opera called fascinated by space since I was a child.

Bel Canto. The sheer size of the project, the amount of pages in the Turn to page 40 to learn more about López and the world premiere of score, the amount of people, the amount of meetings and workshops Aurora, his new violin concerto, on September 22, 23 & 24. and all that—it was enormous. It was basically a journey of five years — Calvin Dotsey of my life. It was an enormous collective effort with Lyric Opera of The Houston Symphony’s Composer-in-Residence and Chicago that opened the doors for me to work with people such as commissioning initiatives are supported in part by Renee Fleming and Sir Andrew Davis. We had a full house, and it Robin Angly & Miles Smith, Barbara J. Burger and was aired on PBS on Great Performances, so I couldn’t have hoped Michael J. Shawiak. for a better outcome. And I’m still really proud of it!

The World Premiere is also supported by "Campaign for a Sound HS: In September, the Houston Symphony presents the world Future" Fund for new works in honor of Winifred Safford Wallace. premiere of Aurora, your new violin concerto. What was the process musical heritage and to try to incorporate that. At first, it required a conscious effort, but now it comes to me more naturally and effortlessly.

of composing it like?

InTUNE — September 2017 | 13

Houston Symphony Community-Embedded Musician Anthony Parce leads students in a scarf dance at Camp Adventure!

abc MUSIC

AND

do-re-mi

LITERACY

AT

CAMP

ADVENTURE!

BY PAM FRENCH BLAINE, CHIEF OF EDUCATION AND COMMUNITY PROGRAMMING

Imagine a classroom full of 6-year-olds moving around with big smiles on their faces, waving colorful scarves to music. Sounds like child’s play, right? What we can’t see when we observe this seemingly simple scene, however, is that some real and important learning is happening alongside all the fun. These children are developing key literacy skills through music.

This past summer, the Houston Symphony collaborated with Camp Adventure!, the Barbara Bush Houston Literacy Foundation’s summer literacy camp. Over the course of four weeks, the Symphony’s Community-Embedded Musicians provided daily, free music classes for nearly 200 K-2nd grade students. These music classes supported the Foundation’s goal to influence student language proficiency and cognitive development.

“The scarf dancing activity is a favorite of mine because it gets the kids actively involved. While they’re having a great time, they’re also developing key musical skills like steady beat, rhythm and pitch,” says Anthony Parce, one of the Houston Symphony's Community-Embedded Musicians. Bowling Green State University researcher Joyce Eastlund Gromko states that “when children learn to discriminate fine differences between tonal and rhythmic patterns and to associate their perceptions with visual symbols, they will benefit not only musically but in skills related to the processing of sound shown to be necessary for reading.”

14 | Houston Symphony

In addition to the scarf dance, Anthony and his colleagues worked with students by singing at story time. “Some of the songs we used this year have corresponding books, and the kids love reading the books, learning the songs and singing the story along with the book,” says Community-Embedded Musician Hellen Weberpal.

“Using music is a fun and creative way to encourage kids to read.

Getting to be the first introduction some of these kids have to music is also a great privilege, and I work hard to make it enjoyable for all of them.”

Sharing the joy of music with children while helping to address a key community need like early childhood literacy is exactly what the Houston Symphony is accomplishing through its education and community engagement work. “We are committed to doing what we can to contribute to the quality of life for all Houstonians.

This initiative, along with similar literacy-based collaborations with Houston ISD during the regular school year, demonstrates our dedication to support student academic achievement through music,” says Amanda Dinitz, Interim Co-Executive Director.

While the link between music and literacy is powerful, what’s important to the kids at Camp Adventure! is that they’re having fun. When asked if she liked the class, kindergartener Hayden Zaval was enthusiastic: “It’s about singing, and I love singing!"

Houston Youth Symphony Mahler’s Symphony No. 5 Fall Concert, featuring 4 orchestras Sunday, November 5 • 4:00 pm Stude Concert Hall, Rice University Shepherd School of Music

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1 H O U S T O N

2

3

S Y M P H O N Y

Ball Recap

On May 12, the 2017 Houston Symphony Ball was a whirlwind trip through both old and new Las Vegas. More than 630 guests arrived at the new Marriott Marquis in downtown Houston to “Stir It Up Vegas” at a spectacular evening that raised more than $1.6 million for the organization’s Education and Community Programming. The brilliant evening was made possible by Chairs Christina and Mark Hanson, Honorary Chair Marie Taylor Bosarge, Auction Chairs Beth Wolff and Farida Abjani, Entertainment Chairs Danielle and Joshua Batchelor, and After Party Chairs Candace and Brian Thomas. For the third consecutive Ball, Phillips 66 was the generous Presenting Sponsor.

The décor by Richard Flowers of The Events Company evoked the glamour and spectacle of the Las Vegas Boulevard, complete with paintings of iconic casinos, crystal walls, sparkling chandeliers, 3,700 peonies and 4,500 roses—and an aerialist overhead playing electric violin.

The evening honored some of the most steadfast and generous members of the Houston Symphony family, including: Jane and Robert Cizik (Ima Hogg Award for Philanthropy); Janice H. Barrow, Barbara and Pat McCelvey and Family (Mike Stude Award for Enduring Artistic Vision); Barbara J. Burger and Mr. and Mrs. Alexander K. McLanahan (jointly awarded the Raphael Fliegel Award for Visionary Leadership); Richard W. Flowers/The Events Company (Special Honoree); Vinson & Elkins, LLP (Maurice Hirsch Corporate Citizenship Award); and Margaret Alkek Williams (The Stewart Orton Golden Baton Award).

After dinner came a special performance by Las Vegas showman Frankie Moreno, who wowed guests with Rat Pack glamor, original hits and vintage funk-inspired sounds. As if it couldn’t get any better, the night heated up for the After Party as The Jordan Kahn Orchestra inspired dancing into the wee hours as guests enjoyed chicken and waffles and delicious crepes.

Guests enjoyed a seated dinner by the Marriott’s Executive Sous Chef Brian Balley and his team, paired with wines selected by Lindy and John Rydman and Lisa Rydman of Spec’s Wines, Spirits & Finer Foods. The silent auction offered one-of-a-kind experiences, including trips to Paris, Nantucket, Aspen and, of course, Las Vegas.

Presenting Sponsor

VISIT HOUSTONSYMPHONY.SMUGMUG.COM FOR MORE PHOTOS FROM THE 2017 HOUSTON SYMPHONY BALL. 1. Mark Hanson, Danielle Batchelor, Frankie Moreno, Lacey Schwimmer, Joshua Batchelor, Christina Hanson

4. Barbara & Pat McCelvey

2. Sydney Bosarge, Andrew Bosarge, Marie Taylor Bosarge

6. Elizabeth Brueggeman, Janice Barrow & Mark Brueggeman

3. Jim Daniel & Margaret Alkek Williams with Cynthia & Anthony Petrello

4

5

5. Jane & Robert Cizik 7. Alexander K. McLanahan & Patty Hubbard

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PHOTOS COURTESY OF JENNY ANTILL, ANNIE MULLIGAN, WILSON PARISH & ANTHONY RATHBUN

16 | Houston Symphony

Society Board of TRUSTEES

(2017-18 SEASON)

Executive Committee Janet F. Clark President Steven P. Mach Immediate Past President

Bobby Tudor Chairman Paul R. Morico General Counsel

Mike S. Stude Chairman Emeritus Barbara McCelvey Secretary

Danielle Batchelor Chair, Popular Programming Barbara J. Burger Chair, Finance Justice Brett Busby Chair, Artistic & Orchestra Affairs Mary Kathryn Campion, Ph.D. Chair, Pension Brad W. Corson Chair, Governance & Leadership Viviana Denechaud Chair, Development Tracy Dieterich Chair, Community Partnerships Mary Lynn Marks Chair, Volunteers & Special Events

Billy McCartney Chair, Education Alexandra Pruner^ President, Houston Symphony Endowment David Pruner Chair, Strategic Planning Manolo Sánchez Chair, Marketing & Communications Jesse B. Tutor Immediate Past Chair, Chair, Audit Beth Wolff^ President, Houston Symphony League

Andrés Orozco-Estrada^ Music Director David Chambers^ Interim Co-Executive Director Amanda Dinitz^ Interim Co-Executive Director Sergei Galperin^ Musician Representative Mark Hughes^ Musician Representative Christine Kelly-Weaver^ Assistant Secretary ^Ex-Officio

GOVERNING DIRECTORS Farida Abjani Marcia Backus Janice Barrow** Danielle Batchelor Gary Beauchamp Marie Taylor Bosarge Ralph Burch Barbara J. Burger Justice Brett Busby Andrew Calder Michael H. Clark Janet F. Clark Brad W. Corson Viviana Denechaud Michael Doherty David Frankfort Ronald G. Franklin

Stephen Glenn Joan Kaplan Sippi Khurana, M.D. Rochelle Levit, Ph.D. Cora Sue Mach ** Steven P. Mach Paul M. Mann, M.D. Jay Marks ** Mary Lynn Marks David Massin Rodney Margolis** Billy McCartney Barbara McCelvey Alexander K. McLanahan ** Paul R. Morico Kevin O’Gorman Robert Orr

Cully Platt David Pruner Ron Rand John Rydman** Manolo Sánchez Helen Shaffer ** Jerry Simon Jim R. Smith Miles O. Smith Mike S. Stude ** William J. Toomey II Bobby Tudor ** Betty Tutor ** Jesse B. Tutor ** Judith Vincent Margaret Alkek Williams ** Barbara Winthrop

Scott Wulfe David Wuthrich

Julia Anderson Frankel Betsy Garlinger Evan B. Glick Susan Hansen Eric Haufrect, M.D. Gary L. Hollingsworth, M.D. Brian James Rita Justice I. Ray Kirk, M.D. Ulyesse LeGrange ** Carlos J. Lopez Michael Mann, M.D. Jack Matzer Jackie Wolens Mazow Gene McDavid ** Gary Mercer Marilyn Miles Janet Moore Jud Morrison Bobbie Newman Tassie Nicandros

Scott Nyquist Edward Osterberg Jr. Robert A. Peiser** Greg Powers, Ph.D. Gloria G. Pryzant Richard A. Rabinow Roman Reed Gabriel Rio Richard Robbins, M.D. J. Hugh Roff Jr. ** Miwa Sakashita Ed Schneider Michael E. Shannon ** Donna Shen Robert Sloan, Ph.D. Tad Smith David Stanard Ishwaria Subbiah, M.D. Brian J. Thomas L. Proctor (Terry) Thomas Shirley W. Toomim

Andrew Truscott Margaret Waisman, M.D. Fredric Weber Mrs. S. Conrad Weil Robert Weiner Vicki West Steven J. Williams Beth Wolff Ed Wulfe ** Ellen A. Yarrell Robert Yekovich Frank Yonish

Ex-Officio Mary Kathryn Campion, Ph.D. Tracy Dieterich Adam Dinitz Sergei Galperin Mark Hughes Martha McWilliams Robert A. Peiser** Gloria Pryzant Donna Shen **Lifetime Trustee

TRUSTEES William L. Ackerman Philip Bahr Devinder Bhatia, M.D. James M. Bell Anthony Bohnert Nancy Shelton Bratic Terry Ann Brown** Cheryl Byington Dougal Cameron Mary Kathryn Campion, Ph.D. John T. Cater ** Evan Collins, M.D., MBA Andrew Davis, Ph.D. Gene Dewhurst Tracy Dieterich Terry Elizabeth Everett Kelli Cohen Fein, M.D. Jeffrey B. Firestone Eugene Fong Craig Fox

Ex-Officio Alexandra Gottschalk Alexandra Pruner Art Vivar Jessie Woods **Lifetime Trustee

PAST PRESIDENTS OF HOUSTON SYMPHONY Mrs. Edwin B. Parker Miss Ima Hogg Mrs. H. M. Garwood Joseph A. Mullen, M.D. Joseph S. Smith Walter H. Walne H. R. Cullen Gen. Maurice Hirsch Charles F. Jones Fayez Sarofim John T. Cater Richard G. Merrill Ellen Elizardi Kelley John D. Platt

THE SOCIETY E.C. Vandagrift Jr. J. Hugh Roff Jr. Robert M. Hermance Gene McDavid Janice H. Barrow Barry C. Burkholder Rodney H. Margolis Jeffrey B. Early Michael E. Shannon Ed Wulfe Jesse B. Tutor Robert B. Tudor III Robert A. Peiser Steven P. Mach

PAST PRESIDENTS OF THE HOUSTON SYMPHONY LEAGUE Miss Ima Hogg Mrs. W. Harold Sellers Mrs. John F. Grant Mrs. Harry H. Gendel Mrs. J. R. Parten Mrs. Robert M. Eury Mrs. Andrew E. Rutter Mrs. E. C. Vandagrift Jr. Mrs. Aubrey Leno Carter Mrs. J. Stephen Marks Mrs. Stuart Sherar Terry Ann Brown Mrs. Julian Barrows Nancy Strohmer Ms. Hazel Ledbetter Mary Ann McKeithan Mrs. Albert P. Jones Ann Cavanaugh Mrs. Ben A. Calhoun Mrs. James A. Shaffer Mrs. James Griffith Lawhon Lucy H. Lewis Mrs. Olaf LaCour Olsen Catherine McNamara Mrs. Ralph Ellis Gunn Shirley McGregor Pearson Mrs. Leon Jaworski Paula Jarrett Mrs. Garrett R. Tucker Jr. Cora Sue Mach Mrs. M. T. Launius Jr. Kathi Rovere Mrs. Thompson McCleary Norma Jean Brown Mrs. Theodore W. Cooper Barbara McCelvey Mrs. Allen W. Carruth Lori Sorcic Jansen Mrs. David Hannah Jr. Nancy B. Willerson Mary Louis Kister Jane Clark Mrs. Edward W. Kelley Jr. Nancy Littlejohn Mrs. John W. Herndon Donna Shen Mrs. Charles Franzen Dr. Susan Snider Osterberg Mrs. Harold R. DeMoss Jr. Dr. Kelli Cohen Fein Mrs. Edward H. Soderstrom Vicki West Mrs. Lilly Kucera Andress Mrs. Jesse Tutor Ms. Marilou Bonner Darlene Clark PAST PRESIDENTS OF THE HOUSTON SYMPHONY LEAGUE BAY AREA Dana Puddy Fran Strong Angela Buell Selma Neumann Pat Brackett Julia Wells Joan Wade Dagmar Meeh Yvonne Herring Priscilla Heidbreder Deanna Lamoreux Harriett Small Glenda Toole Nina Spencer Carole Murphy Elizabeth Glenn Patience Myers Ebby Creden James Moore Charlotte Gaunt Mary Voigt Norma Brady Cindy Kuenneke Helen Powell Sharon Dillard Diane McLaughlin Roberta Liston Suzanne Hicks Sue Smith Shirley Wettling Jo Anne Mills Phyllis Molnar Pat Bertelli Emyre B. Robinson

FRIENDS OF JONES HALL REPRESENTATIVES Justice Brett Busby

Ronald G. Franklin

Steven P. Mach

Barbara McCelvey InTUNE — September 2017 | 17

New CenturyforSArtistic ociety Excellence and Innovation The New Century Society for Artistic Excellence and Innovation recognizes the Houston Symphony’s most committed and loyal supporters who have pledged their leadership support over a three-year period to help secure the orchestra’s financial future.

Ms. Marie Taylor Bosarge Margaret Alkek Williams Janice Barrow Rochelle & Max Levit Cora Sue & Harry Mach John & Lindy Rydman / Spec’s Wines, Spirits & Finer Foods/Spec’s Charitable Foundation Bobby & Phoebe Tudor Clare Attwell Glassell Albert & Ethel Herzstein Charitable Foundation Mr. & Mrs. Jim R. Smith Mike Stude Mr. & Mrs. Jesse B. Tutor

Robin Angly & Miles Smith Gary & Marian Beauchamp Barbara J. Burger The Hearst Foundation, Inc. The Joan and Marvin Kaplan Foundation Joella & Steven P. Mach Mr. & Mrs. J. Stephen Marks Barbara & Pat McCelvey Houston Methodist Ron Franklin & Janet Gurwitch Carol & Michael Linn & The Michael C. Linn Family Foundation Rand Group Mr. & Mrs. William K. Robbins Jr. / The Robbins Foundation Steven & Nancy Williams

Baker Botts L.L.P. Beauchamp Foundation Mr. & Mrs. Edward F. Blackburne Jr. Viviana & David Denechaud/ Sidley Austin LLP Stephen & Mariglyn Glenn Dignity Memorial Funeral Homes and Cemetaries of the Greater Houston Area Dave & Alie Pruner Mr. & Mrs. James A. Shaffer Wells Fargo

For more information or to pledge your support for New Century Society, please contact: David Chambers, Interim Co-Executive Director/Chief Development Officer, 713.337.8525 Mary Beth Mosley, Director, Institutional Giving and Stewardship, 713.337.8521 Molly Simpson, Director, Individual Giving and Major Gifts, 713.337.8526

Leadership COUNCIL Leadership Council donors have committed $45,000 or more in support of the Annual Fund, special projects and fundraising events over a three-year period ($15,000+ annually).

Danielle & Josh Batchelor Mr. & Mrs. Walter V. Boyle Justice Brett & Erin Busby Billy & Christie McCartney Mr. Richard Danforth Gene & Linda Dewhurst The Elkins Foundation Mr. & Mrs. Fred L. Gorman Christina & Mark C. Hanson Mr. & Mrs. U. J. LeGrange Mr. & Mrs. Rodney H. Margolis The Melbern G. and Susanne M. Glasscock Foundation Rita & Paul Morico Mr. John N. Neighbors Susan & Edward Osterberg Gloria & Joe Pryzant

Roman & Sally Reed Ken* & Carol Lee Robertson Michael J. Shawiak Lisa & Jerry Simon Stephen & Kristine Wallace Mr. & Mrs. Fredric A. Weber Robert G. Weiner & Toni Blankmann Mr. & Mrs. C. Clifford Wright Jr. *deceased

For more information or to pledge your support for the Leadership Council, please contact: David Chambers, Interim Co-Executive Director/Chief Development Officer, 713.337.8525 Mary Beth Mosley, Director, Institutional Giving and Stewardship, 713.337.8521 Molly Simpson, Director, Individual Giving and Major Gifts, 713.337.8526 18 | Houston Symphony

EARLY ADOPTERS Vision 2025 Implementation Fund Vision 2025, the Houston Symphony’s ten-year Strategic Plan, will allow the Houston Symphony to be America’s most relevant and accessible top-ten orchestra by 2025.

Vision 2025 was kick-started by early adopters in 2015. The Houston Symphony recognizes and thanks the following Early Adopters for their initial investments in support of our ambitious vision.

Vision 2025 Implementation Fund The Vision 2025 Implementation Fund will catalyze the transformative growth outlined within Vision 2025. The Houston Symphony recognizes and thanks the following supporters of the Vision 2025 Implementation Fund.

OPERATING SUPPORT Rochelle & Max Levit Bobby & Phoebe Tudor Barbara J. Burger John & Lindy Rydman/ Spec’s Wines, Spirits & Finer Foods/ Spec’s Charitable Foundation Anonymous C. Howard Pieper Foundation Clare Attwell Glassell Janet F. Clark The Brown Foundation, Inc. The Joan & Marvin Kaplan Foundation Mr. John N. Neighbors Barbara & Pat McCelvey Ms. Marie Taylor Bosarge Joella & Steven P. Mach Clive Runnells in memory of Nancy Morgan Runnells Beauchamp Foundation Lisa & Jerry Simon League of American Orchestras' Futures Fund BBVA Compass Robin Angly & Miles Smith Drs. Dennis & Susan Carlyle LTR Lewis Cloverdale Foundation Jay & Shirley Marks Nancy & Robert Peiser Dave & Alie Pruner Mr. Jay Steinfield & Mrs. Barbara Winthrop Michael J. Shawiak

Mr. & Mrs. Alexander K. McLanahan The Boeing Company Justice Brett & Erin Busby Ron Franklin & Janet Gurwitch Carol & Michael Linn and The Michael C. Linn Family Foundation Beth Madison Rita & Paul Morico Ms. Ellen A. Yarrell, in memory of Virginia S. Anderson and in honor of Cora Sue Mach Robert G. Weiner & Toni Blankmann Stephen & Mariglyn Glenn Evan B. Glick Viviana & David Denechaud Christina & Mark C. Hanson Debbie & Frank G. Jones Dr. Stewart Morris Donna & Tim Shen Tad & Suzanne Smith Judith Vincent Vicki West & Mrs. Liv Estrada BB&T / Courtney & Bill Toomey Marzena & Jacek Jaminski Cora Sue & Harry Mach Catherine & Bob Orr Mrs. Sybil F. Roos Shirley Wolff Toomim Daisy S. Wong / JCorp Brad & Joan Corson Mr. & Mrs. Jesse B. Tutor Estate of Freddie L. Anderson Mr. & Mrs. Marvy A. Finger

Eugene Fong Dr. Gary L. Hollingsworth & Dr. Kenneth J. Hyde Mr. Jackson D. Hicks Mr. & Mrs. U. J. LeGrange Gary Mercer Mike Stude Stephen & Kristine Wallace Texas Commission on the Arts PLANNED AND ENDOWMENT GIFTS Dr. & Mrs. George J. Abdo Robin Angly James Barton Paul M. Basinski Michael J. Shawiak C. Howard Pieper Foundation Dr. James E. & Betty W. Key The Hon. Stella G. & Richard C. Nelson Tad & Suzanne Smith Susan Gail Wood The Estate of Dorothy H. Grieves The Estate of David L. Hyde

Steven & Nancy Williams Robin Angly & Miles Smith Carol & Michael Linn & The Michael C. Linn Family Foundation The Hearst Foundation, Inc. Mr. & Mrs. Jesse B. Tutor Bobby & Phoebe Tudor Baker Botts L.L.P. Nancy & Robert Peiser Barbara & Pat McCelvey The Robert & Janice McNair Foundation / Palmetto Partners, Ltd. John & Lindy Rydman / Spec’s Wines, Spirits & Finer Foods/ Spec’s Charitable Foundation Mr. & Mrs. Rodney H. Margolis Billy & Christie McCartney Mr. & Mrs. Jim R. Smith Danielle & Josh Batchelor BBVA Compass Dave & Alie Pruner

EARLY ADOPTERS Margaret Alkek Williams Janice Barrow The Brown Foundation, Inc. Cora Sue & Harry Mach Albert & Ethel Herzstein Charitable Foundation Joella & Steven P. Mach Rochelle & Max Levit

For more information or to pledge your support for Vision 2025, please contact: David Chambers, Interim Co-Executive Director/Chief Development Officer, 713.337.8525 Amanda T. Dinitz, Interim Co-Executive Director/Chief of Strategic Initiatives, 713.337.8541 Mary Beth Mosley, Director, Institutional Giving and Stewardship, 713.337.8521 Molly Simpson, Director, Individual Giving and Major Gifts, 713.337.8526

InTUNE — September 2017 | 19

FEATURED PROGRAM

ELLA AT 100 Friday Saturday Sunday

September 1, 2017 September 2, 2017 September 3, 2017

8:00pm 8:00pm 7:30pm

Jones Hall

Steven Reineke, conductor Capathia Jenkins, Montego Glover, N'Kenge, vocalists B. Strayhorn/S. Shoup Gershwin/N. Riddle

Take the A Train Strike Up the Band from Strike Up the Band lyrics by Ira Gershwin

Gershwin/Riddle

Clap Yo’ Hands from Oh, Kay! lyrics by Ira Gershwin

C. Calloway-H. White/S. O'Loughlin Arlen/S. Henderson

Zah, Zuh, Zaz Stormy Weather

lyrics by Ted Koehler

J.F. Coots/J. Charles

You Go to My Head

lyrics by Haven Gillespie

J. McHugh

I Can’t Give You Anything But Love (Baby) from Lew Leslie’s Blackbirds of 1928 lyrics by Dorothy Fields

Rodgers/Riddle-Reineke Gershwin/Riddle

The Lady Is a Tramp from Babes In Arms Love Is Here To Stay from The Goldwyn Follies lyrics by Ira Gershwin

Gershwin/Riddle

They Can’t Take That Away From Me from Shall We Dance? lyrics by Ira Gershwin

Arlen/Henderson

Come Rain or Come Shine from St. Louis Woman lyrics by Johnny Mercer

I N T E R M I S S I O N C.Basie/B. Elliott Gershwin/Riddle

One O’Clock Jump Fascinating Rhythm from Lady, Be Good! lyrics by Ira Gershwin

J. Mercer/DeSare C. Coleman/Q. Jones-W. Stuart

Something’s Gotta Give The Best Is Yet to Come

lyrics by Carolyn Leigh

Weill/Reineke Arlen/C. Byars

Mack the Knife from Die Dreigroschenoper One For My Baby (And One More For the Road) from The Sky’s the Limit lyrics by Johnny Mercer

B. Holiday-A. Herzog/O'Loughlin Gershwin/T. Rainer

God Bless the Child

Summertime from Porgy and Bess lyrics by DuBose Heyward

Arlen/M. Podd

Blues in the Night

lyrics by Johnny Mercer

20 | Houston Symphony

Ella at 100 | Program Biographies

Program BIOGRAPHIES The Houston Symphony is proud to welcome Steven Reineke for his first concert as Principal POPS Conductor.

Steven Reineke | conductor

These performances are generously supported in part by:

Video enhancement of Houston Symphony concerts is made possible by the Albert and Ethel Herzstein Charitable Foundation through a special gift celebrating the foundation’s 50th anniversary in 2015.

JULIE SOEFER

Underwriter United Airlines

Steven Reineke has established himself as one of North America's leading conductors of popular music. In addition to being Principal POPS Conductor at the Houston Symphony, Steven is the music director of The New York Pops at Carnegie Hall, principal pops conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and principal pops conductor of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. He previously held the posts of principal pops conductor of the Long Beach and Modesto Symphony Orchestras and associate conductor of the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra.

Steven is a frequent guest conductor with The Philadelphia Orchestra and has been on the podium with the Boston Pops Orchestra, The Cleveland Orchestra and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at Ravinia. His extensive North American conducting appearances include San Francisco, Seattle, Edmonton, Pittsburgh, Vancouver, Ottawa (National Arts Centre), Detroit, Milwaukee and Calgary.

On stage, Steven has created programs and collaborated with a range of leading artists from the worlds of hip hop, Broadway, television and rock, including Common, Kendrick Lamar, Nas, Sutton Foster, Megan Hilty, Cheyenne Jackson, Wayne Brady, Peter Frampton and Ben Folds, among others. In 2017, he was featured on National Public Radio's All Things Considered leading the National Symphony Orchestra—in a first for the show’s 45-year history—performing live music excerpts between news segments.

As the creator of more than 100 orchestral arrangements for the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, Steven’s work has been performed worldwide and can be heard on numerous Cincinnati Pops Orchestra recordings on the Telarc label. His symphonic works Celebration Fanfare, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Casey at the Bat are performed frequently in North America, including performances by the New York Philharmonic and Los Angeles Philharmonic. His Sun Valley Festival Fanfare was used to commemorate the Sun Valley Summer Symphony’s pavilion, and his Festival Te Deum and Swan’s Island Sojourn were debuted by the Cincinnati Symphony and Cincinnati Pops Orchestras. His numerous wind ensemble compositions are published by the C.L. Barnhouse Company and are performed by concert bands worldwide.

A native of Ohio, Steven is a graduate of Miami University of Ohio, where he earned Bachelor of Music degrees with honors in both trumpet performance and music composition. He currently resides in New York City with his husband, Eric Gabbard.

Learn more about Steven Reineke on page 8.

InTUNE — September 2017 | 21

Program BIOGRAPHIES , continued

Capathia Jenkins | vocalist The Brooklyn-born and raised actress Capathia Jenkins has most recently starred as Medda in the hit Disney production of Newsies on Broadway. She made her Broadway debut in The Civil War, where she created the role of Harriet Jackson.

She then starred in the Off-Broadway 2000 revival of Godspell, where she wowed audiences with her stirring rendition of “Turn Back, O Man,” which can be heard on the original cast recording. She returned to Broadway in The Look of Love and was critically acclaimed for her performances of the Bacharach/David hits. Capathia created the roles of The Washing Machine in Caroline, Or Change and Frieda May in Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me where she brought the house down every night when she sang “Stop the Show.”

In 2007, she returned Off-Broadway and starred in (mis) Understanding Mammy: The Hattie McDaniel Story for which she was nominated for a Drama Desk Award. More recently, she was seen in Nora Ephron’s Love, Loss, and What I Wore.

An active concert artist, Capathia has appeared with numerous orchestras around the world, including the Houston Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (with Marvin Hamlisch), National Symphony Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, Utah Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra and the Hong Kong Philharmonic, among many others. This summer, she returned, for the third time, as a soloist with the International Music Festival Český Krumlov in the Czech Republic. She had the great honor of performing in the Broadway Ambassadors to Cuba concert as part of the Festival de Teatro de La Habana. She has appeared several times at Carnegie Hall with The New York Pops and recently sang in a Tribute to Marvin Hamlisch at the Library of Congress.

Capathia’s television credits include 30 Rock, The Practice, Law & Order SVU, The Sopranos and Law & Order. She can be seen in the 2012 film Musical Chairs directed by Susan Seidelman and recently performed in a live performance of The Wiz Live! on NBC. She is heard on the soundtracks of Nine, Chicago and Legally Blonde 2.

22 | Houston Symphony

Montego Glover | vocalist A Tony Award nominee for her starring role as Felicia Farrell in Memphis, Montego Glover also received a Drama League nomination, and won both the Outer Critics Circle Award and Drama Desk Award for the same performance.

She has appeared on Broadway in Les Miserables as Fantine, It Shoulda Been You as Annie Shepard, made her Broadway debut in The Color Purple in the roles of Celie and Nettie, and most recently, appeared at Lincoln Center Theater as Nina in The Royale, earning her a second Drama Desk Award.

Montego has been a guest artist with The Old Globe, La Jolla Playhouse, Seattle’s 5th Avenue Theatre, Huntington Theatre and the Elgin Theatre, among others, earning a Craig Noel nomination, a Helen Hayes nomination and an IRNE Award for her work.

She has appeared in concert with The New York Pops at Carnegie Hall; Jazz at Lincoln Center; Philadelphia Orchestra; Atlanta, Indianapolis, Edmonton, Vancouver and Toronto Symphony Orchestras; Caramoor Summer Music Festival; Delacorte Theatre and the Smith Center.

Her television and film credits include: The Following, Black Box, Hostages, Smash, Golden Boy, The Good Wife, White Collar, Made in Jersey and Law & Order. She can be seen and heard in numerous commercials, voiceovers and animated series.

Montego has served as a member of the Artists’ Committees for the Kennedy Center Honors, as well as Lincoln Center Theater, and she is a New York PopsEd Ambassador.

Montego Glover is set to join the Chicago cast of the smash hit Hamilton, in the role of Angelica Schuyler.

Follow @MontegoGlover and visit www.MontegoGlover.com.

Ella at 100 | Program Biographies

N'Kenge | vocalist International award-winning singer N'Kenge was called "electrifying" by the NY Post in the role of Mary Wells which she originated in Broadway's smash hit Motown: The Musical. Berry Gordy describes her as "the most versatile artist I know." She was recently seen on national TV singing the National Anthem at Madison Square Garden.

N'Kenge made her Broadway debut in Sondheim on Sondheim singing alongside Vanessa Williams, Barbara Cook, Tom Wopat and Norm Lewis. She was a presenter at the 58th Annual NY Emmy Awards and had the honor of singing at the White House for President Bill Clinton and for the Commander-in-Chief Ball for President Obama. She starred in a tribute to the late, great Ray Charles in London’s West End at the Theatre Royal and has done solo engagements in New York at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center. She also performed at the Library of Congress in a concert broadcast worldwide by NPR. This energetic, well-rounded singer was recently nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Musical by the Helen Hayes Awards and the ariZoni Theater Awards for her leading roles in both the Elton John/Tim Rice musical Aida and in Marion Caffey’s 3 Mo’ Divas. N'Kenge starred in the Michael Jackson Tribute Show world tour and recently made her debut in the leading role of Mother Hare/Circe in The Golden Apple at New York City Center’s Encores! N'Kenge is consistently seen as a soloist in pop programs with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra and The New York Pops, among others around the globe.

N'Kenge is the star and conceiver of the Broadway-bound musical DOROTHY: The Legacy based on the life and music of Hollywood's first black leading lady, Dorothy Dandridge.

For more details on her 2017-2018 tour schedule and recordings, visit www.nkengemusic.com.

Did you

know?

Ella Fitzgerald made her stage debut at the age of 17 when her name was drawn for Amateur Night at the Apollo Theater. She originally planned to dance, but was intimidated by a group of dancing sisters that preceded her. With the audience growing restless as she stood on stage, she decided to sing, and asked the band to strike up Hoagy Carmichael's "Judy," which had been one of her late mother's favorite songs. The rest, as they say, is history.

United Airlines has been a long-time supporter of a variety of charitable and artistic organizations, believing it is essential for a global corporation to be socially responsible. United’s philosophy has always been to demonstrate excellent corporate citizenship in its interactions with its employees, the community and the environment. United is proud to have been the Official Airline of the Houston Symphony for many years.

United Airlines operates more than 4,500 flights a day to more than 330 airports in 50 countries, flying 143 million passengers in 2016. More than 88,000 United employees reside in every U.S. state and in countries around the world, with more than 14,000 in Houston alone. George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) is the airline’s gateway to Latin America and more than half of United’s 91 daily nonstop international departures are to Mexico, Latin America, or the Caribbean. United’s MileagePlus loyalty program was awarded Best Frequent Flyer Bonus Program and Best Overall Frequent Flyer Program by Global Traveler magazine for the 12th consecutive year.

InTUNE — September 2017 | 23

FEATURED PROGRAM

OPENING NIGHT Saturday

September 9, 2017

7:30pm

Jones Hall

*Gustavo Gimeno, conductor Susan Graham, mezzo-soprano *Houston Symphony debut

Ravel Offenbach M. Simons Offenbach E. Piaf-Louiguy/ C. Harmony Tchaikovsky Rodgers/Bennett M. Brahe/R. A. Bass Bernstein

F. Loewe/J. Green

24 | Houston Symphony

Alborada del gracioso from Miroirs Ah! Que j’aime les militaires from

La grande-duchesse de Gérolstein C’est ça la vie, c’est ça l’amour from Toi c’est moi Ah! quel dîner je viens de faire! from La Périchole La vie en rose Romeo and Juliet, Overture-Fantasy Hello, Young Lovers from The King and I lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II Bless This House lyrics by Helen Taylor

Three Dance Episodes from On the Town I The Great Lover Displays Himself: Allegro pesante II Lonely Town, Pas de deux: Andante III Times Square, 1944: Allegro I Could Have Danced All Night from My Fair Lady lyrics by Alan J. Lerner

ca. 7 ca. 4 ca. 4 ca. 3 ca. 3 ca. 21 ca. 4 ca. 4 ca. 10

ca. 3

Did you know?

• Susan Graham grew up in Midland, Texas, and is a graduate of Texas Tech University.

• Maurice Ravel visited Houston to give a lecture at the Rice Institute during his 1928 tour of the United States.

Opening Night | Program Biographies

Opening Night is supported in part by:

Program BIOGRAPHIES

Corporate Sponsor & Lead Corporate Gala Underwriter Opening Night Concert & Gala Dinner

Gustavo Gimeno | conductor

Donna & Max Chapman, Chairs Manolo & Daniela Sánchez, Honorary Chairs Aurelie Desmarais, Special Honoree

Gustavo Gimeno has been music director of the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg (OPL) since 2015.

The Opening Night Concert & Gala Dinner has received leadership support from:

Donna & Max Chapman Janet F. Clark Goldman Sachs & Co. Cora Sue & Harry Mach / Joella & Steven P. Mach Beth Madison Robin Angly & Miles Smith in honor of Donna & Max Chapman BBVA Compass Barbara J. Burger Cameron Management / Cathy & Dougal Cameron Kirkland & Ellis LLP Occidental Petroleum Corporation Betty & Jesse B. Tutor in honor of Donna & Max Chapman, Daniela & Manolo Sánchez Accenture Baker Botts L.L.P. BULGARI Chevron Viviana & David Denechaud / Sidley Austin LLP Alie & Dave Pruner Vinson & Elkins LPP Flowers on stage are generously underwritten by Bergner & Johnson Design.

This concert is being recorded for future broadcasts on Houston Public Media News 88.7 airing on Sundays at 8pm and streaming online at houstonpublicmedia.org.

ConocoPhillips has been a proud supporter of the Houston Symphony for more than four decades. The company applauds the Symphony’s efforts to promote music education, cultural awareness and Houston’s vibrant arts community.

As one of the world’s largest independent exploration and production companies, ConocoPhillips is committed to being a great neighbor and responsible citizen in the communities in which its employees live and work. Their support of the Houston Symphony is just one example of how they give back to the community.

MARCO BORGGREVE

ConocoPhillips Bobby & Phoebe Tudor Margaret Alkek Williams

During the past season, he and the OPL extended their contract until 2022.

Gustavo conducts the OPL in various concert formats and plans to expand the orchestra’s touring activities as well as its discography. In the current season, he will share the Philharmonie stage with such artists as Daniel Barenboim, Krystian Zimerman, Khatia Buniatishvili, Sir Bryn Terfel and Frank Peter Zimmermann.

He will again present an opera production in Luxembourg, Mozart’s Don Giovanni.

In great demand worldwide as a guest conductor, in the 2017-18 season Gustavo has been invited back to the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Orchestre National de France, the Wiener Symphoniker and the Philharmonia Zurich. He will also conduct the Mariinsky Orchestra, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne, the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale RAI and the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra for the first time. In addition, he will return to the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century, which specializes in historically informed performance practice.

Highlights of the past season included debuts with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra, the Philharmonia Orchestra, the Wiener Symphoniker and the Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia.

Gustavo Gimeno made his opera debut in 2015 with Bellini’s Norma in Valencia, Spain. During the past season, he conducted Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra with the OPL at the Grand Théâtre in Luxembourg.

In 2017, the classical label Pentatone, the OPL and Gimeno announced a multiple-release collaboration. Recordings of the First Symphonies by Dmitri Shostakovich and Anton Bruckner and, most recently, Maurice Ravel’s complete Daphnis et Chloé have been released thus far.

Born in Valencia, Gustavo Gimeno began his international conducting career in 2012, when he was a member of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, as assistant to Mariss Jansons. He also gained significant experience as assistant to Bernard Haitink and Claudio Abbado, mentors who actively nurtured his talent and influenced him in many ways.

InTUNE — September 2017 | 25

Program BIOGRAPHIES , continued

Susan Graham | mezzo-soprano Hailed as “an artist to treasure” by the New York Times, Susan Graham rose to the highest echelon of international performers within just a few years of her professional debut, mastering an astonishing range of repertoire and genres.

Her operatic roles span from Monteverdi’s Poppea to Sister Helen Prejean in Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking, which was written for her. She won a Grammy Award for her collection of Ives songs, and 14 composers from Purcell to Sondheim are represented on her most recent Onyx album, Virgins, Vixens & Viragos. A native of Texas, Susan was named Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur by the French government, both for her popularity as a performer in France and in honor of her commitment to French music.

In the 2016-17 season, Susan joined Renée Fleming and Michael Tilson Thomas at the San Francisco Symphony’s opening-night gala. She starred in Washington National Opera’s revival of Dead Man Walking, making her role debut as the convict’s mother. She returned to Santa Fe as Prince Orlofsky and sang Erika in Samuel Barber’s Vanessa with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin. In concert, she joined the MET Orchestra and Esa-Pekka Salonen at Carnegie Hall for selections from Mahler’s Des Knaben Wunderhorn; sang Octavian to Fleming’s Marschallin in Richard Strauss’ Der Rosenkavalier with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Andris Nelsons; performed selections from Canteloube’s Chants d’Auvergne with the Philadelphia Orchestra and Yannick Nézet-Séguin; and sang Ravel’s Sheherazade and Mahler’s Symphony No. 3 with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra under David Robertson.

Susan’s earliest operatic successes were in operas by Mozart, Handel and Strauss. These roles brought her to prominence on all the world’s major opera stages, including the Met, Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera, Covent Garden, Paris Opera, La Scala, Bavarian State Opera, Vienna State Opera and the Salzburg Festival, among many others. She sang the leading ladies in the Met’s world premieres of John Harbison’s The Great Gatsby and Tobias Picker’s An American Tragedy and made her Dallas Opera debut as Tina in a new production of The Aspern Papers by Dominick Argento.

Susan’s distinguished discography features a series of lauded solo albums, including Un frisson français, C’est ça la vie, c’est ça l’amour! and La Belle Époque. Among the mezzo’s additional honors are Musical America’s Vocalist of the Year and an Opera News Award.

Gramophone magazine has dubbed her “America’s favorite mezzo.”

26 | Houston Symphony

Program NOTES For this season’s Opening Night Concert, Susan Graham and Gustavo Gimeno have created a program that showcases Susan’s wide-ranging repertoire with a tuneful selection of French and English-language gems. Long a champion of French repertoire, Susan was named a Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur by the French government in 2008.

The first, French half of the program begins with Maurice Ravel’s Alborada del gracioso, which began as a piece for solo piano in 1905. Ravel later transformed it into this colorful orchestral work.

Although he lived most of his life in or near Paris, Ravel was born in the Basque village of Ciboure to a Swiss father and a Basque mother.

From his mother, he inherited a love of Spanish music which is reflected in the Alborada. The piece’s Spanish title translates as “Aubade of the Jester”: an aubade is a love song meant to be sung in the morning (as opposed to a serenade, which is sung in the evening). The music has a playful atmosphere that matches the image of a jester singing to his ladylove.

Susan has also chosen two selections by Jacques Offenbach, the leading composer of operettas during France’s Second Empire. A predecessor of musical theater, operetta features spoken dialogue between numbers, catchy tunes and, most importantly, uproarious comedy. La grande-duchesse de Gérolstein of 1867 lampooned European militarism with a tale about a Grand Duchess, who, frustrated in love, decides to make war instead. In her act-one aria, “Ah! Que j’aime les militaires,” she greets her army, singing “Ah! I love soldiers—their cute uniforms, moustaches and plumes!”

La Périchole centers on a pair of lovers who work as poor musicians in Lima and their entanglements with the Viceroy of Peru. The title character, La Périchole, sings “Ah! quel dîner je viens de faire!” (“Ah! What a dinner I just had!”) after being plied with drink by the viceroy; thus it is colloquially known as “The Tipsy Waltz.”

Between the two Offenbach numbers is a selection from Moisés Simons’ 1934 hit Toi c’est moi (You, that’s me). Originally from Cuba, Simons found considerable success writing operettas in Paris.

The plot of Toi c’est moi centers on Bob, a playboy and the sole heir of a wealthy aunt. Distressed by his expensive lifestyle, the aunt sends him to work at a sugar cane plantation she owns in the French West Indies. Catching wind of her plot, Bob tricks his friend Pat into switching identities with him (hence the title of the show). While Pat does all the work, Bob pursues two love interests. One of them, Viviane, sings “C’est ça la vie, c’est ça l’amour” (“That’s life, that’s love”), in which she laments the inconstancy of lovers.

The last French number is not from an operetta, but it is quintessentially Parisian: Edith Piaf’s “La vie en rose.” In her autobiography, Piaf relates how her friend, the singer Marianne Michel, met with her one day in 1945 at a café on the ChampsÉlysées. Michel asked Piaf to write a song for her, and Piaf improvised words to a melody she had had in her head for some time, ending with “Je vois les choses en rose” (“I see things with a rosy hue”). Michel suggested replacing “les choses” (“things”) with “la vie” (“life”), and the song was written.

Dividing the French and English halves of the program is a Russian masterpiece, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet, Overture-Fantasy. Inspired by Shakespeare’s tragedy, it begins with a slow introduction analogous to the play’s prologue.

This leads to a violent theme representing the hatred of the Montagues and Capulets, which gives way to perhaps the most famous love-theme of all time. The themes undergo a number of developments reflecting the intense emotional arc of the play.

The English language half of the program begins with the classic song “Hello, Young Lovers” from Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein’s 1951 musical, The King and I. Inspired by the true story of Anna Leonowens, the musical follows the travails of an English school teacher who is hired as a royal governess by the king of Siam in the 1860s. In this song, she remembers her love for her late husband, Tom. Bless This House was published in 1927 by the Australian songwriter Mary Hannah Brahe, who set the words supplied to her by her English friend and frequent collaborator, Helen Taylor. The song became famous when it was sung and recorded by the Irish tenor John McCormack.

The musical On the Town opened on Broadway in December 1944 with music by Leonard Bernstein, who was well on his way to becoming America’s first internationally renowned conductor. The choreography for the show was created by Jerome Robbins, and dance played an instrumental part in telling the story of three navy men on shore-leave for 24 hours in New York City. After the musical’s premiere, Bernstein extracted some of its extensive dance music to create the Three Dance Episodes from On the Town. The resulting orchestral showpiece brilliantly captures the vitality of the musical.

The program concludes with another classic Broadway song, “I Could Have Danced All Night” from Lerner and Loewe’s 1956 musical My Fair Lady. Based on George Bernard Shaw’s play Pygmalion, the musical provided the breakout role for a 19-year-old Julie Andrews as Eliza Doolittle, a poor cockney girl who is transformed into an elegant lady by an arrogant phonetician in order to win a bet. She sings this song after a breakthrough in her pronunciation lessons, which leads her and the phonetician to dance with joy. Inspired by Andrews’ impressive range, its soaring vocal lines are sure to end the evening on a high note. — Calvin Dotsey

InTUNE — September 2017 | 27

Celebrating more than 40 years of supporting the Houston Symphony.

ConocoPhillips is committed to being a great neighbor and responsible citizen in the communities where we live and work. This is especially true in our hometown of Houston, where our sponsorship of the Houston Symphony is just one example of how we help give back to the community. We applaud the Houston Symphony's efforts to promote music education and cultural awareness and for their continued leadership in advancing Houston’s vibrant arts community.

To learn more, visit www.conocophillips.com.

Š ConocoPhillips Company. 2017. All rights reserved.

Woodway Financial Advisors has been putting clients first for 35 years.

Now our team is putting clients first with Westwood.

Your Values.

Your Influence.

Your Legacy.

Our Advice.

From left: Tom Williams, Maureen Phillips, Allen Lewis, Bill Cunningham, Donnie Roberts, Leah Bennett

Westwood Trust | Houston 10000 Memorial Drive, Suite 650, Houston, Texas 77024 | T 713.683.7070 westwoodgroup.com

FEATURED PROGRAM

FIESTA SINFÓNICA Sunday

September 10, 2017 6:00pm

Jones Hall

*Pablo Rus Broseta, conductor Carver/Aldine Dance Company — Sarita Salinas, director *Houston Symphony debut

Gershwin Falla Chávez Ravel Piazzolla A. Márquez J. López

30 | Houston Symphony

Cuban Overture

ca. 11

Danza Espanola No. 1 from La Vida breve

ca. 5

Sinfonía India

ca. 12

Alborada del gracioso from Miroirs

ca. 7

Tangazo

ca. 11

Danzón No. 2

ca. 10

¡Fiesta!

IV Techno: L = 144

ca. 3

Did you know?

• Astor Piazzolla's family moved from Argentina to New York City in 1924 when he was 3 years old.

As a teenager, he served as a guide, translator and performer for tango legend Carlos Gardel during Gardel's visits to New York.

Fiesta Sinfónica | Program Biographies

Fiesta Sinfónica is sponsored in part by:

Program BIOGRAPHIES Pablo Rus Broseta | conductor

YUEN LUI STUDIO

in recognition of their 30 th consecutive year supporting Fiesta Sinfónica

Fiesta Sinfónica Media Sponsors

Video enhancement of Houston Symphony concerts is made possible by the Albert and Ethel Herzstein Charitable Foundation through a special gift celebrating the foundation’s 50th anniversary in 2015.

Chevron is one of the world's leading integrated energy companies with more than 60,000 people conducting business worldwide – including a workforce of more than 10,000 right here in Houston.

Each year, Chevron contributes millions of dollars and thousands of volunteer hours to nonprofit organizations that serve the needs of the communities where the company operates. Houston employees have donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to local charities and provide nearly 30,000 volunteer hours each year. Chevron has a long legacy of philanthropy in the Bayou City. In fact, this year, Chevron celebrates its 30th anniversary of supporting the Houston Symphony’s Education and Community Programs.

Chevron provides high-quality energy products to customers, value to investors and benefit to the Houston community through direct involvement.

Chevron calls that the power of human energy.

Learn more at www.chevron.com.

Pablo Rus Broseta, associate conductor of the Seattle Symphony, was originally appointed assistant conductor in 2015. This season, he leads the Seattle Symphony in a wide variety of concerts, including an all-Russian program with pianist Beatrice Rana, Carmina Burana and a festival of Prokofiev concertos. In the 2016-17 season, he conducted a festival of Shostakovich concertos as well as a gala concert with Yo-Yo Ma. As guest conductor, Pablo’s 2017-18 season includes debuts with the Houston and KitchenerWaterloo Symphonies and return engagements with the SWR Symphony Orchestra and Orquesta de Valencia. Highlights of last season include a debut with the North Carolina Symphony and returns to the WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne and Valencia National Youth Orchestra.

In 2014, Pablo led a joint performance of the SWR Symphony Orchestra and the Ensemble Modern at the Musica Festival in Strasbourg. He has since made successful debuts with the SWR Radio Symphony Orchestra Stuttgart, the Orquesta Filarmónica de Buenos Aires, the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the Orquesta Sinfónica de Radio Televisión Española. In 2016, he made his debut with the Ensemble InterContemporain, and has since been invited to make return appearances with the Ensemble Modern as well as both the WDR and SWR. Pablo has worked with Les Siècles, which performs on period instruments, and with the Beethoven Orchester Bonn, Bochumer Symphoniker, Orchestre Philharmonique de Liège and the Orquesta de Valencia. He has appeared at numerous music festivals, including the Klangspuren Schwaz, Transart, Ensems and the Cresc… Festival Frankfurt. He has collaborated with composers Wolfgang Rihm, Hans Zender, Johannes Maria Staud, Thomas Adès, Philippe Manoury, Magnus Lindberg, Martin Matalon, Francisco Coll and Luca Francesconi.

Pablo Rus Broseta studied composition and saxophone at the Conservatory of his native Valencia, with further studies in conducting in Lyon, at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam and Universität der Künste Berlin. He has received valuable guidance from Bernard Haitink, Pierre Boulez, David Zinman, Kurt Masur and Steven Sloane. He served as assistant conductor of the Orchestre Philharmonique de Liège (2009-10), the Dutch National Opera Academy (2010) and the Valencia Youth Symphony Orchestra (2010-13). In 2011, he founded the Spanish chamber orchestra Grup Mixtour, which he continues to direct.

InTUNE — September 2017 | 31

Program BIOGRAPHIES , continued

Program NOTES

Carver/Aldine Dance Company | performers

Cuban Overture

The Carver/Aldine Dance Company (CADC) is a district dance performance company comprised of students ages 5 to 18 who attend school in Aldine ISD. CADC was created by Carver High School dance teacher Sarita Salinas, who sought to provide advanced dance training and dance performance opportunities to public school students.

American composer George Gershwin composed his Cuban Overture in July 1932 after a vacation in Havana, which he later described as “two hysterical weeks…where no sleep was had.” Eager to capture the spirit of Cuban music, Gershwin wrote on the first page of his manuscript “Conductor’s note: The Cuban instruments should be placed right in front of the conductor’s stand,” and added doodles of the Cuban sticks, bongos, gourd and maracas for good measure. The overture has a clear structure, with two fast outer sections surrounding a slower middle section.

CADC dancers train numerous hours in courses of ballet, modern, contemporary, jazz, hip-hop, tap, aerial silks and stilt walking, among many other dance styles. This type of training prepares CADC members for collegiate readiness and for future career success.

Carver/Aldine Dance Company has performed in district events across Aldine ISD, the Acres Homes Community, and the City of Houston. Houston performances include Mayor Sylvester Turner’s Family Day in the Park, Mayor Sylvester Turner’s Mayoral Inauguration, City of Houston’s Freedom Over Texas 4th of July Celebration, City of Houston Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony, City of Houston Thanksgiving Day Parade and Houston Zoo’s Zoo Boo. CDAC has also performed at the Society of Performing Art’s Preperformances at the Wortham Dance Theater and Jones Hall Dance Theater. Additional accolades include performing at the Movement toward Literacy Program at Jones Hall, being recognized in the Houston 002 magazine, being featured on Houston television news stations and many more.

The Carver/Aldine Dance Company has participated in multiple regional and national dance competitions to expose students to adjudication while promoting growth throughout the program.

During these competitions, students have earned awards such as platinum, gold, and first overall in both the individual and team categories. CADC dancers have been recognized individually at competitions by receiving scholarships in the categories of ballet, contemporary, hip-hop, jazz, triple threat and outstanding dancer.

In the summer of 2014, CADC attended the National Dance Awards in New York City, where national adjudicators were amazed and delighted to see advanced dance skills demonstrated so artfully by a public-school dance company.

Alumni from CADC have been tremendously successful upon graduation. These students have set the bar for the program and continue to give back to the organization and the community.

CADC is continually growing and evolving into a dance company that not only produces trained dancers and performers, but also develops students who are excellent problem solvers and community contributors.

32 | Houston Symphony

George Gershwin (1898-1937)

The Instruments: 3 flutes (1 doubling piccolo), 2 oboes, English horn, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion and strings

Danza Espanola No. 1 from La Vida breve Manuel de Falla (1876-1946)

Spanish composer Manuel de Falla completed his opera, La vida breve (The Brief Life), in 1905 as an entry in a composition contest. Set in Granada, the opera tells the story of a young gypsy woman who is seduced by a rich man, even though he is already engaged to someone else. At the man’s wedding, she confronts him, but falls dead of a broken heart when he rejects her. This popular excerpt is one of the wedding dances.

The Instruments: 2 flutes, piccolo, 2 oboes, English horn, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion, 2 harps and strings

Sinfonía India

Carlos Chávez (1899-1978) Carlos Chávez came of age after the Mexican revolution during a time of great interest in Pre-Colombian cultures. Chávez’ Symphony No. 2, his Sinfonía India (“Indian Symphony”) of 1936 incorporates traditional melodies from the Huichol, Yaqui and Seri peoples of northern Mexico. Additionally, the score calls for a number of indigenous instruments, including the jicara de agua (a gourd), güiro, cascabeles (a rattle), tenabari (a string of butterfly cocoons) and grijutian (string of deer hooves).

The Instruments: 3 flutes (1 doubling piccolo), piccolo, 3 oboes, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, E-flat clarinet, 3 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 2 trombones, timpani, percussion and strings

Alborada del gracioso from Miroirs Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)

Although he lived most of his life in or near Paris, Maurice Ravel inherited a love of Spanish culture from his Basque mother. One of his most popular Spanish-influenced pieces is his Alborada del gracioso, which translates as “The Jester’s Aubade”—an aubade is a love song meant to be sung in the morning (as opposed to a serenade, which is traditionally sung in the evening). This jester’s aubade has a sunny, whimsical sense of humor. Quick, brilliant outer sections surround a calmer inner section, which features a prominent solo for bassoon—perhaps this is the jester’s love song.

The Instruments: 3 flutes (1 doubling piccolo), 2 oboes, English horn, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion, 2 harps and strings

Celebrating 3 0

Y E A R S !

Tangazo

Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992) Born in Argentina in 1921, Astor Piazzolla eventually studied classical composition with Nadia Boulanger in Paris, incorporating influences from classical music and jazz into a new style called nuevo tango that would revolutionize and revive tango music, which had been declining in popularity. Premiered in Washington, D.C. in 1970, Tangazo exemplifies his mature style. Subtitled “Variations on Buenos Aires,” the piece is a set of variations organized into groups that range from the languorous opening for strings to faster, dancing music for woodwinds. Of course, the unmistakable rhythms and melodic style of the tango can be heard in every measure.

The Instruments: 2 flutes (1 doubling piccolo), 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, percussion, piano and strings

Danzón No. 2

Arturo Márquez (1950-) Born in 1950 in Álamos, Mexico, Arturo Márquez studied composition with many renowned teachers in Mexico, Paris and California. In the 1990s, Márquez began to compose works inspired by popular 20th century urban dance music, including his series of Danzónes. In 1993, Márquez was inspired to create a danzón that would be a brilliant showpiece for orchestra. The music alternates languid, nostalgic melodies for solo instruments with more fiery passages, building to an explosive finale.

The Instruments: 2 flutes (1 doubling piccolo), 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion, piano and strings

Techno from ¡Fiesta!

Jimmy López (1978-)

Born in Peru, trained in Finland and currently residing in San Francisco, Jimmy López was recently named the Houston Symphony’s new Composer-in-Residence. López composed ¡Fiesta! in 2007, inspired by a blend of “European academic compositional techniques, Latin-American music, Afro-Peruvian music and today’s pop music.” The exciting finale, Techno, “uses LatinAmerican rhythms such as merengue” and features prominent solos for bongos and congas.

This year, Chevron, one of the world’s leading energy companies, marks its 30th anniversary of supporting the Houston Symphony’s education and community programs. Currently, the company sponsors the annual Fiesta Sinfónica. This free concert, which spotlights the music and musicians of Latin America as part of Hispanic Heritage Month each September, was originally underwritten by Texaco; when Chevron and Texaco merged in 2000, Chevron continued supporting these exciting and important performances.

Other Symphony programs supported by Chevron in the last 30 years include: the Lunada, Black History Month and Lunar New Year concerts; performances by the CityWide Grassroots Chorus; “Sounds Like Fun” community concerts at Ripley House; the multimedia performances of La Triste Historia in 2013; and special events including Opening Night and the Symphony Ball.

In addition to its corporate support, the people of Chevron have been very generous to the Houston Symphony, with hundreds of employees over the years among our donors and subscribers. Currently, Barbara J. Burger, President, Chevron Technology Ventures, serves the Symphony’s Board of Trustees as a member of the Executive Committee and Chair of the Finance Committee. A recent addition to the Symphony family since she moved to Houston four years ago, she made the very first leadership gift to the Symphony’s Vision 2025 Implementation Fund in 2016, helping to kick off this important initiative supporting the organization’s ten-year strategic plan.

The Houston Symphony is thrilled to thank Chevron and its employees for three decades of support.

Learn more about Jimmy López on page 12.

The Instruments: 2 flutes (1 doubling piccolo), 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion and strings — Calvin Dotsey

Left to right: Barbara J. Burger, President of Chevron Technology Ventures, and Joni Baird, Manager of Policy Government and Public Affairs at Chevron

InTUNE — September 2017 | 33

FEATURED PROGRAM

MAHLER & DVORˇÁK Thursday Saturday Sunday

September 14, 2017 8:00pm September 16, 2017 8:00pm September 17, 2017 2:30pm

Jones Hall

Andrés Orozco-Estrada, conductor *Mojca Erdmann, soprano Nicholas Brownlee, bass Houston Symphony Chorus — Betsy Cook Weber, director *Houston Symphony debut

Dvorˇák

Te Deum, Opus 103 I Te deum laudamus: Allegro moderato, maestoso— II Tu Rex gloriae: Lento maestoso— III Aeterna fac cum Sanctis: Vivace— IV Dignare, Domine: Lento

ca. 19

I N T E R M I S S I O N

Mahler

Symphony No. 4 in G major I Bedächtig, nicht eilen II In gemächlicher Bewegung, ohne Hast III Ruhevoll (Poco adagio) IV Sehr behaglich

34 | Houston Symphony

ca. 55

Did you know?

• Mahler once said that the melodies in the first movement of his Fourth Symphony were "like a dewdrop on a flower that suddenly illuminated by the sun, bursts into a thousand lights and colors."

Mahler & Dvořák | Program Biographies

Program BIOGRAPHIES FROST BANK GOLD CLASSICS

Andrés Orozco-Estrada | conductor

Please see Andrés Orozco-Estrada's biography on page 4.

The Classical Season is endowed by The Wortham Foundation, Inc. in memory of Gus S. and Lyndall F. Wortham.

Mojca Erdmann | soprano

Video enhancement of Houston Symphony concerts is made possible by the Albert and Ethel Herzstein Charitable Foundation through a special gift celebrating the foundation’s 50th anniversary in 2015.

Enhancements to the Jones Hall recording suite are generously provided by Silver Circle Audio.

This concert is being recorded for future broadcasts on Houston Public Media News 88.7 airing on Sundays at 8pm and streaming online at houstonpublicmedia.org.

UNBENANNT

These concerts are part of the Margaret Alkek Williams Sound + Vision Series, which is also supported by The Cullen Trust for the Performing Arts Endowed Fund for Creative Initiatives.

Praised by critics and loved by audiences for her beauty of tone and impeccable artistry, soprano Mojca Erdmann is a rapidly rising star in the international music scene. Of her return to the Metropolitan Opera in 2012, the New York Times wrote, “Mojca Erdmann brought a sweet, beguiling voice and a demure sincerity to Susanna.” Known for her versatility in repertoire ranging from baroque to contemporary music, the BBC Music Magazine praised her as an “interpreter of major gifts.”

As an opera singer, Mojca is in high demand for her interpretations of roles by composers such as Mozart, Handel, Strauss, Beethoven and Berg, and has performed at many of the world’s leading opera houses, including the Metropolitan Opera, Milan’s La Scala, Berlin State Opera, Dutch National Opera, Bavarian State Opera and many others.

Mojca regularly appears in concert and recital in Germany, Austria, Denmark, Spain, France, Switzerland, South Korea and Japan. She is a frequent guest at Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, the Cologne and Berlin Philharmonie, the Alte Oper Frankfurt, the Musikverein and Konzerthaus in Vienna and the Laeiszhalle in Hamburg. She has a vast concert repertoire and has worked with conductors such as Sir Simon Rattle, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Mariss Jansons, Zubin Mehta, Daniel Barenboim, Valery Gervgiev, Franz WelserMöst, Fabio Luisi and many others. She has appeared with the Berlin Philharmonic, the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Vienna Symphony, the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and many other ensembles.

An unusually versatile performer, Mojca is much sought after for her interpretation of contemporary music. She has performed works by Birtwistle, Boulez, Ligeti and Shchedrin and has performed in world premieres of works

by Wolfgang Rihm and Miroslav Srnka.

Mojca Erdmann can be heard on many recordings, including an acclaimed version of Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 with the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra under Jonathan Nott. In 2009, the soprano signed an exclusive agreement with Deutsche Grammophon, and can be heard as Zerlina and Despina respectively on the label’s complete recordings of Don Giovanni and Cosi fan tutte, both conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin.

InTUNE — September 2017 | 35

Program BIOGRAPHIES , continued

Nicholas Brownlee | bass Bass-baritone Nicholas Brownlee, first prize winner of the 2016 International Hans Gabor Belvedere Singing Competition, Zarzuela prize winner at Operalia 2016 and 2015 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions winner, is making his debut with the Houston Symphony.

In the 2017-2018 season, Nicholas will join the ensemble at Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe where he will be heard as Enrico in Anna Bolena, Pietro in Simon Boccanegra, Melisso in Alcina and as Frère Laurent in Berlioz’ Roméo et Juliette. He returns to the Los Angeles Opera for Les pêcheurs de perles and debuts with The Israeli Opera in La bohème. He also debuts with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra in Verdi’s Messa da Requiem conducted by Kent Nagano. Recently, Nicholas made his Metropolitan Opera debut as the First Soldier in Salome and returned to Los Angeles Opera for productions of Tosca, Les contes d’Hoffmann and Salome. He debuted at Teatro de São Carlos in Lisbon as Escamillo in Carmen and sang Stravinsky’s Les Noces with the Los Angeles Master Chorale.

Other recent role debuts include Sprecher in Die Zauberflöte, Bonze in Madama Butterfly and Captain Gardiner in Moby-Dick. He also sang Colline in La bohème for his debut with Atlanta Opera.

With the LA Philharmonic, he was seen as the Doctor in Pelléas et Melisande with Esa-Pekka Salonen conducting. Nicholas made his LA Phil debut under Gustavo Dudamel in Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy and returned for performances of a new multimedia staging by Netia Jones of Chin’s Alice in Wonderland under Susanna Mälkki, which traveled to the Barbican in London with the BBC Symphony. As part of the LA Opera Young Artist Program, he covered Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro and Bluebeard in Barrie Kosky’s production of Bluebeard’s Castle. In the summer of 2015, he returned to Santa Fe Opera to sing the First Soldier in Salome, cover Monterone in Rigoletto, Sulpice in La fille du régiment and Stobrod/Blind in the world premiere of Cold Mountain. He made his debut at Santa Fe Opera in 2014 as Don Fernando in a new Stephen Wadsworth production of Fidelio.

Houston Symphony Chorus —

Betsy Cook Weber, | director Please see Chorus roster on page 6 and learn about the Houston Symphony Chorus's recent performance of Dvořák's Te Deum in Prague on page 56.

36 | Houston Symphony

Program NOTES Te Deum, Opus 103

Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904) In 1891, Mrs. Jeanette Thurber, an energetic philanthropist and music lover, had a great triumph: she convinced the worldrenowned Czech composer Antonín Dvořák to be the new director of her National Conservatory of Music in New York City. For his arrival the following year, she commissioned him to write a piece for the 400th anniversary of Columbus Day—a grand cantata for chorus, orchestra and soloists. She would provide a text, but in case it did not arrive on time, “the proposition is that Dr. Dvořák choose some Latin Hymn such as ‘Te Deum laudamus’ or ‘Jubilate Deo’ or any other which would be suitable for the occasion.”

She ultimately settled on a poem called The American Flag, but by the time Dvořák received it, he had already written his Te Deum.

In his youth, Dvořák had once exclaimed during family prayers, “I pray best over there at the window, looking out at the greenery and the sky!” Of all his sacred music, his Te Deum is perhaps most colored by this love of nature, and it has a striking earthiness unusual for the genre.

In the opening, the percussion instruments make a tremendous noise as the chorus sings, “We Praise Thee, O God.” Trilling woodwinds evoke twittering birds, and the violins play joyful melodies inspired by Czech folk music, conjuring images of a great outdoor festival. The music then alternates choruses with operatic solos for the soprano and bass. The soprano’s music features expressive, soaring lines, while the bass takes on a stern, paternal character. Throughout the solos, the chorus often comments on what the soloists sing, assuming the role of a congregation of believers. Dvořák combines everyone only for the final blessing, a gradual crescendo that leads to one of his most electrifying endings.

The Instruments: 2 flutes, 2 oboes, English horn, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion and strings

Symphony No. 4 in G major Gustav Mahler (1860-1911)

For three years, Mahler had composed almost nothing. Consumed with the Herculean task of running the Vienna Opera, he had to force himself to ignore ideas for new works because he had no time to compose. His summer vacations, too, became strangely unproductive, and Mahler began to fear that his inspiration was drying up.

The summer of 1899 had been as fallow as the previous two—worse, in fact, because he was staying in a town where a band would play “serenades, funeral marches and wedding marches every day,” driving Mahler to distraction. With only a few weeks of vacation left, the dam burst. In just 10 days, he sketched what would become his Fourth Symphony. Determined that he would have no distractions the next summer, Mahler had a new house constructed in a quieter alpine village, complete with a small composing hut some distance away. Working all day, Mahler composed a new and unusual

Mahler & Dvořák | Program Notes

work that would explore themes of childhood, innocence and spirituality, completing it just a few weeks after his 40th birthday.

The symphony begins with the chilly sound of sleigh-bells before taking us inside to a crackling fire. This music is the epitome of Gemütlichkeit, an untranslatable German word that encompasses both “coziness” and “belonging.” After introducing a wealth of melodic ideas, the sleigh bells return, and a violin solo takes the music to darker, stranger tonalities. Bird call-like sounds follow in the woodwinds. Perhaps we have snuck away into the woods, straying far from the innocence of the family hearth.

The music builds to a thunderous climax, followed by a quiet, menacing figure in the trumpet that Mahler would later use for the funeral march that begins his Fifth Symphony. Soon after, the melodies from the first part of the movement return, as if they had been going on all along while we were away on our adventure.

The manuscript of the second movement bears the following subtitle: “Death strikes up the dance for us; he strokes the fiddle most strangely and plays us up to heaven.” Mahler evokes death’s skeletal grin with a solo violin tuned a whole tone higher than usual, creating a shrill, uncanny sound. Episodes of gossamer music Mahler likened to “spider’s webs” provide contrast, but in the end, death always returns with his fiddle.

The finale brings us into heaven itself with a song for soprano and orchestra which Mahler called “The Heavenly Life.” The text was taken from one of Mahler’s favorite sources of inspiration, Des Knaben Wunderhorn, a collection of German folk poetry. The song has a remarkable lilting, folksy quality as it depicts a child’s vision of heaven.

Midway, the sleigh-bells return, now with a fierce winter wind behind them, and we see St. John leading a lamb to the slaughter for a heavenly feast. The child’s imagination proves all too earthbound: there is death even in heaven itself. This troubling scene soon passes, however, and the symphony concludes with the child listening to the music of the angels: There is just no music on earth that can compare to ours.

Perhaps not, but in the serenity of this symphony’s final moments, Mahler surely comes close.

The Instruments: 4 flutes (2 doubling piccolos), 3 oboes (1 doubling English horn), 3 clarinets (1 doubling bass clarinet and 1 doubling E-flat clarinet), 3 bassoons (1 doubling contrabassoon), 4 horns, 3 trumpets, timpani, percussion, harp and strings — Calvin Dotsey

FUN FACT It was in this specially constructed “composing hut” that Mahler completed his Fourth Symphony during the summer of 1900.

OUR THANKS As part of its commitment to supporting the Texas communities it serves, Frost Bank is pleased to underwrite Houston Symphony’s Gold Classics series.

Founded in San Antonio in 1868, Frost —one of the 50 largest U.S. banks —is the banking subsidiary of Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR). The $30 billion financial holding company operates more than 123 financial centers across Texas, including 28 Houston-area locations.

Frost was the only top-10 Texas-based bank to survive the economic downturn of the 1980s on its own and became the first bank in the nation to turn down TARP bailout funds during the financial crisis of 2008.

At every level, the company brings a high level of personal service to banking, investments and insurance relationships, offering the resources, products and technology of a larger bank, delivered with the personalized customer service of a community bank. Frost has a 149-year heritage and is committed to meeting the financial needs of generations of Texans to come.

InTUNE — September 2017 | 37

JOHANN JARITZ

The slow third movement is the heart of the symphony; it reminded Mahler of his mother’s smile. Two main melodies alternate in a set of variations. The first is a tender melody in the cellos; the second, a plaintive, melancholy line in the oboe. They build to a heart-wrenching climax before dying away. During the denouement, a carnivalesque passage threatens to overwhelm the meditative mood. Then, everything comes to a halt, and the orchestra unleashes a coruscating wall of sound representing the gates of heaven. Now, Mahler said, “everything will be unraveled, and you will understand that no harm was meant after all.”

FEATURED PROGRAM

ANDRÉS CONDUCTS SCHUMANN Friday Saturday Sunday

September 22, 2017 8:00pm September 23, 2017 8:00pm September 24, 2017 2:30pm

Jones Hall

Andrés Orozco-Estrada, conductor *Leticia Moreno, violin Clint Allen, lighting and projection design

Shumann/ M. Andreae

J. López

ca. 22 Symphony in G minor, WoO 29 (Zwickauer) I Allegro molto II Andantino assai allegretto—Intermezzo quzsi Scherzo: Allegro assai—Tempo I dell’ Andantino Aurora, for Solo Violin and Orchestra** I Equatorialis: Quasi-candenza II Borealis: L = 54 III Australis: L. = 144

ca. 32

I N T E R M I S S I O N

Schumann

Symphony No. 1 in B-flat major, Opus 38 (Spring) I Andante un poco maestoso—Allegro molto vivace II Larghetto— III Scherzo and Trios I and II: Molto vivace IV Allegro animato e grazioso

*Houston Symphony debut **World premiere, Houston Symphony commission 38 | Houston Symphony

ca. 30

Did you know?

• Schumann often signed his compositions with two pen names; he attributed fiery, passionate music to "Florestan" and dreamier music to "Eusebius."

Listen for the different sides of his musical personality in the works on this program.

Andrés Conducts Schumann | Program Biographies

Program BIOGRAPHIES SHELL FAVORITE MASTERS SERIES

These performances are generously supported in part by:

Andrés Orozco-Estrada | conductor

Please see Andrés Orozco-Estrada's biography on page 4.

Grand Guarantor The Cullen Foundation Maestro’s Fund

Leticia Moreno | violin

Guarantor “Campaign for a Sound Future” Fund for new works in honor of Winifred Safford Wallace

Recognized as an exciting and versatile violinist, Leticia Moreno “captivates audiences and critics alike with her natural charisma, virtuosism and deep interpretative force.” In 2012, she was appointed to Europe´s prestigious Echo Rising Star, leading to recitals in major concert halls across Europe.

Underwriter Bobby & Phoebe Tudor

The Houston Symphony’s Composer-inResidence and commissioning initiatives are supported in part by Robin Angly & Miles Smith Barbara J. Burger Michael J. Shawiak The Classical Season is endowed by The Wortham Foundation, Inc. in memory of Gus S. and Lyndall F. Wortham.

Video enhancement of Houston Symphony concerts is made possible by the Albert and Ethel Herzstein Charitable Foundation through a special gift celebrating the foundation’s 50th anniversary in 2015.

Enhancements to the Jones Hall recording suite are generously provided by Silver Circle Audio.

This concert is being recorded for future broadcasts on Houston Public Media News 88.7 airing on Sundays at 8pm and streaming online at houstonpublicmedia.org.

OMAR AYYASHI

Sponsor Chevron

She has appeared with renowned conductors such as Zubin Mehta, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Christoph Eschenbach, Yuri Temirkanov, Krzysztof Penderecki, Andrés Orozco-Estrada, Josep Pons, Juanjo Mena and Andrey Boreyko, among others, and with leading orchestras such as the Vienna Symphony, St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra, Mariinsky Orchestra, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique de Luxembourg, Academy of St Martin in the Fields and Orquesta Sinfónica Simón Bolívar. She is a regular guest with most of the major Spanish orchestras.

The 2016-17 season started with Leticia’s debuts with The Hallé Orchestra led

by Sir Mark Elder in the Santander Festival, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra. She also appeared with the Staatskapelle Weimar, Gulbenkian Orchestra, Naples Philharmonic and RTĖ National Symphony Orchestra, ending the season with tours with the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra and Youth National Orchestra of Colombia.

Upcoming highlights include the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra with Temirkanov, WDR Symphony Orchestra with Alondra de la Parra, a tour in Germany with Cadaqués Orchestra and Mozarteum Orchestra with Penderecki.

As a keen recitalist and chamber musician, Leticia has collaborated with Sol Gabetta, Bertrand Chamayou, Kirill Gerstein, Alexander Ghindin, Lauma Skride, Mario Brunello, Leonard Elschenbroich and Maxim Rysanov.

She has recently recorded two CDs for Universal/Deutsche Grammophon: Spanish Landscapes, a study of Spanish Music (Sarasate, Lorca, Granados, Falla and others) and Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto No. 1 with the St. Petersburg Philharmonic conducted by Temirkanov.

Leticia studied with Zakhar Bron at Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía in Madrid and Musikhochschule Köln, being the youngest member of the prestigious Alexander von Humboldt Stiftung. She has won international violin competitions such as the Szeryng, Concertino Praga, Novosibirsk, Sarasate and Kreisler competitions.

Leticia plays a 1762 violin by Nicolò Gagliano.

Visit www.leticiamoreno.com.

InTUNE — September 2017 | 39

Program BIOGRAPHIES , continued

Jimmy López | composer-in-residence Award-winning composer Jimmy López Bellido is considered "one of the most interesting young composers anywhere today" (Chicago Sun-Times), and an “expert in orchestration” (New York Times) with a distinct voice that is “adventurous and winning” (Denver Post). His works have been performed by the Chicago Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Boston Symphony, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Helsinki Philharmonic, and the National Symphony Orchestras of Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, Peru and Spain, among others. His music has been heard in prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall, Sydney Opera House, the Leipzig Gewandhaus and during the Youth Olympic Games in Singapore. His music has been featured in numerous festivals, including Tanglewood, Aspen, Grant Park, Darmstadt and Donaueschingen.

As part of the Renée Fleming initiative, the Lyric Opera of Chicago commissioned him to write a full-length opera based on the bestselling novel Bel Canto, which premiered on December 7, 2015 to wide critical acclaim. Bel Canto became the bestselling opera of Lyric’s 2015-16 season and went on to earn a nomination to the 2016 International Opera Awards. It was recently broadcast throughout the United States on PBS’ Great Performances. His work ¡Fiesta! has been performed almost 80 times worldwide, making it one of the most performed contemporary orchestral works.

He has been awarded numerous prizes, among them: TUMI USA Award 2016, Musician of the Year 2015 by Opera Peru and El Comercio; Honorable Mention at the 2015 Barlow Prize Competition; Special Mention at the 2015 Casa de las Américas Composition Prize and many others.

He is a member of Suomen Säveltäjät (Society of Finnish Composers), ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers), Circomper (Circle of Composers of Peru) and the San Francisco Chapter of the Recording Academy (Grammy). An album dedicated entirely to his orchestral works was released on August 14, 2015, under the Harmonia Mundi label. All works were recorded by conductor Miguel Harth-Bedoya, the Norwegian Radio Orchestra and cellist Jesús Castro-Balbi.

He studied with Enrique Iturriaga from 1998-2000 at the National Conservatory of Music in Lima, and with Veli-Matti Puumala and Eero Hämeenniemi from 2000-2007 at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, where he obtained his Master of Music degree. He completed his Ph.D. in Music at the University of CaliforniaBerkeley in May of 2012 with Edmund Campion. He is published by Filarmonika Music Publishing.

For more information, please visit www.jimmylopez.com.

40 | Houston Symphony

Program NOTES Symphony in G minor, WoO 29 (Zwickauer) Robert Schumann (1810-1856)

The son of a publisher in the idyllic Saxon town of Zwickau, Robert Schumann was immersed in both literature and music from an early age. By his teenage years, he was remarkably well read, having devoured many of the works of the German Romantics. He also developed a promising talent for piano and composition, and could not decide whether to devote his life to belles lettres or music.

Spurred by his parents’ wishes, at 17 the budding aesthete packed his bags for law school at the University of Leipzig. His musical and literary pursuits, however, continued unabated, and his friends later testified that he never attended a single law lecture. Settling on a career as a piano virtuoso, he studied with the imminent Friedrich Wieck, who assured his mother that within three years he would make Schumann “into one of the greatest living pianists…”

Unfortunately, Wieck’s prediction did not come true. Wieck seemed far more interested in developing the talent of his precocious young daughter, Clara, than in Schumann. More troubling, however, was the numbness that began to affect the ring finger of his right hand. Possibly due in part to a strange finger-strengthening device, Schumann gradually lost the ability to play with the finger, making a career as a concert pianist impossible. Schumann resolved to focus on composition instead, and by 1833 he had completed two movements of a symphony.

The initial inspiration for the work seems to have come from Shakespeare. A production of Hamlet had been a revelation for Schumann a few years before, and he wrote to his mother, “The grand opera has been settled on… [It] will be called ‘Hamlet’…” The opera never proceeded past sketches for the overture, some of which were incorporated into the symphony. Whether any trace of the melancholy Danish prince remains in the music is best left to the listener.

The tempestuous first movement contains a wealth of ideas ranging in character from fevered passion to gentle lyricism. Its extended development has many unusual twists and turns, strongly suggesting some narrative inspiration. The second movement combines the usual slow movement and scherzo. After a dramatic opening, the music settles into a flowing tempo with a brooding theme in the cellos and basses. About halfway through, the music accelerates into a lighter, faster section marked “Intermezzo quasi Scherzo.” At the end, the slower, brooding music returns.

And there the music breaks off. Although Schumann had certainly planned to write a finale, he abandoned the symphony, possibly as a result of unfavorable criticism the first movement received at trial readings in Leipzig and Zwickau (hence the symphony’s nickname, Zwickauer). Unfinished though it is, this work provides a fascinating glimpse into the mind of a budding genius.

The Instruments: 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, timpani and strings — Calvin Dotsey

Andrés Conducts Schumann | Program Notes

Aurora, for Solo Violin and Orchestra

In January 1841, Schumann made the following entries in his “house book” (a sort of domestic diary):

During my years in Finland, I was privileged enough to witness one of Nature’s most spectacular displays: the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights). The concerto, inspired by this phenomenon, pays homage to a different kind of aurora in each of its three movements: I. Equatorialis, II. Borealis and III. Australis. The last two are observable phenomena on Earth, whereas the first is used to describe similar magnetic anomalies on other planets.

23 January: Began spring symphony 24 January: Finished the Adagio and Scherzo of the symphony 25 January: Symphonic fire—sleepless nights—on the last movement 26 January: Hurrah! Symphony completed!

Jimmy López (1978-)

He later made a few significant changes to the symphony, but the speed with which he composed is remarkable nonetheless. Felix Mendelssohn conducted the premiere with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra the following March. The concert, which also featured Clara as soloist, was a happy triumph for the young couple.

Equatorialis begins in a quasi-cadenza-like manner, with the violin commanding the stage as the orchestra follows, imitates and develops its germinal gestures. As the soloist finds its pulse, so does Even though the symphony was written in winter, Schumann was the orchestra, eventually reaching several climactic points that inspired by thoughts of springtime, specifically the final lines of a sound familiar yet foreign with their arresting rhythms and plush poem by Adolph Böttger: orchestrations.

O wende, wende deinen Lauf,/Im Tale blüht der Frühling auf!

Borealis takes us to a place of ethereal quietude, beginning with O turn, turn from your course,/Spring blossoms in the valley! the soloist, which is echoed by three additional violins placed strategically within the concert hall. Here, the orchestra transforms These lines fit perfectly with the opening of the symphony, like a song without words: the waves of light into waves of sound, enveloping members of the audience and making them experience with their ears what is normally reserved for the eye.

Australis begins menacingly in the lower regions of the orchestra, gradually growing, achieving full power and leading to a relentless motif in the solo violin that is then echoed by different instrumental groups in the orchestra. Energy levels stay high all throughout, with tension constantly building up and being released only occasionally, thus placing enormous physical demands on the soloist.

Aurora’s three movements take the listener on a wondrous journey of light through sound. This piece has great significance to me, not only because of its subject and its connection to my beloved Finland, but also because it is my first collaboration with Conductor Andrés Orozco-Estrada as Composer-in-Residence of the world-class Houston Symphony. Aurora is dedicated to Leticia Moreno, whose energy and excitement have been an enormous source of inspiration. — Jimmy López The Instruments: 2 flutes, (1 doubling piccolo), 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani and percussion

The symphony requires little further explanation, as it is one of the most accessible and delightful works in the repertoire. A few notes will suffice: the aforementioned opening motto makes a grand return at the climax of the first movement; the slow second movement is a sort of theme and variations with interludes (the main theme makes appearances in the violins, cellos and woodwinds); the minor-key scherzo contains two contrasting major-key episodes; and the dancing finale features prominent solos for the horns and flute. The trombones in particular help bring the symphony to an exhilarating conclusion.

The Instruments: 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, timpani, percussion and strings — Calvin Dotsey

Symphony No. 1 in B-flat major, Opus 38 (Spring) Robert Schumann (1810-1856)

Much transpired in the eight years between Robert Schumann’s abandonment of the early Zwickauer Symphony and the completion of his Symphony No. 1. He had composed many solo piano masterpieces, founded a groundbreaking music journal and fallen in love. Friedrich Wieck’s daughter, Clara, grew into a beautiful, internationally renowned piano virtuoso, and by Christmas 1835, Robert and Clara were very much enamored. Unfortunately, Wieck was dead set against their union. Given the laws of the day, Robert and Clara eventually had to take Wieck to court in a legal battle that lasted an entire year. Ultimately, they won their suit, and after nearly five years of frustrated love, they were wed.

Schumann’s Symphony No. 1 dates from their first year of connubial bliss. Now married, Schumann wanted to prove himself to the public (and perhaps also to Clara’s father) in the most prestigious instrumental genre of all: the symphony.

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BB&T’s mission is to make the world a better place to live by: helping its clients achieve economic success and financial security; creating a place where its employees can learn, grow and be fulfilled in their work; making the communities in which it operates better places to be; optimizing the long-term return to its shareholders, while providing a safe and sound investment.

More information about BB&T is available at www.BBT.com.

InTUNE — September 2017 | 41

FEATURED PROGRAM

HOUSTON SYMPHONY PRESENTS

GARRISON KEILLOR Monday

September 25, 2017 7:30 pm

The orchestra will not appear on this program.

42 | Houston Symphony

Jones Hall

Garrison Keillor | Program Biography

Program BIOGRAPHY This performance is supported in part by: Partner Ron & Demi Rand

Video enhancement of Houston Symphony concerts is made possible by the Albert and Ethel Herzstein Charitable Foundation through a special gift celebrating the foundation’s 50th anniversary in 2015.

Garrison Keillor | storyteller Garrison Keillor captivates with his signature blend of humor, charisma and wisdom as he shares his journey to becoming one of America’s greatest storytellers.

Garrison regaled audiences for more than 40 years as the host of A Prairie Home Companion, and he continues to bring stories to life on public radio’s The Writers Almanac.

A best-selling author, he has published more than two dozen books of fiction and poetry, and his unique works have earned him honors, including Grammy, ACE and Peabody awards, as well as the National Humanities Medal and election to the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

Crowds are instantly drawn in by his soothing, hypnotic voice, whimsical vignettes and homespun brand of humor. Sharing his passion for everything from creativity and literacy to the great journey of life, Garrison entertains with a sage yet wry perspective, inspiring with kernels of wisdom audiences carry long after he has left the stage.

InTUNE — September 2017 | 43

FEATURED PROGRAM

RUSSIAN MASTERS Thursday Saturday Sunday

September 28, 2017 8:00pm September 30, 2017 8:00pm October 1, 2017 2:30pm

Jones Hall

*Vassily Sinaisky, conductor *Houston Symphony debut

Borodin/Glazunov Shostakovich

Overture to Prince Igor

ca. 10

Symphony No. 1 in F minor, Opus 10 I Allegretto—Allegro non troppo II Allegro III Lento— IV Allegro molto—Lento—Allegro molto

ca. 32

I N T E R M I S S I O N

Tchaikovsky

44 | Houston Symphony

Symphony No. 1 in G minor, Opus 13 (Winter Daydreams) I Daydreams on a winter road: Allegro tranquillo II Gloomy land, misty land: Adagio cantabile ma non tanto III Scherzo: Allegro scherzando giocoso IV Finale: Andante lugubre—Allegro moderato— Allegro maestoso

ca. 43

Did you know?

• During the Russian Civil War, resources were so scarce that the Leningrad Conservatory (where Shostakovich was a student) went unheated, even in winter.

At one performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, one could see the choristers' frozen breaths as they sang the "Ode to Joy."

Russian Masters | Program Biography

Program BIOGRAPHY RAND G ROUP

GREAT PERFORMERS SERIES

The Classical Season is endowed by The Wortham Foundation, Inc. in memory of Gus S. and Lyndall F. Wortham.

Video enhancement of Houston Symphony concerts is made possible by the Albert and Ethel Herzstein Charitable Foundation through a special gift celebrating the foundation’s 50th anniversary in 2015.

Enhancements to the Jones Hall recording suite are generously provided by Silver Circle Audio.

This concert is being recorded for future broadcasts on Houston Public Media News 88.7 airing on Sundays at 8pm and streaming online at houstonpublicmedia.org.

Vassily Sinaisky | conductor One of the great Russian conductors schooled in the tradition of Ilya Musin and Kirill Kondrashin, Vassily Sinaisky is known for his interpretations of Russian, German and English repertoire. A distinguished operatic conductor, he served as chief conductor and music director of Moscow’s Bolshoi Theatre (2010- 2013).

Vassily’s international career was launched in 1973 when he won the Gold Medal at the prestigious Karajan Conducting Competition in Berlin. His early work with Kondrashin at the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra and with Musin at the Leningrad Conservatory provided him with an incomparable grounding. Soon after his success at the Karajan Competition, he was appointed chief conductor of the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra, a post he held from 1976 to 1987. He then became music director and principal conductor of the Moscow Philharmonic, leading numerous high-profile projects with the orchestra in Russia and on tour.

In addition to these performances with the Houston Symphony, in the 2017/18 season, Vassily will conduct the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra; City of Birmingham, Bournemouth, São Paulo, Stavanger, Russian State and Latvian National Symphony Orchestras; BBC Philharmonic; Orquestra Sinfónica do Porto and Madrid Philharmonic.

Vassily holds the position of conductor emeritus of the BBC Philharmonic.

Memorable projects with that orchestra have included the Shostakovich and his Heroes festival, tours to Europe and China, and many appearances at the BBC Proms. During his tenure with the Bolshoi Theatre, he conducted many acclaimed productions including Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Golden Cockerel directed by Kirill Serebrennikov and Richard Strauss’ Der Rosenkavalier directed by Stephen Lawless (the first staging of this work in Moscow).

He has conducted Iolanta and Francesca da Rimini in new productions by Stephen Lawless at Vienna’s Theater an der Wien. He also conducted Boris Godunov at San Francisco Opera. Other projects have included productions of The Fiery Angel at Komische Oper Berlin; The Queen of Spades at Hungarian State Opera; Carmen and Der Rosenkavalier for English National Opera; and an acclaimed Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District with Hans Neuenfels at the Komische Oper Berlin.

His recordings include a set of Franz Schmidt’s symphonies for Naxos with the Malmö Symphony Orchestra. His other recordings include many with the BBC Philharmonic, including works by Shostakovich, Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Shchedrin, Glinka, Liadov, Schreker and Szymanowski. His most recent recording includes Tchaikovsky and Grieg Concerti with Denis Kozhukhin and the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra Berlin for Pentatone.

Vassily Sinaisky is a noted and influential teacher, and holds the position of professor of conducting at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory.

InTUNE — September 2017 | 45

Program NOTES Overture to Prince Igor

Alexander Borodin (1833-1887) Alexander Glazunov (1865-1936) Alexander Borodin was a Russian chemist who made several important contributions to the study of aldehydes while serving as the Chemistry Chair of the St. Petersburg Medical-Surgical Academy. In his spare time, he composed some of Russian music’s most beloved masterpieces. His magnum opus was the opera Prince Igor, which he worked on sporadically for 18 years. Unfortunately, the score was far from finished at his death, and it was left to Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and Alexander Glazunov to complete a performable version.

The overture was assigned to Glazunov, who completed it “roughly according to Borodin's plan” based on surviving sketches. It is a vivid work that conjures the opera’s wild, medieval Russian setting with its tales of love and war. After a slow introduction, the tempo races ahead with furious runs for the violins, which lead to one of the tuneful, folk-song inflected melodies for which Borodin is famous.

This quick, cheerful melody then gives way to a broader, more lyrical one for solo horn. These two melodies are revealed to be theme and countertheme when the orchestra plays them simultaneously at the overture’s brilliant close.

The Instruments: 2 flutes, piccolo, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani and strings

Symphony No. 1 in F minor, Opus 10 Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975)

Dmitri Shostakovich’s First Symphony may be the greatest graduation project of all time. Composed at the age of 18, it was written for the Leningrad Conservatory (earning him the equivalent of a college music degree) and would take the international music world by storm.

Shostakovich faced enormous obstacles prior to this success, however. Having witnessed the Russian revolution at age 10, he entered the Conservatory at 13, joining a class of much older students on account of his precocious musical abilities. During the Russian Civil War, he endured unheated rooms and food rationing, and in 1922, his father perished from pneumonia. Thus, by 18, Shostakovich had been through more than usual for a young composer.

Despite these hardships, Shostakovich’s musical development proceeded rapidly. Disdaining the conservatism of his professors at the Petrograd Conservatory, Shostakovich quickly assimilated the new musical language being developed abroad by Stravinsky, Prokofiev and other composers, melding these influences into his unmistakable personal voice.

The opening movement can be heard as a satire of the academic theories Shostakovich would have been taught about symphony writing. He later complained that “At the conservatory, they taught me ‘scheme,’ not ‘form.’…Not a word was uttered about the expressive character of the musical line.” Thus, Shostakovich wrote a first movement that follows the correct academic ‘scheme,’ but with the expressive character one might expect from an irreverent teenager.

46 | Houston Symphony

Instead of the expected grand opening, the symphony begins with a mischievous introduction. Furtive melodic fragments appear in one set of instruments then another, like a forbidden note passed around a classroom. A solo clarinet then introduces the first proper melody.

While its square phrases and simple accompaniment are very conventional, this theme’s angular shape and strange “wrong-note” harmonies give it an ironic twist.

Not long thereafter, a contrasting theme with a gentle, waltzing lilt appears in the solo flute. A solo violin announces the beginning of a more developmental section, and after several boisterous passages, the first theme reappears, but is cut short. Instead, we hear the themes return backwards: first the graceful waltz, then the cheeky first theme and last the introduction.

The second movement, a madcap scherzo, intensifies Shostakovich’s ironic comedy. Its fleeting melodies fly by at lightning speed, until we reach a quieter, slower, and more ominous middle section.

The attempts of the piano to end the movement form one of Shostakovich’s most witty (and haunting) musical jokes.

The mood becomes more serious as the slow third movement opens with a heartfelt solo for the oboe. After a Wagnerian cello solo, a menacing fanfare begins to permeate the music. The mood darkens, and the solo oboe takes up a new melody resembling an ominous march. After some development, the opening melody returns as a violin solo. The march reappears in the trumpet, and the movement fades away amid the ghostly rhythms of the fanfare.

The third movement goes straight into the finale with a fierce snare drum roll, leading to an operatic introduction. The music then catches fire with a fast, incendiary clarinet solo. After a more lyrical violin solo, the fiery music returns, building to a climax that is cut off by doom-laden timpani. The more lyrical music reappears, growing in intensity above a pulsing, Tchaikovskian accompaniment, but violent fanfares bring the symphony to its dark conclusion.

Despite the symphony’s unconventional elements, Shostakovich’s professors were so impressed they recommended it for public performance by the Leningrad Philharmonic. The following year, the new work caused a sensation. Somehow, this symphony that began with schoolboy pranks and ended in tragedy spoke to the Leningrad audience, which had been through so much in the past decade.

Within a year, it would be performed by the Berlin Philharmonic under Bruno Walter and the Philadelphia Orchestra under Leopold Stokowski (who would later become the Houston Symphony’s Music Director in 1955). Nearly overnight, the teenage Shostakovich had achieved international fame, a fame that would protect him throughout his many dangerous confrontations with the Soviet state in the years to come.

The Instruments: 3 flutes (2 doubling picciolo), 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion, piano and strings

Russian Masters | Program Notes

Symphony No. 1 in G minor, Opus 13 (Winter Daydreams) Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) Tchaikovsky’s First Symphony dates from 1866, his first year as a professor at the newly opened Moscow Conservatory of Music.

As an up-and-coming young composer, he felt he was ready for this ambitious project. Unfortunately, “no other work cost him such effort and suffering...Despite painstaking and arduous work, its composition was fraught with difficulty,” his brother Modest recalled. During his summer vacation, Tchaikovsky worked on it late into the night, consuming numerous cigarettes, until he suffered a breakdown from exhaustion. He never composed after sundown again.

He spent two years slaving over the symphony and made further revisions in 1874. Despite its difficult genesis, Tchaikovsky had a special fondness for the work, regarding it as “a sin of my sweet youth.” Its charming melodies and vivid orchestration give little hint of the trouble it cost the composer, and the unmistakable Tchaikovsky sound is already in every measure.

Tchaikovsky gave the symphony the descriptive title “Winter Daydreams,” and provided atmospheric titles to the first two movements as well. The first movement, Daydreams on a winter road, begins with an enchanting melody in the flute and bassoon. After a fortissimo passage, a second, contrasting melody in the clarinet appears, leading to a series of sometimes turbulent developments. The movement ends quietly with a final reminiscence of the opening theme.

The slow second movement, Gloomy land, misty land, begins with muted strings, leading to a dreamy melody in the oboe. A contrasting theme follows in the violas and flutes, and the two themes alternate, accompanied by snowy orchestral effects.

In the third movement, marked Allegro scherzando giocoso (fast and jokingly playful), an unpredictable play of sonorities characterizes the mischievous outer sections, which surround a more lyrical center.

The last movement begins with a slow introduction. From melodic fragments, a Russian folk song gradually emerges in the violins. The music then accelerates, leading to an exultant new theme for full orchestra. Tchaikovsky shows off his contrapuntal skill, weaving multiple melodies together in a kaleidoscopic texture. The folk song then returns in a faster, dancing version for bassoons and violas. After more contrapuntal developments, the slow introduction returns, but this time builds to a grand, regal statement of the folk song for full orchestra. The concluding fireworks prove that even in his First Symphony, Tchaikovsky was a master of the grand finale.

The Instruments: 2 flutes, piccolo, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion and strings — Calvin Dotsey

ABOUT THE COMPOSER This photograph shows Tchaikovsky in the autumn of 1865, just months before he moved to Moscow to begin teaching at the soon to be opened Conservatory. The shy, sensitive professor made quiet an impression on his students—especially the female ones. One later remembered him as “young, with nice-looking, almost beautiful features, a deep, expressive gaze in his beautiful dark eyes, fluffy, carelessly combed hair, and a marvelous blond beard.”

Rand Group is the proud sponsor of the Houston Symphony’s Classical Series, “Rand Group Great Performers.”

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InTUNE — September 2017 | 47

you

THANK

Our DONORS

ANNUAL SUPPORT

The Houston Symphony gratefully acknowledges those who support our artistic, educational and community engagement programs through their generosity to our Annual Fund and our Special Events.

For more information, please contact: David Chambers, Interim Co-Executive Director/Chief Development Officer, 713.337.8525 Mary Beth Mosley, Director, Institutional Giving & Stewardship, 713.337.8521 Molly Simpson, Director, Individual Giving and Major Gifts, 713.337.8526

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

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48 | Houston Symphony

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Our DONORS continued Conductor’s Circle



Platinum Baton

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

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

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InTUNE — September 2017 | 49

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Barbara J. Manering Dr. & Mrs. Paul M. Mann Mr. & Mrs. Kenneth C. Margolis Mr. & Mrs. Michael L. Mason Brian McCulloch & Jeremy Garcia William D. & Karinne McCullough Mr. & Mrs. Michael McGuire Will L. McLendon Mr. & Mrs. D. Bradley McWilliams Ernie & Martha McWilliams Shane Miller Mr. & Mrs. William Monteleone Jr. Ms. Trazanna Moreno Mary Beth Mosley Melissa L. Nance Terri & Bert Neece Mr. & Mrs. Geoffrey B. Newton Dr. Thomas D. Nichols David G. Nussman Pat & Sarah Olfers Ms. Dianne Padgett Mr. & Mrs. Robert Page Katherine & Jonathan Palmer Girija & Anant Patel Kusum & K. Cody Patel Mr. & Mrs. Raul Pavon Mr. Thomas C. Platt Darla & Chip Purchase Mr. & Mrs. David Pustka Mr. & Mrs. Cris Pye Mr. & Mrs. Henry Rachford Andrea & Dr. Albert E. Raizner Shirley & Marvin Rich Dr. & Mrs. Richard Robbins Drs. Alex & Lynn Rosas Gina & Saib Saour Ms. Caroline Schmidt Dr. Paulina Sergot & Dr. Theo Shybut

Ms. Leslie Siller Hinda Simon Molly Simpson Dr. & Mrs. John Slater Mr. Brinton Averil Smith & Ms. Evelyn Chen Rebeca & Chad Spencer Richard & Mary Spies Walter O. Stanford Georgiana Stanley Mr. & Mrs. Karl Strobl Dr. & Mrs. Van W. Teeters Georgeta Teodorescu Ann Trammell Dr. & Mrs. Gage Van Horn Ms. Barbara Van Postman Ms. Jana Vander Lee Mr. & Mrs. Robinson Vu Dean B. Walker Mr. & Mrs. David Walstad Mr. & Mrs. Douglas Walt Ms. Nancy Ames & Mr. Danny Ward Mr. & Mrs. Benjamin Warren Mr. & Mrs. Richard T. Weiss Ms. Joann E. Welton Mr. & Mrs. Tony Williford Doug & Kay Wilson Mr. & Mrs. Thomas H. Wilson Ms. Jennifer R. Wittman Jerry S. & Gerlind Wolinksy Mr. & Mrs. David J. Wuthrich Dr. & Mrs. Frank S. Yelin Anonymous (3)

Mrs. Jeanette Coon & Mr. Thomas Collins Jacquelyn & Kevin Coronado Mr. & Mrs. Collin Cox Crystal & Mike Cox Cynthia & Robert Creager Brian & Leah Del Signore Ms. Elisabeth DeWitts Amanda & Adam Dinitz Mike & Debra Dishberger Charles Dishman Jennifer & Steve Dolman Mr. & Mrs. James P. Dorn Mr. & Mrs. B.J. Ducey Emily Duncan Drs. Rosalind & Gary Dworkin Mr. & Mrs. David Dybell Mr. & Mrs. Edward N. Earle Mr. & Mrs. Gary Edwards Annette & Knut Eriksen Mr. & Mrs. J. Richard Espinosa Sally Evans & Brian Rodgers Paula & Louis Faillace Christine Falgout - Island Operating Co., Inc. Jo Lynn & Gregg Falgout / Island Operating Company Mr. & Mrs. Nijad I. Fares Barbara Dokell & Larry Finger Mr. Jonathan Fischer Mr. & Mrs. Harvey O. Fleisher Patrick & Jeannine Flynn Michelle & Deane Foss Mrs. Aggie L. Foster Carol & Larry Fradkin Elizabeth & Ralph Frankowski Mr. & Mrs. Christopher Frautschi Mr. & Mrs. Phil Frederickson Mrs. Karl Gautschi Mr. & Mrs. Neil Gaynor

Joan M. Giese Mr. & Ms. Robert W. Goldman Ms. Paula Goldstein Dr. John Gomez & Dr. Cora Mihu Mr. Allen Goodling Dr. & Mrs. Bradford S. Goodwin Jr. Kathy & Marty Goossen Julianne & David Gorte Alexandra & Daniel Gottschalk Rebecca & Andrew Gould Jeff Graham Timothy & Janet Graham Kendall & Pauline Gray Mr. & Mrs. Joe Greenberg Mr. & Mrs. Charles H. Gregory Mr. Robert M. Griswold Claudio Gutierrez Mr. & Mrs. Don H. Haley Mr. & Mrs. William R. Hamm Mr. & Mrs. Franklin J. Harberg Jr. Mr. Michael Heath Mr. & Mrs. William T. Heller IV Mr. & Mrs. Richard M. Hicks Jeannette & Brodrick Hill Susan Hodge & Mike Stocker Mr. Robert Hoff Jarod Hogan Dr. Holly Holmes & Mr. Paul Otremba Mr. & Mrs. John Homier Mickie & Ron Huebsch Mr. & Mrs. Robert Humphries Arlene J. Johnson Kurt Johnson & Colleen Matheu Ms. Sheila K. Johnstone Mr. & Mrs. Thorro Jones Dr. & Mrs. Robert Jordon Sara Kelly Mr. David O. Kem & Mrs. Judith L. Raines Mr. & Mrs. John Kemper

Rex & Marillyn King Mr. & Mrs. Thomas C. Knudson Lucy & Victor Kormeier Ann & Sam Koster Connie Kwan-Wong Nashat Latib & Vin Kumar Ms. Joni Hartgraves Latimer John & Suzy Lattin Gary T. Leach Julie Van & Joshua Lee Gerrit Leeftink Dr. & Mrs. Morton Leonard Jr. Mr. & Mrs. Robert Leonard Drs. Golda Anne & Robert Leonard Mr. & Mrs. Barry I. Levine Mr. William W. Lindley Mr. & Mrs. Arthur Littell Dr. & Mrs. James R. Lloyd Cynthia & Richard Loewenstern Ms. Sylvia Lohkamp Ms. Marilyn Maloney & Mr. Paul F. Longstreth Mr. & Mrs. Bob J. Lunn Ms. Nancy Ann Mann Ms. Barbara Manna Mrs. Linda Massie Catherine & Matt Matthews Linda & Jim McCartney Charyn McGinnis Mr. & Mrs. Rob McKee Mr. & Mrs. Lance McKnight Ms. Jennifer McLaughlin Doug & Sarah McMurrey Ashley McPhail Dinah & Danny Mei Mr. & Mrs. Arnold M. Miller Mr. & Mrs. Thomas L. Molloy Ms. Marsha L. Montemayor Mr. & Mrs. Marvin H. Mueller Cliff Nash & Dr. Lee Bar-Eli

$1,500-$2,499

Joan & Stanford Alexander Mr. & Mrs. J. D. Bucky Allshouse Dr. Hesham M. Amin & Dr. Lara Ferrario Pat & John Anderson Carol Ann & Bill Anderson Michael Arlen John Arnsparger & Susan Weingarten Mr. Jeff Autor Jerry Axelrod Mr. & Mrs. Samih Baaklini Dr. Saul & Ursula Balagura Ms. Jacqueline Baly Dr. & Mrs. William S. Banks III James Barton Mr. & Mrs. Bill Benitez Mr. & Mrs. Philippe Berteaud Mr. & Mrs. Ron Bertus Mr. & Mrs. Stephen Bickel Nina Delano & Wirt Blaffer George & Florence Boerger Drs. Desmond & Tiffany Bourgeois Ting & John Bresnahan Mr. Chester Brooke & Dr. Nancy Poindexter Dr. & Mrs. Fred Buckwold Mr. & Mrs. Raul Caffesse Mr. & Mrs. Joseph L. Campbell Jr. Mrs. Mary Ann Carrico Mr. Steve Carroll & Ms. Rachel Dolbier Mr. F. Martin Caylor Helen Chen Ms. Barbara A. Clark William J. Clayton & Margaret A. Hughes Dr. & Mrs. Alfred C. Coats Jimmy & Lynn Coe Mr. & Mrs. William V. Conover II Mr. & Mrs. Michael F. Cook

50 | Houston Symphony

Our DONORS continued Dr. D. Patricia Nelson Richard & Stella Guerra Nelson Leslie & John Niemand Joy & Gary Noble Mr. & Mrs. Anthony J. Nocella Courtney & Jose Obregon Mr. & Mrs. John Oehler Mr. & Mrs. John Ogren Mrs. Kay Onstead John Onstott Valerie J. Sherlock Mr. & Mrs. Marc C. Paige Ms. Martha Palmer George & Elizabeth Passela Peter & Nina Peropoulos Ms. Darla P. Phillips Mr. Andrew A. Pidgirsky Ms. Erin Pikoff Ms. Linda Posey Rosemin Premji Mr. & Mrs. Gary Prentice Roland & Linda Pringle Mrs. Dana Puddy Mr. & Mrs. David Pursell Judy & Bill Pursell Patrick T. Quinn Venu & Elsie Rao

Clinton & Leigh Rappole Mr. Serge G. Ribot Mr. & Mrs. John T. Riordan Mr. & Mrs. Jim Roach Mr. James L. Robertson Doug Williams & Janice Robertson Mr. Floyd W. Robinson Mrs. Evie Ronald Rosemarie & Jeff Roth William J. Rovere & Kathi F. Rovere Mr. & Mrs. Gregory Rozenfeld Mr. Morris Rubin Kent Rutter & David Baumann Mr. & Mrs. John Ryder Ahmed Saleh Harold H. Sandstead, M.D. Mr. & Mrs. Raymond E. Sawaya Mr. Lawrence Schanzmeyer Liana & Andrew Schwaitzberg Charles & Andrea Seay Mr. Victor E. Serrato Mr. & Dr. Adrian D. Shelley Art & Ellen Shelton Justin & Caroline Simons Barbara & Louis Sklar Mr. & Mrs. Samuel Smiley Mr. Hilary Smith & Ms. Lijda Vellekoop

Sherry Snyder Michelle Stair Richard P. Steele & Mary J. McKerall Mr. & Mrs. James R. Stevens Mr. & Dr. J. Michael Stinson Mr. & Mrs. Robert W. Stone Mr. & Mrs. Nick Stratigakis Mr. & Ms. William Strong Mr. Clifford A. Swanlund Jr. Jonathan & Susan Symko Stephen A. Tew, M.D. Mr. & Mrs. Steven M. Theede Jean & Doug Thomas Ms. Susan L. Thompson Eric & Carol Timmreck Nanako & Dale Tingleaf Joel Towner Ms. Justine Townsend Shilpa Trivedi Dan C. & Kimberly Tutcher Jovon Tyler Mr. & Mrs. Duane Utecht Susan J. & Gary W. Valka Mr. & Mrs. Donn K. Van Arsdall Mr. & Mrs. Alexander Van Veldhoven Ms. Elise Wagner H. Richard Walton

Alton & Carolyn Warren Beth Weidler & Stephen James Dede & Connie Weil Mr. Michael Weir & Mrs. Melanie Ford Weir Dr. & Mrs. Brad Wertman Tom & Jackie Wilcox Charline & Bill Wilkins Gene & Sandra Williams Loretta & Lawrence Williams Alice Gates & Wayne Wilner Mr. & Mrs. Keith Young Mr. R. Brent Young & Ms. Sue Schwartz Mr. & Mrs. Charles Zabriskie Anonymous (7) *Deceased For a list of Young Associates Council Members, please see page 53.

The Houston Symphony thanks the 4,104 donors who gave up to $1,500 over the past year. To note any errors or omissions, please contact Tiffany Bourgeois, Development Associate, Annual Fund at 713.337.8559.

Education & Community Engagement DONORS The Houston Symphony acknowledges those individuals, corporations and foundations that support our education and community engagement initiatives. Each year, these activities impact the lives of more than 97,000 children and students and provide access to our world-class orchestra for more than 150,000 Houstonians free of charge.

Principal Guarantor $250,000+



John & Lindy Rydman / Spec’s Wines, Spirits & Finer Foods / Spec’s Charitable Foundation

Guarantor

$100,000+



BBVA Compass Ms. Marie Taylor Bosarge City of Houston through the Miller Theatre Advisory Board Houston Endowment Houston Symphony Endowment Mr. John N. Neighbors

Underwriter $50,000+



Cameron International Corporation Chevron The Elkins Foundation ENGIE Exxon Mobil Corporation The Hearst Foundations, Inc. League of American Orchestras' Futures Fund Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo The John P. McGovern Foundation Occidental Petroleum Corporation Mr. & Mrs. William K. Robbins Jr./ The Robbins Foundation Shell Oil Company The Robert & Janice McNair Foundation

Sponsor



$25,000+

The Boeing Company Mr. & Mrs. John P. Dennis III/ WoodRock & Co. The Powell Foundation Sterling-Turner Foundation Wells Fargo

Partner



$15,000+

Anadarko Petroleum Corporation Ruth and Ted Bauer Family Foundation The Melbern G. and Susanne M. Glasscock Foundation H-E-B Tournament of Champions The Newfield Foundation Mr. Jay Steinfeld & Mrs. Barbara Winthrop Texas Commission on the Arts Ellen A. Yarrell in memory of Virginia S. Anderson and in honor of Cora Sue Mach

Supporter



$10,000+

CenterPoint Energy George & Mary Josephine Hamman Foundation Houston Symphony League Nancy & Robert Peiser TPG Capital Vivian L. Smith Foundation

Benefactor



$5,000+

Houston Symphony League Bay Area LTR Lewis Cloverdale Foundation Macy’s Marathon Oil Corporation Nordstrom Randalls Food Markets Strake Foundation

Donor



$1,000+

Lilly & Thurmon Andress Diane & Harry Gendel Kinder Morgan Foundation Robert W. & Pearl Wallis Knox Foundation Lillian Kaiser Lewis Foundation Cora Sue & Harry Mach Karinne & Bill McCullough Tricia & March Rauch Hazel French Robertson Education & Community Residency

Support by Endowed Funds Education and Community programs are also supported by the following endowed funds, which are a part of the Houston Symphony Endowment: Margarett & Alice Brown Endowment Fund for Education Spec’s Charitable Foundation Salute to Educators Concert Fund The Brown Foundation's Miller Outdoor Theatre Fund in honor of Hanni & Stewart Orton The William Randolph Hearst Endowed Fund for Education Programs Lawrence E. Carlton, M.D. Endowment Fund for Youth Programs Richard P. Garmany Fund for Houston Symphony League Concerto Competition Houston Symphony Ima Hogg Competition Endowed Fund Selma S. Neumann Fund

Support for Symphony Scouts Cora Sue & Harry Mach in honor of Roger Daily’s 13 years of service as Director of the Houston Symphony’s Education and Community Programs

Support for the Community-Embedded Musician Initiative The Community-Embedded Musicians Initiative is supported in part by a generous grant from the American Orchestras' Future Fund, a program of the League of American Orchestras made possible by funding from the Ann & Gordon Getty Foundation.

The Houston Symphony residency at Crespo Elementary is presented

by BBVA Compass and the BBVA Compass Foundation. We are also thankful to HISD and these lead supporters of the CommunityEmbedded Musician program: Robert and Janice McNair Foundation Medistar National Endowment for the Arts Spec’s Wines, Spirits and Finer Foods / Spec’s Charitable Foundation Nancy & Robert Peiser Mr. Jay Steinfeld & Mrs. Barbara Winthrop H-E-B Tournament of Champions LTR Lewis Cloverdale Foundation

InTUNE — September 2017 | 51

Corporate, Foundation & Government PARTNERS The Houston Symphony is proud to recognize the leadership support of our corporate, foundation and government partners that allow the orchestra to reach new heights in musical performance, education and community engagement for Greater Houston and the Gulf Coast Region.

For more information on becoming a foundation or government partner, please contact Mary Beth Mosley, Director, Institutional Giving and Stewardship, at 713.337.8521 or marybeth.mosley@houstonsymphony.org.

For more information on becoming a Houston Symphony corporate donor, please contact Leticia Konigsberg, Director, Corporate Relations, at 713.337.8522 or leticia.konigsberg@houstonsymphony.org.

CORPORATE PARTNERS Principal Corporate Guarantor  $250,000 and above *Spec’s Wines, Spirits & Finer Foods / Spec’s Charitable Foundation Grand Guarantor  $150,000 and above BBVA Compass ConocoPhillips *Houston Public Media— News 88.7 FM; Channel 8 PBS *KTRK ABC-13 Phillips 66 *Oliver Wyman Guarantor  $100,000 and above Bank of America Chevron *Houston Methodist Medistar Corporation PaperCity *Rand Group, LLC *Telemundo *United Airlines Underwriter  $50,000 and above *Baker Botts L.L.P. *BB&T Cameron International Corporation *Cameron Management *Dignity Memorial Funeral Homes and Cemetaries ENGIE *The Events Company Exxon Mobil Corporation Frost Bank Houston Baptist University

(as of August 1, 2017)

Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo *Jackson and Company Kirkland & Ellis LLP The Lancaster Hotel Mann Eye Institute Occidental Petroleum Corporation Palmetto Partners Ltd./The Robert and Janice McNair Foundation Shell Oil Company Vinson & Elkins LLP Sponsor  $25,000 and above Bank of Texas The Boeing Company *Bright Star *Bulgari Enterprise Product Partners L.P. *Gittings Goldman, Sachs & Co. *Houston Chronicle *Houston First Corporation JPMorgan Chase Kalsi Engineering KPMG LLP Marine Foods Express, Ltd. McGuireWoods, LLP *Neiman Marcus Northern Trust Norton Rose Fulbright Sidley Austin LLP *Silver Circle Audio SPIR STAR, Ltd. The University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center Wells Fargo WoodRock & Co.

CORPORATE MATCHING GIFTS Aetna Aon Apache Corporation Bank of America BBVA Compass BHP Billiton The Boeing Company BP Foundation Caterpillar

52 | Houston Symphony

Partner  $15,000 and above Accenture Anadarko Petroleum Corporation *City Kitchen *Glazier’s Distributors Gorman’s Uniform Service Halliburton H-E-B Tournament of Champions Heart of Fashion Independent Bank Laredo Construction, Inc. Locke Lord LLP Lockton Companies of Houston The Newfield Foundation Republic National Distributing Company, LLP USI Southwest Supporter  $10,000 and above *Abraham’s Oriental Rugs *Agua Hispanic Marketing CenterPoint Energy Emerson Enbridge Energy Company EOG Resources *Silver Eagle Distributors Star Furniture *Zenfilm

Plains All American *Randalls Food Markets Russell Reynolds Associates, Inc. Spectra Energy *University of St. Thomas Wortham Insurance and Risk Management Patron  Gifts below $5,000 Adolph Locklar, Intellectual Property Law Firm Amazon Baker Hughes Bering's Beth Wolff Realtors Burberry Dolce & Gabbana USA, Inc. Intertek Kinder Morgan Foundation Lisle Violin Shop Quantum Bass Center* SEI, Global Institutional Group Smith, Graham & Company Stewart Title Company TAM International, Inc. The Webster * Includes in-kind support

Benefactor  $5,000 and above Barclay’s Wealth and Investment Management Beck Redden LLP Louis Vuitton Macy's Nordstrom Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, L.L.P.

(as of August 1, 2017)

Chevron Chubb Group Coca-Cola ConocoPhillips Eli Lilly and Company EOG Resources Exxon Mobil Corporation Freeport – McMoRan Oil & Gas General Electric

General Mills Goldman, Sachs & Company Halliburton Hewlett-Packard Houston Endowment IBM ING Financial Services Corporation KBR Merrill Lynch

NAACO Industries, Inc. Neiman Marcus Northern Trust Occidental Petroleum Corporation Phillips 66 Shell Oil Company Union Pacific Williams Companies, Inc.

FOUNDATIONS & GOVERNMENT AGENCIES Diamond Guarantor  $1,000,000 and above Houston Symphony Endowment Houston Symphony League The Wortham Foundation, Inc. Premier Guarantor  $500,000 and above The Brown Foundation, Inc. City of Houston and Theater District Improvement, Inc. Albert and Ethel Herzstein Charitable Foundation The C. Howard Pieper Foundation Grand Guarantor  $150,000 and above City of Houston through the Miller Theatre Advisory Board The Cullen Foundation The Cullen Trust for the Performing Arts Guarantor  $100,000 and above Houston Endowment MD Anderson Foundation

Underwriter  $50,000 and above The Elkins Foundation The Fondren Foundation The Hearst Foundations Houston Symphony Chorus Endowment League of American Orchestras' Futures Fund The Humphreys Foundation LTR Lewis Cloverdale Foundation John P. McGovern Foundation The Robert and Janice McNair Foundation / Palmetto Partners Ltd. The Robbins Foundation Sponsor  $25,000 and above Beauchamp Foundation Ray C. Fish Foundation Ann & Gordon Getty Foundation The Powell Foundation Sterling-Turner Foundation Texas Commission on the Arts

(as of August 1, 2017) Partner  $15,000 and above Ruth & Ted Bauer Family Foundation The Melbern G. & Susanne M. Glasscock Foundation The Hood-Barrow Foundation Houston Symphony League Bay Area William S. and Lora Jean Kilroy Foundation National Endowment for the Arts The Vaughn Foundation Supporter  $10,000 and above The Carleen & Alde Fridge Foundation Petrello Family Foundation Radoff Family Foundation The Schissler Foundation The Vivian L. Smith Foundation Anonymous

Benefactor  $5,000 and above William E. & Natoma Pyle Harvey Charitable Foundation The Scurlock Foundation Keith & Mattie Stevenson Foundation Strake Foundation Patron  Gifts below $5,000 The Cockrell Foundation Diamond Family Foundation First Junior Woman’s Club of Houston The Helmle-Shaw Foundation Huffington Foundation Leon Jaworski Foundation Lillian Kaiser Lewis Foundation Robert W. & Pearl Wallis Knox Foundation The Lubrizol Foundation State Employee Charitable Campaign

Young Associates COUNCIL The Houston Symphony’s Young Associates Council is a philanthropic membership group for young professionals, music aficionados and performing arts supporters interested in exploring symphonic music within the confines of Houston’s flourishing artistic landscape. YAC members are afforded exclusive opportunities to participate in musically focused events that take place not only in Jones Hall, but also in the city’s most sought-after venues, private homes and friendly neighborhood hangouts. From behind-the-scenes interactions with the musicians of the Houston Symphony to jaw-dropping private performances by world-class virtuosos, the Houston Symphony’s Young Associates Council offers incomparable insight and accessibility to the music and musicians that are shaping the next era of orchestral music.

Young Associate Premium Farida Abjani Ann & Jonathan Ayre James M. Bell Ganesh Betanabhatla Eric Brueggeman David Chambers & Alex Steffler Darrin Davis & Mario Gudmundsson

Young Associate





$2,500 or more

Valerie Palmquist Dieterich & Tracy Dieterich Amanda & Adam Dinitz Vicky Dominguez Terry Everett & Eric Cheyney Jennifer & Joshua Gravenor Mandi Hunsicker-Sallee Kiri & Jeffrey Katterhenry

Brian McCulloch & Jeremy Garcia Sami & Jud Morrison Melissa L. Nance Tim Ong & Michael Baugh Toni Oplt & Ed Schneider Kusum & K. Cody Patel Dr. Paulina Sergot & Dr. Theo Shybut

Tony Shih – Norton Rose Fulbright Molly Simpson Rebeca & Chad Spencer Drs. Ishwaria & Vivek Subbiah Georgeta Teodorescu Candace & Brian Thomas

$1,500 - $2,499

Dr. Genevera Allen & Michael Weylandt Michael Arlen Drs. Laura & William Black Drs. Tiffany & Desmond Bourgeois Sverre & Carrie Brandsberg-Dahl Divya & Chris Brown Helen Chen Jacquelyn & Kevin Coronado Crystal & Mike Cox Nina Delano & Wirt Blaffer Jennifer & Steve Dolman Emily Duncan

Christine Falgout – Island Operating Co., Inc. Kimberly Falgout – Island Operating Co., Inc. Mark Folkes & Christopher Johnston Alexandra & Daniel Gottschalk Rebecca & Andrew Gould Jeff Graham Claudio Gutierrez Jarod Hogan Monica & Burdette Huffman Kurt Johnson & Colleen Matheu

Shamika Johnson – Van Cleef & Arpels Stacy & Jason Johnson Sara Kelly Connie Kwan-Wong Dr. Nashat Latib & Dr. Vinodh Kumar Joshua Lee & Julie Van Gerrit Leeftink Catherine & Matt Matthews Charyn McGinnis Ashley McPhail Shane Miller Cliff Nash & Dr. Lee Bar-Eli

Courtney & Jose Obregon Girija & Anant Patel Rosemin Premji Brooke & Nathaniel Richards Ahmed Saleh Liana & Andrew Schwaitzberg Justin & Caroline Simons Michelle Stair Carol Tai Joel Towner Dr. Shilpa Trivedi Jovon Tyler Elise Wagner

The Young Associates Council is supported in part by BB&T. For more information, please contact: Liam Bonner, Development Officer, Individual Giving, 713.337.8536.

InTUNE — September 2017 | 53

Houston Symphony ENDOWMENT The Houston Symphony Endowment is a separate nonprofit organization that invests contributions to earn income for the benefit of the Houston Symphony Society.

TRUSTEES Alexandra Pruner, President Gene Dewhurst

James Lee Jerry Simon

William J. Toomey II Fredric A. Weber

An endowed fund can be permanently established within the Houston Symphony Society through a direct contribution or via a planned gift such as a bequest. The fund can be designated for general purposes or specific interests.

For more information, please contact: Patrick T. Quinn, Director, Planned Giving, 713.337.8532, patrick.quinn@houstonsymphony.org GENERAL ENDOWMENT FUNDS



to support operational and annual activities

Accenture (Andersen Consulting) Fund AIG American General Fund M.D. Anderson Foundation Fund Mr. & Mrs. Philip Bahr Fund Janice H. & Thomas D. Barrow Fund Mrs. Ermy Borlenghi Bonfield Fund Jane & Robert Cizik Fund Mr. Lee A. Clark Fund Cooper Industries, Inc. Fund Gene & Linda Dewhurst Fund DuPont Corporation Fund Elkins Charitable Trust Agency Fund The Margaret & James A. Elkins Foundation Fund Virginia Lee Elverson Trust Fund Charles Engelhard Foundation Fund William Stamps Farish Fund Dr. Kelli Cohen Fein & Martin J. Fein Fund Stephen & Mariglyn Glenn Fund Jo A. & Billie Jo Graves Fund

DESIGNATED FUNDS



George & Mary Josephine Hamman Foundation Fund Dr. Gary L. Hollingsworth & Dr. Ken Hyde Fund Houston Arts Combined Endowment Fund Drs. M.S. & Marie-Luise Kalsi Fund Mr. & Mrs. Marvin Kaplan Fund Ann Kennedy & Geoffrey Walker Fund Martha Kleymeyer Fund Rochelle & Max Levit Fund Mr. E. W. Long Jr. Fund Mr. & Mrs. Rodney H. Margolis Fund Jay & Shirley Marks Fund Mr. & Mrs. J. Stephen Marks Fund/ The Marks Charitable Foundation Marian & Speros Martel Foundation Fund Barbara & Pat McCelvey Fund The Menil Foundation Fund Monroe Mendelsohn Jr. Estate Sue A. Morrison & Children Fund National Endowment for the Arts Fund

to support annual performance activity

The Brown Foundation Guest Pianist Fund The Cullen Foundation Maestro’s Fund General & Mrs. Maurice Hirsch Memorial Concert Fund in memory of Theresa Meyer and Jules Hirsch, beloved parents of General Maurice Hirsch, and Rosetta Hirsch Weil and Josie Hirsch Bloch, beloved sisters of General Maurice Hirsch The Houston Symphony Chorus Endowment Fund

ENDOWED CHAIRS

to attract, retain and support world-class conductors, musicians, guest artists and executive leadership 

Janice & Thomas Barrow Chair Brinton Averil Smith, principal cello Roy & Lillie Cullen Chair Andrés Orozco-Estrada, music director Fondren Foundation Chair Qi Ming, assistant concertmaster General Maurice Hirsch Chair Aralee Dorough, principal flute Ellen E. Kelley Chair Eric Halen, co-concertmaster Max Levine Chair George P. & Cynthia Woods Mitchell Chair Mark Hughes, principal trumpet Tassie & Constantine S. Nicandros Chair Alexander Potiomkin, bass clarinet Lucy Binyon Stude Chair Jonathan Fischer, principal oboe Winnie Safford Wallace Chair Margaret Alkek Williams Chair Mark C. Hanson, Executive Director/CEO

ENDOWED FUNDS

 to attract, retain and support world-class conductors and guest artists American General Fund Speros P. Martel Fund Stewart Orton Fund Dan Feigal Prosser Fund

54 | Houston Symphony

Stewart Orton Fund Papadopoulos Fund Nancy & Robert Peiser Fund Rockwell Fund, Inc. Fund Mr. & Mrs. Clive Runnells Fund Estate of Mr. Walter W. Sapp Fund Mr. & Mrs. Matt K. Schatzman Fund The Schissler Foundation Fund Mr. & Mrs. James A. Shaffer Fund Mr. & Mrs. William T. Slick Jr. Fund Texas Eastern Fund Dorothy Barton Thomas Fund Bobby & Phoebe Tudor Fund Mr. & Mrs. Jesse B. Tutor Fund Dede & Connie Weil Fund The Wortham Foundation Fund Anonymous (5)

Fayez Sarofim Guest Violinist Fund through The Cullen Trust for the Performing Arts The Wortham Foundation Classical Series Fund endowed in memory of Gus S. & Lyndall F. Wortham

 to support annual education and community engagement activities Margarett & Alice Brown Endowment Fund for Education Ronald C. Borschow Fund Lawrence E. Carlton, M.D. Endowment Fund for Youth Programs Richard P. Garmany Fund for the Houston Symphony League Concerto Competition The William Randolph Hearst Endowed Fund for Education Programs Selma S. Neumann Fund Spec’s Charitable Foundation Salute to Educators Concert Fund  to support new commissions and innovative artistic projects The Micajah S. Stude Special Production Fund

to support access and expand geographic reach The Alice & David C. Bintliff Messiah Concert fund for performances at First Methodist Church The Brown Foundation’s Miller Outdoor Theatre Fund in memory of Hanni and Stewart Orton Mach Family Audience Development Fund George P. & Cynthia Woods Mitchell Summer Concerts Fund 

 to support electronic media initiatives The Cullen Trust for the Performing Arts Fund for Creative Initiatives

to support the Ima Hogg Competition Nancy B. Willerson Mr. & Mrs. C. Clifford Wright Jr. 

to support piano performance Mary R. Lewis Fund for Piano Performance C. Howard Pieper Foundation 

LEGACY COMMITMENTS

 through The Brown Foundation Challenge to support artistic excellence Janet F. Clark Gloria Goldblatt Pryzant Mr. & Mrs. Jesse B. Tutor Legacy Society Chair Wayne Brooks, principal viola Ms. Vicki West in honor of Hans Graf Anonymous (1)

LEADERSHIP GIFTS OF WORKING CAPITAL

provided as part of the Campaign for the 20th Century, Campaign for Houston Symphony and My Houston, My Symphony—Campaign for a Sound Future Hewlett Packard Company Fund The Robert and Janice McNair Foundation Neva Watkins West Fund Gift in memory of Winifred Safford Wallace for the commission of new works



CHORUS ENDOWMENT DONORS  $500 or more Stephen & Mariglyn Glenn A. Ann Alexander Robert Lee Gomez Janice Barrow Eldo Bergman, Mr. & Mrs. Terry L. Henderson Family Literacy Network, Inc. Beth Weidler & Stephen James Nobuhide Kobori Mr. & Mrs. Daniel Chavanelle Natalia Rawle Nancy & Walter Bratic Gabriel & Mona Rio Roger & Debby Cutler Steve Dukes Mr. & Mrs. Douglas Rodenberger

Ms. Carolyn Rogan Michael J. Shawiak Susan L. Thompson Mr. & Mrs. Frederic A. Weber David G. Nussmann Anonymous (2)

Sustainability FUND The Houston Symphony pays special tribute to the 137 donors who made transformational gifts to complete the Sustainability Fund.

On December 31, 2015, the Houston Symphony celebrated an extraordinary achievement: the completion of a five-year, $15 million Sustainability Fund, which has transformed the orchestra’s financial position. The Symphony was able to close out the campaign thanks to challenge grant funds totaling $1,050,000 provided by Bobby & Phoebe Tudor, Cora Sue & Harry Mach, Janice Barrow, Steve & Joella Mach and Robert & Jane Cizik. The Ciziks provided the final $500,000 to allow the Symphony to reach its $15 million Sustainability Fund goal.

Houston Endowment Estate of Jean R. Sides Bobby & Phoebe Tudor Ms. Marie Taylor Bosarge Janice Barrow Margaret Alkek Williams Jane & Robert Cizik

Clare Attwell Glassell Mrs. Kitty King Powell* The Cullen Foundation The Cullen Trust for the Performing Arts The Brown Foundation, Inc. Cora Sue & Harry Mach The Wortham Foundation, Inc.

John & Lindy Rydman / Spec’s Wines, Spirits & Finer Foods / Spec’s Charitable Foundation MD Anderson Foundation Joella & Steven P. Mach Mr. & Mrs. Jesse B. Tutor

Barbara J. Burger Ron Franklin & Janet Gurwitch The Joan & Marvin Kaplan Foundation Carol & Michael Linn & The Michael C. Linn Family Foundation Barbara & Pat McCelvey Estate of Mary Ann Holloway Phillips Sybil F. Roos Steven & Nancy Williams Robin Angly & Miles Smith

Gary & Marian Beauchamp Laura & Michael Shannon Mr. & Mrs. Philip A. Bahr Nancy & Walter Bratic Janet F. Clark Linda & Gene Dewhurst Bert & Joan Golding Mr. & Mrs.* Robert M. Griswold Marilyn & Robert Hermance C. Howard Pieper Foundation

Tad & Suzanne Smith Alice & Terry Thomas Shirley W. Toomim Janet & Tom Walker

Capital INVESTMENTS Beauchamp Foundation Miller Outdoor Theatre

Sound Shell ceiling and Portativ organ Berlioz bells Orchestra synthesizer Adam's vibraphone Small percussion and other instruments The Fondren Foundation Miller Outdoor Theatre Sound Shell Ceiling Albert & Ethel Herzstein Charitable Foundation Enhancements to Jones Hall Video System

*Deceased

The Houston Symphony thanks the generous donors who, since 2012, have made possible infrastructure additions to further enhance the sound and quality of our orchestral performances.

Houston Symphony League Steinway Concert Grand Piano and Instrument Petting Zoo Ms. Nancey G. Lobb Piccolo Timpano LTR Lewis Cloverdale Foundation Lyons & Healy Harp Vicky & Michael Richker Family Adolfo Sayago, Orquestas

Sybil F. Roos Rotary Trumpets Silver Circle Audio Enhancements to Jones Hall Recording Suite Beverly Johnson, Ralph Wyman and Jim Foti, and Thane & Nicole Wyman in memory of Winthrop Wyman Basset Horns and Rotary Trumpets Mr. & Mrs. Charles Zabriskie Conductor’s Podium

InTUNE — September 2017 | 55

This past June, the Houston Symphony Chorus completed a highly successful series of concerts in the Czech Republic. In this Backstage Pass, Chorus Manager Anna Diemer takes you behind the scenes of one of their performances.

When I accepted the offer to become Manager of the Houston Symphony Chorus, I never imagined that in two short years I would be in Prague with my fellow singers. Yet there I was, enjoying the mild summer weather and admiring the majestic medieval castle rising above the city.

The Houston Symphony Chorus was invited to sing with the Prague Symphony Orchestra for its seasonclosing program, which featured the Te Deum by Antonín Dvořák and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.

Citizens of the Czech Republic take great pride in their musical heritage, and we were delighted to learn several months before our departure that all three of our performances were sold out.

At our first rehearsal with the orchestra in Smetana Hall, I ogled the pink marble and magnificent Art Nouveau chandeliers that adorn the lobby. The acoustics of the hall matched its decor—as we began the choral movement of Beethoven’s Ninth, the warm, rich sound of the cellos and basses resonated beautifully throughout the hall. At that moment, I truly recognized what an honor it was to be singing with a renowned European orchestra in a historic hall, whose walls had heard the echoes of Beethoven’s Ninth hundreds of times before.

The night of our first performance, we walked to the hall together in a conspicuous parade of black gowns and tuxedos. As we filed onstage, the audience clapped from the appearance of the very first singer until the very last assumed his place. I was 56 | Houston Symphony

exhilarated as soon as I heard the opening triplets of the timpani in Dvořák’s Te Deum, which is one of my favorite choral-orchestral works. The Chorus embodied the wildly joyful spirit of the piece with ease—we had made it to Prague, and we were singing Czech music with a Czech orchestra! I could not stop grinning during the finale, as the majestic brass fanfare leads the listener up to the gates of heaven.

During the final movement of Beethoven’s Ninth, the hall fell into a rapt silence at the first, quiet statement of the “Ode to Joy” theme. When the full Chorus chimed in with the theme, many Chorus members were moved to tears. Maestro took a blistering pace for the ending Presto section. It’s one of the most thrilling moments in the classical canon as excitement builds and erupts within the chorus and orchestra. The audience applauded for a full four minutes as the Maestro, Betsy and the soloists were all presented with flowers.

At our farewell dinner, toasts were made to celebrate our successful tour. I know many of the singers shared a transformational musical experience that strengthened the bonds within the group. I am excited to share a glimpse of Prague with the Houston Symphony when we perform Dvořák’s Te Deum again this month, and I look forward to the next adventure that brings our voices and our hearts together.

Learn more about the Chorus's performance of Dvořák's Te Deum on page 34.

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