InTUNE
Halloween Silent Film Double Feature
The Rocky Horror Picture Show
your symphony experience
JONES HALL
Since the opening of Jones Hall in 1966, millions of arts patrons have enjoyed countless musical and stage performances at the venue. Dominating an entire city block, Jones Hall features a stunning travertine marble facade, 66-foot ceilings, and a brilliantly lit grand entrance. Jones Hall is a monument to the memory of Jesse Holman Jones, a towering figure in Houston during the first half of the 20 th century.
CONCERT DISRUPTION
We strive to provide the best possible auditory experience of our world-class orchestra. Noise from phones, candy wrappers, and talking is distracting to the performers on stage and those around you. Please help us make everyone’s concert enjoyable by silencing electronic devices now and remaining quiet during the performance.
FOOD & DRINK POLICY
The Encore Café and in-hall bars are open for Symphony performances, and food and drink will be permitted in bar areas. Food is not permitted inside the auditorium. Patrons may bring drinks into the auditorium for Bank of America POPS Series concerts and Symphony Specials. Drinks are not permitted inside the auditorium for Classical concerts.
LOST & FOUND
For lost and found inquiries, please contact Patron Experience Coordinator Lien Le during the performance. She also can be reached at lien.le@houstonsymphony.org. You may contact Houston First after the performances at 832.487.7050
ETIQUETTE
For Classical concerts, if a work has several movements it is traditional to hold applause until the end of the last movement. If you are unsure when a piece ends, check the program or wait for the conductor to face the audience. If you feel truly inspired, however, do not be afraid to applaud!
CHILDREN
Children ages six and up are welcome to all Classical, Bank of America POPS, and Symphony Special concerts. Children of all ages are welcome at PNC Family Series performances. Children must have a ticket for all ticketed events.
LATE SEATING
Each performance typically allows for late seating, which is scheduled in intervals and determined by the conductor. Our ushers and Patron Experience Coordinator will instruct you on when late seating is allowed.
TICKETS
Subscribers of five or more concerts may exchange their tickets at no cost. Tickets to Symphony Specials or single ticket purchases are ineligible for exchange or refund. If you are unable to make a performance, your ticket may be donated prior to the concert for a tax-donation receipt. Donations and exchanges may be made in person, over the phone, or online.
THANK YOU to our sponsors
CALENDAR 2024 –25 SEASON
Ain’t No Mountain High Enough: The Music of Motown
September 28 & 29
Bohemian Rhapsody Festival: Bohemian Rhapsodies
September 29
Opening Weekend: Dvořák’s New World
October 4, 5 & 6
Trifonov in Concert
October 10
Dvořák’s Violin Concerto
October 12 & 13
Halloween Silent Film Double Feature
October 25
Rocky Horror Picture Show
October 26
Hansel and Gretel & Don Quixote
November 1, 2 & 3
It Don’t Mean a Thing: Swingin’ Uptown Classics with Byron Stripling
November 8, 9 & 10
Clap your hands, say yeah!
The Great American Music Adventure
November 9
Michael Tilson Thomas Conducts Beethoven 9
November 14
Disney Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas in Concert
November 16 & 17
Bach, Mozart & Brahms
November 23 & 24
Thanksgiving Weekend: Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto
November 29, 30 & December 1
Vienna Calling Festival: Passport to Vienna
December 1
Swingin’ Christmas with Houston Jazz Orchestra
December 3
A Viennese Waltz Christmas
December 7 & 8
Yo-Yo Ma in Concert
December 9
Very Merry Pops
December 12, 14 & 15
Holly Jolly Holiday
December 14
Handel's Messiah
December 20, 21 & 22
Joyful Fanfares: Holiday Brass Spectacular
December 22
Mariachi Sol De Mexico de Jose Hernandez presents: Jose Hernandez’ Merry-Achi Christmas
December 23
Pink Martini with China Forbes: 30th Anniversary Season
January 3, 4 & 5
An Eschenbach & Bruckner
Birthday Celebration
January 11 & 12
Killer Mike & The Mighty Midnight Revival
January 16
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban™ in Concert
January 18 & 19
Beethoven’s Violin Concerto & Tchaikovsky
January 24, 25 & 26
Viva Italia! Opera Beyond Words
February 7 & 9
Duke Bluebeard’s Castle
February 15 & 16
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back in Concert
February 21 & 22
007: James Bond Forever
February 28, March 1 & 2
Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Missing Maestro
March 1
Hilary Hahn Plays Brahms
March 7, 8 & 9
Korngold’s Violin Concerto & Cinderella
March 14, 15 & 16
Fairytales Festival: Fairy Tale Fantasy
March 16
Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody & The Little Mermaid
March 21, 22 & 23
Showstoppers! Celebrating Iconic Women of Broadway
April 4, 5 & 6
La Flor: The Music of Selena
April 12 & 13
Sibelius 5 & Stravinsky
April 18 & 19
Cirque Rocks!
April 25, 26 & 27
Cirque For Kids
April 26
Beethoven 7 & Mozart
May 1, 3 & 4
Trumpet Brilliance & Boléro
May 9, 10 & 11
Stayin’ Alive: The Bee Gees & Beyond
May 16, 17 & 18
Chamber Music: Musician Showcase
May 18
Bruce Liu Plays Chopin
May 23, 24 & 25
Juraj Valčuha Conducts Mahler 3
May 30, 31 & June 1
John Williams & Steven Spielberg: Movie Magic
June 6, 7 & 8
Halloween silent film double feature
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and The Phantom of the Opera
Brett Miller, organist
About the Music
Friday, October 25
Program Insight
Jones Hall
7:00 p.m.
It’s hard to imagine a time when cinema made no sound. Nowadays, snappy dialogue, evocative audio design, original scores, and catchy songs are vital parts of the cinematic arts. But from the dawn of motion pictures around 1895 to the late 1920s, when technological advances made synchronized sound recording possible, filmmakers relied on caption cards, flamboyant gestures, and accompaniment by live musicians to enhance the viewer’s comprehension and enjoyment.
Early on, the music used to accompany silent films was borrowed from existing sources, mainly classical scores, pop songs, and vaudeville catalogs. By the 1910s, compendiums of mood music for cinematic use, called “photoplay albums,” began to appear, allowing musicians and small ensembles to grab music suited to what they saw on the screen.
In the most sumptuous and well-equipped movie palaces, the musician tasked to keep pace with new films was a house organist. It stands to reason: what other instrument could place so many awesome sonic possibilities into the hands of a single performer, who could respond instantly to whatever the film on screen might require?
During silent film’s heyday in the late ’10s and early ’20s, most movie houses included a theater pipe organ. Such instruments, like the standard-setting “Mighty Wurlitzer,” were a common and crucial part of the filmgoing experience. That flourishing industry ended around 1930, after which such instruments largely fell into disrepair or were taken into churches and private homes. But since 1955, when the American Theatre Organ Society was founded, artists have taken the lead in reviving and preserving a unique entertainment experience.
Tonight, you’ll hear one of the youngest practitioners of this remarkable art form, Brett Miller, a finalist in the American Theatre Organ Society’s Young Organist Competition, accompanying two of the most celebrated horror films of all time. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Robert Wiene’s supremely eerie 1920 tale of mesmerism and mayhem, set global standards with its uncanny visual design, while Rupert Julian’s 1925 version of The Phantom of the Opera showcased an indelible performance by Lon Chaney, silent cinema’s “Man of 1,000 Faces.” The striking visuals and heightened mood of both films is ideally suited to the kind of extravagant fantasy a talented organist like Brett can provide. —Steve Smith
Program Bio
Brett Miller, organist
As one of the youngest in a rare art form, Brett Miller is an active organist, conductor, and arranger who specializes in the art of silent film accompaniment. As an award-winning organist, Brett has continued his academic involvement and advocacy for the education and preservation of silent films through performing “live to picture.” In 2021, he was appointed music director of the Empire Film and Media Ensemble, a non-profit based in Rochester, New York, that advocates for the education, performance, and production of film music. He was recently appointed artistic director of the organization. Brett shares a close relationship between the ensemble and the Beal Institute of Film Contemporary Media at the Eastman School of Music.
His recent scores have been recorded with organizations such as the Eye Filmmuseum, the Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau Foundation, Kino Lober Classics, and Milestone Films. He has been featured at various film festivals and has played events in conjunction with film preservationists from the Library of Congress and George Eastman House. In 2023, Brett played to a
sold-out performance of Nosferatu at Marian Anderson Hall in conjunction with the Philadelphia Orchestra.
Season highlights include performances with the Houston Symphony, the Boston Pops, the Great Auditorium at Ocean Grove, Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall, and the Historic Colonial Theater.
Brett studied organ with renowned organist Jelani Eddington and piano with Beth Crompton and Joseph Rackers of the Eastman School of Music. He studied film accompaniment with Ben Model and Bernie Anderson.
A native of Bedminster, Pennsylvania, Brett is an alumnus of the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra Institute. He currently studies at the Eastman School of Music pursuing his masters in orchestral conducting with Neil Varon.
The Rocky Horror Picture Show
48TH ANNIVERSARY SPECTACULAR TOUR
Featuring the Original "Magenta" Patricia Quinn With Special Shadow Cast, The Sisterhood of Lili St. Cyr.
About the Music
Saturday, October 26
Program Insight
Jones Hall
7:30 p.m.
We’re routinely transported to places long ago and far away by means of the concert hall—but when’s the last time you literally did the “Time Warp” from the comfort of your seat in Jones Hall? During tonight’s very special Halloween-season event you’ll get to do just that, when the Houston Symphony showcases one of the most celebrated cult films of all time, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, in the presence of one of its most iconic stars, actress Patricia Quinn.
The story of this unlikely cultural phenomenon takes us back to 1973, when British actor and musician Richard O’Brien introduced The Rocky Horror Show, a kitschy, catchy stage musical about a young engaged couple, Brad Majors and Janet Weiss, encountering a cross-dressing mad scientist, Dr. Frank-N-Furter, and his retinue of singing, dancing Transylvanians. Featured in that original London cast were Tim Curry as the deliciously decadent doctor, O’Brien as the eerie butler Riff Raff, and Quinn as his sister, the mysterious, worldly maid Magenta.
The 1975 film version, directed by Jim Sharman, preserved much of the original London cast, adding the freshfaced young American performers Barry Bostwick and Susan Sarandon as Brad and Janet. The Rocky Horror Picture Show initially met with extremely negative critical reception. But in April 1976, the film entered the midnight movie circuit, which catered to counter-cultural offerings… and a phenomenon was born, complete with audience members dressing in detailed costumes, carrying props, shouting salty responses at the screen, and generally cavorting to O’Brien’s classic rock & roll earworms.
Remarkably, today The Rocky Horror Picture Show has earned both a devoted cult following and the genuine distinction of being the longest-running film in history. And in 2005, the film was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Film Registry, a status reserved for films deemed “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”
Significance notwithstanding, The Rocky Horror Picture Show is assuredly a cult phenomenon whose campy glamor and oversize love for B-movie horror and science fiction won’t sway every viewer. But for anyone who’s ever felt like an estranged outsider, weirdo, or misfit, the movie and its fandom represent a chosen family united by an O’Brien mantra: “Don’t Dream It, Be It.”
So c’mon…let’s do the “Time Warp” again! —Steve Smith
Program Bio
Patricia Quinn, Magenta
Patricia Quinn, Lady Stephens (born 28 May 1944) is an actress and singer from Northern Ireland.
She is best known for her role as Magenta in the 1975 film The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and the original stage play from which it was adapted. She appeared as Dr. Nation McKinley in the 1981 film Shock Treatment. In 2012, Quinn played the role of Megan in The Lords of Salem.
Quinn was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, to James Connolly Quinn, a book-maker, and his wife Rebecca. She attended the Princess Gardens Grammar School, where she developed an early talent for acting. Following stints at Belfast's Arts Theatre and British Drama League, she left for London aged 17. In 1969, she trained at the Drama Centre London while simultaneously working as a blackjack-dealing Bunny at the Playboy Club in Mayfair. In 1971, she was in repertory for six months with the Citizens Theatre in Glasgow.
Quinn is known primarily for her role as Magenta in The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975). In the film's opening title sequence, the movements of her disembodied lips are synchronised with the lyrics of the title song, "Science Fiction/ Double Feature" (the singing voice is
that of scriptwriter and actor Richard O'Brien). She played Elizabeth Siddal in the 1975 miniseries "The Love School.” In I, Claudius (1976), she took the role of the Emperor Claudius's sister Livilla. She also played Isla in The Professional s episode "Look After Annie" in 1978. Her other film and TV roles include the semi-sequel to The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Shock Treatment. She played "Woman" in Hawk the Slayer (1980). She appeared in the Hammer House of Horror episode "Witching Time" as Lucinda Jessop (1981), Monty Python's The Meaning of Life (1983), and the 1987 Doctor Who serial “Dragonfire.” Her latest film credit is Rob Zombie's The Lords of Salem (2012).
In 2000, Quinn recorded the song "Guts To Dream" with London-based band The Grand. The song was due to form part of an EP titled Open Displays of Affection, but the group had disbanded before it was released. Quinn gave a copy of the unreleased CD to the winner of a Magenta costume contest at The Rocky Horror Picture Show 25th Anniversary Convention in Las Vegas.
In 2002, she returned to Doctor Who, playing an alien queen in the audio play Bang-Bang-a-Boom!. In September 2006, she relaunched her career as a DJ and club kitten, hosting the monthly "ClubMyra" night at various venues in Central London. In April 2007, she joined Patrick Wolf at a concert in London, singing "Accident and Emergency."
In October 2008, Quinn made a guest appearance in a production of The Rocky Horror Picture Show in New York City, participating in a question-and-answer session as well as unexpectedly performing "Science
Fiction/Double Feature." She attended a Rocky Horror Picture Show convention in Atlantic City, New Jersey in July 2011, answering questions as well as introducing a performance of the show, staged at the House of Blues. In May 2013, she served as the honorary Master of Ceremonies for a Rocky Horror Picture Show performance at the Dallas-based Texas Frightmare Weekend horror convention. That same month, she was the guest of honor at a 40 th Anniversary Tribute Concert to the original Rocky Horror Show stage production, hosted at the Victoria Theatre in San Francisco, California by local drag celebrity Peaches Christ. During the tribute conference, Quinn performed "Science Fiction/Double Feature," answered questions on stage with Christ, and signed autographs for the audience.
Quinn has a son, Quinn Hawkins, from her first marriage, to Don Hawkins. Her nephews are Jonny Quinn and Bradley Quinn, Jonny is the drummer of the alternative rock band Snow Patrol, and Bradley the photographer.
In January 1995, Quinn married the actor Sir Robert Stephens, who died in November that year. Quinn thus became the stepmother of Toby Stephens and Chris Larkin, Stephens' two actor sons from his previous marriage to Maggie Smith. Quinn had previously appeared alongside Sir Robert in the BBC TV adaptation of The Box of Delights (1984) in the role of Sylvia Daisy Pouncer, and had played his onscreen wife in the serial Fortunes of War (1987). The elder Stephens had been knighted prior to his death, giving Quinn the title of Lady Stephens.
Juraj Valčuha, Music Director