InTUNE The Houston Symphony Magazine
Ben Rector: Symphonies Across America with Jon McLaughlin
September 4, 2026
ORCHESTRA ROSTER Juraj Val!uha
Steven Reineke, Principal POPS Conductor
Music Director Roy and Lillie Cullen Chair
FIRST VIOLIN Yoonshin Song, Concertmaster Max Levine Chair Vacant, Associate Concertmaster Ellen E. Kelley Chair Boson Mo, Assistant Concertmaster Qi Ming, Assistant Concertmaster Fondren Foundation Chair Tong Yan Ferenc Illenyi Si-Yang Lao Christopher Neal Sergei Galperin Annie Kuan-Yu Chen Han Xie Samantha Washecka SECOND VIOLIN Vacant, Principal Vacant, Associate Principal Amy Semes Mihaela Frusina Jing Zheng Anastasia Iglesias Tina Zhang* Yankı Karata! Hannah Duncan Alexandros Sakarellos VIOLA Joan DerHovsepian, Principal Wei Jiang, Acting Associate Principal Samuel Pedersen, Assistant Principal Paul Aguilar Sheldon Person Fay Shapiro Keoni Bolding Jimmy Cunningham CELLO Brinton Averil Smith, Principal Janice H. and Thomas D. Barrow Chair Christopher French, Associate Principal Jane and Robert Cizik Chair Anthony Kitai Louis-Marie Fardet Jeffrey Butler Maki Kubota Xiao Wong Charles Seo Jeremy Kreutz DOUBLE BASS Robin Kesselman, Principal Timothy Dilenschneider, Associate Principal Andrew Pedersen, Assistant Principal Eric Larson Logan May Burke Shaw Donald Howey Avery Weeks COMMUNITY-EMBEDDED MUSICIAN Lindsey Baggett, Violin LIBRARIANS Ali Verderber, Associate Librarian Megan Fisher, Assistant Librarian
Andrés Orozco-Estrada, Conductor Laureate Gonzalo Farias, Associate Conductor
FLUTE Kayla Burggraf, Principal General Maurice Hirsch Chair Matthew Roitstein, Associate Principal Judy Dines Kathryn Ladner* PICCOLO Kathryn Ladner* OBOE Jonathan Fischer, Principal Lucy Binyon Stude Chair Anne Leek, Associate Principal Adam Dinitz Pablo Moreno+ ENGLISH HORN Adam Dinitz Barbara and Pat McCelvey Chair CLARINET Mark Nuccio, Principal Bobbie Nau Chair Vacant, Associate Principal Christian Schubert Alexander Potiomkin Ben Freimuth+ E-FLAT CLARINET Ben Freimuth+ BASS CLARINET Alexander Potiomkin BASSOON Rian Craypo, Principal Isaac Schultz, Associate Principal Elise Wagner Adam Trussell
TRUMPET Mark Hughes, Principal George P. and Cynthia Woods Mitchell Chair John Parker, Associate Principal Richard Harris TROMBONE Nick Platoff, Principal Bradley White, Associate Principal Phillip Freeman BASS TROMBONE Phillip Freeman TUBA Dave Kirk, Principal TIMPANI Leonardo Soto, Principal Matthew Strauss, Associate Principal PERCUSSION Vacant, Principal Mark Griffith Matthew Strauss HARP Allegra Lilly, Principal KEYBOARD Wesley Ducote, Principal LIBRARIAN Luke Bryson, Principal
CONTRABASSOON Adam Trussell HORN William VerMeulen, Principal Mr. and Mrs. Alexander K. McLanahan Endowed Chair Robert Johnson, Associate Principal Nathan Cloeter, Assistant Principal/Utility Ian Mayton Barbara J. Burger Chair Brian Mangrum Spencer Bay+
*on leave + contracted substitute
STAGE PERSONNEL José Rios, Assistant Stage Manager Nicholas DiFonzo, Head Video Engineer Justin Herriford, Head Audio Engineer Connor Morrow, Head Stage Technician Giancarlo Minotti, Audio Production Manager
PERFORMANCE CALENDAR 2026-27 season
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Ben Rector: Symphonies Across America with Jon McLaughlin September 4
Mozart’s Jupiter & JIJI October 16, 17* & 18 Dolly Parton’s Threads: My Songs in Symphony October 30, November 1
How to Train Your Dragon in Concert September 5 & 6 Fiesta Sinfónica September 18
Haunted Halloween October 31 S
Opening Night: Celebrating America at 250 September 19
Shostakovich’s Ninth Symphony & Yoonshin Song November 6, 7* & 8
Simply the Best: A Tribute to Tina Turner September 25 & 26*
La Vida Loca November 21 & 22*
Rachmaninoff Festival: Rachmaninoff’s Second Symphony October 2, 3* & 4
Thanksgiving Weekend: Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 7 & Shéhérazade November 27, 28* & 29
Rachmaninoff Festival: Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 October 9, 10* & 11
Classical Series
Bank of America POPS Series
Disney Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas in Concert Live-to-Film October 31
See our full year calendar for even more concerts!
PNC Family Series
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Summer & Specials
Chamber Series
*Performance livestreamed
2026–27 SEASON
SOCIETY BOARD OF TRUSTEES OFFICERS Barbara McCelvey President
Barbara J. Burger Immediate Past President
John Rydman** Board Chair Chair, Artistic & Orchestra Affairs
Mike S. Stude** Chair Emeritus Paul Morico General Counsel
Jonathan Ayre Secretary Chair, Finance
Gary Ginstling^ Executive Director/CEO Margaret Alkek Williams Chair
Janet F. Clark^ Immediate Past Chair
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Brad W. Corson Chair, Governance & Leadership
Ed Schneider Chair, Development
Juraj Val!uha^ Music Director Roy and Lillie Cullen Chair
Carey Kirkpatrick Chair, Marketing & Communications
Robert Orr Chair, Strategic Planning
Joan DerHovsepian^ Musician Representative
Jesse B. Tutor** Chair, Audit
Mark Hughes^ Musician Representative
Jerre Williams^ President, Houston Symphony League
Jeremy Kreutz^ Musician Representative
Evan B. Glick Chair, Popular Programming Sippi Khurana, M.D. Chair, Education & Community Engagement Mary Lynn Marks Chair, Volunteers & Special Events
James H. Lee^ President, Houston Symphony Endowment
Steven P. Mach At-Large Member Bobby Tudor** At-Large Member Gretchen Watkins At-Large Member
Mark Nuccio^ Musician Representative
GOVERNING DIRECTORS Gary Beauchamp Eric Brueggeman MK Campion John Cassidy, M.D. Khoa Dao Lidiya Gold
David J. M. Key David Krieger Paul Leach Cindy Levit Isabel Stude Lummis Cora Sue Mach**
Rodney Margolis** Meredith Marshall Leslie Nossaman David Peavy Chris Powers Brittany Sakowitz
Ed Schneider Justin Stenberg William J. Toomey II Betty Tutor** Robert Weiner Margaret Alkek Williams**
TRUSTEES Christopher Armstrong David Balderston David J. Beck Carrie Brandsberg-Dahl Nancy Shelton Bratic Terry Ann Brown** Ralph Burch John T. Cater** Robert Chanon Heaven Chee Michael H. Clark Virginia Clark Andrew Davis, Ph.D. Denise Davis Tracy Dieterich Kelli Cohen Fein Jeffrey B. Firestone Eugene A. Fong Aggie L. Foster
Kate Dearing Fowler Aoife French Carolyn Gaidos Andrew Gould Lori Harrington Pablo Hernandez SchmidtTophoff Jeff Hiller Grace Ho Gary L. Hollingsworth John W. Hutchinson Brian James Matthew Kades Lilia Khakimova I. Ray Kirk, M.D. Matthew Loden Kirby Lodholz Michael Mann, M.D. Nancy Martin
Jack Matzer Jackie Wolens Mazow Diane K. Morales Tim Ong Edward Osterberg Jr. Kusum Patel Gloria G. Pryzant Miwa Sakashita Andrew Schwaitzberg Helen Shaffer** Becky Shaw Michael Silliman Jim R. Smith Miles O. Smith** Quentin Smith Tad Smith Anthony Speier Tina Raham Stewart Terry Thomas
Nanako Tingleaf Margaret Waisman, M.D. Fredric A. Weber Vicki West Steven J. Williams David J. Wuthrich Ellen A. Yarrell Robert Yekovich
FOUNDATION FOR JONES HALL REPRESENTATIVES Janet F. Clark Brad W. Corson As of August 26, 2026
Barbara McCelvey
EX-OFFICIO Alejandro Gallardo Reverend Ray Mackey, III Frank F. Wilson IV
Fredric Weber ^Ex-Officio **Lifetime Trustee
LEADERSHIP GROUP Gary Ginstling, Executive Director/CEO Margaret Alkek Williams Chair Elizabeth S. Condic, Chief Financial Officer Vicky Dominguez, Chief Operating Officer Rolanda Gregory, Chief Marketing Officer Jennifer Renner, Chief Development Officer Mayenne Minuit, Executive Assistant DEVELOPMENT Leanna Aldis, Manager, Foundation Relations Sarah Ansell, Director of Special Events Sarah Bhalla, Board Relations Associate Grace Blando, Development Officer Lauren Buchanan, Development Communications Manager Alex Canales, Manager, Donor Services Isabel Cook, Development Associate, Annual Giving & Membership Jessie De Arman, Development Associate, Gifts, Records, & Research Timothy Dillow, Senior Director, Individual Giving Amanda T. Dinitz, Director, Principal Gifts & Endowment Kamra Kilmer, Manager, Corporate Relations Karyn Mason, Institutional Giving Officer Hadia Mawlawi, Endowment & Planned Giving Officer Gavin Reed, Major Gifts Officer Tim Richey, Major Gifts Officer Katie Salvatore, Director, Annual Giving & Membership Phillip Smith, Special Events and League Liaison Officer Lena Streetman, Director, Development Operations Sarah Thompson, Donor Events Manager Christina Trunzo, Director, Institutional Giving EDUCATION | COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT Olivia Allred, Education Manager Allison Conlan, Senior Director, Education & Community Engagement Austin Hinkle, Education & Community Engagement Coordinator Jazmine Olwalia, Community Engagement Manager Marilyn Ralston, DeLUXE K!ds Site Manager Community-Embedded Musicians (CEM): Lindsey Baggett, Lead CEM Lucinda Chiu, CEM Teaching Artist David Connor, Senior CEM Teaching Artist Emil De Veyra, CEM Teaching Artist Bensen Kwan, CEM Education Specialist Brittany Leavitt, CEM Teaching Artist Bianca Lozano, CEM Teaching Artist Adrian Ponce, CEM Teaching Artist Lauren Ross, CEM Teaching Artist Jaya Varma, CEM Teaching Artist
FINANCE | ADMINISTRATION | IT | HR José Arriaga, Systems Engineer Henry Cantu, Finance Accountant Kimberly Cegielski, Staff Accountant Heather Fails, Database Administrator Ronin Jackson, IT Intern Joel James, Director of Human Resources Tanya Lovetro, Director of Budgeting & Financial Reporting Freddie Piegsa, Help Desk Technician Morgana Rickard, Controller Gabriela Rivera, Senior Accountant Pam Romo, Office Manager/HR Coordinator Lee Whatley, Senior Director, IT & Analytics MARKETING | COMMUNICATIONS Bryan Ayllon, UX & Conversion Specialist Rachel Cheng, Marketing & External Relations Assistant Bella Cutaia, Manager, Patron Services Kathryn Judd, Director, Marketing Priya Kurup, Senior Associate, Group Sales Caroline Lawson, Patron Services Representative Yoo-Ell Lee, Graphics & Media Designer Milow Lozano, Ticketing Systems & Marketing Operations Specialist Ciara Macaulay, Creative Director Ashley Martinez, Patron Services Coordinator Mariah Martinez, Email Marketing Coordinator Alexander McKeveny, Performance Marketing Specialist Casey Pearce, Graphic Design Manager Aracely Quevedo, Patron Services Representative Nadjalie Santos, Front of House Coordinator Eric Skelly, Senior Director, Communications Christian Sosa, Web Experience Director Alexa Ustaszewski, Manager, Revenue and Audience Insights Sophie Volpe, Digital Content Specialist Leecia Whatley, Patron Services Representative Jenny Zuniga, Director, Patron Services OPERATIONS | ARTISTIC Stephanie Alla, Associate Director of Artistic Planning Becky Brown, Associate Director of Orchestra Personnel Juan Pablo Brand, Artistic Assistant and Assistant to the Music Director Megan Fisher, Assistant Librarian Julia Hall, Assistant Director, Houston Symphony Chorus Parker Hart, Concert Operations Manager Adrian Hernandez, Concert Media Production Manager Brian Miller, Director of Orchestra Personnel Giancarlo Minotti, Audio Production Manager José Rios, Assistant Stage Manager Brad Sayles, Senior Recording Engineer Ali Verderber, Associate Librarian Meredith Williams, Director of Concert Operations Rebecca Zabinski, Senior Director of Artistic Planning
September 4, 2026
Ben Rector: Symphonies Across America with Jon McLaughlin Steven Reineke, conductor *Ben Rector, guitar and vocalist *Jon McLaughlin, piano and vocalist *Jared Kneale, percussion Program to be announced from stage There will be an intermission *Houston Symphony debut
About the Music Friday, September 4
Jones Hall
7:30 p.m.
and Ben Folds, amongst others. In 2024, he led the NSO on PBS’s Next at the Kennedy Center featuring Ben Folds DeClassified with Jacob Collier, Laufey, and dodie. He was previously seen with the NSO on PBS’s Great Performances with hip-hop legend Nas performing his seminal album Illmatic. Reineke is the conductor on Ben Folds Live with The National Symphony Orchestra and William Shatner’s So Fragile, So Blue with The National Symphony Orchestra. In November 2025, Reineke was joined on the podium by NFL legend Marshawn Lynch, who visited the Houston Symphony ahead of Thursday Night Football, for a conducting tutorial featured in his Amazon Prime show, ‘N Yo’ City.
ensemble compositions are published by the C.L. Barnhouse Company and are performed by concert bands perennially.
Program Bios
Steven Reineke, conductor Meredith & Ben Marshall, sponsor
Steven Reineke is one of North America’s leading conductors of popular music. He is the Principal POPS Conductor of the Houston Symphony and Toronto Symphony Orchestra; Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor of the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts; and he is in his second decade as Music Director of The New York Pops at Carnegie Hall. Reineke is a frequent guest conductor and can be seen on the podium with the Chicago, Philadelphia, and Detroit Symphony Orchestras. On stage, Reineke creates and collaborates with a range of leading artists in hip-hop, R & B, Broadway, television, and rock including Killer Mike, Maxwell, Common, Kendrick Lamar, Nas, Ne-Yo, Bob Weir, Trey Anastasio, Barry Manilow, Cynthia Erivo, Ben Rector, Cody Fry, Sutton Foster, Amos Lee, Dispatch, Jason Mraz,
Reineke is the creator of hundreds of orchestral arrangements and his works are performed worldwide and can be heard on numerous Cincinnati Pops Orchestra recordings. His symphonic works Celebration Fanfare, 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 pieces Festival Te Deum and Swan’s Island Sojourn were debuted by the Cincinnati Symphony and Cincinnati Pops Orchestras. His numerous wind
A native of Ohio, Reineke is a graduate of Miami University of Ohio (2020 Alumnus Distinguished Achievement Medal) where he earned Bachelor of Music degrees with honors in both trumpet performance and music composition.
Ben Rector, guitar and vocalist Fifteen years after starting his career writing songs and touring in his Honda Accord on the weekends, Ben Rector found himself at home and at the piano in March 2020. The alchemy of life’s big questions, more downtime than he had had in a decade, and those now all-too-familiar “unprecedented times” resulted in his career album: The Joy of Music. The project includes a breathtaking short film (featuring seven songs brought to life with
Program Bios stunning cinematography), inviting listeners and viewers to visit a dream world that communicates Rector’s creative process and his reckoning with his job as an artist. He is led through the film’s chapters by his new friend Joy, a muppet monster he created with Jim Henson’s Creature Shop. In this fantastic and dream-like landscape we see and hear Rector overcome a deep-seated fear of failure, dancing and singing his way through the journey of rediscovering the joy of music. Ben Rector has amassed more than a billion streams across all platforms, has performed on numerous late night and morning TV shows—including Conan, The Today Show, Jimmy Kimmel, Live with Kelly and Ryan, and The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade— and has been a celebrity mentor on American Idol alongside Ryan Tedder, Jewel, Brian McKnight, Jason Aldean, and more. His records have topped numerous Billboard charts, with his last two records landing at #1 on Billboard’s US Folk and #2 on Billboard’s US Rock and US Indie charts. Rector has built a dedicated touring base, regularly selling out theaters and amphitheaters across the country, including three consecutive nights at the legendary Ryman Auditorium in Nashville.
Jon McLaughlin, piano and vocalist Indiana-born singer-songwriter and pianist Jon McLaughlin first broke out with his 2007 debut Indiana, earning fans through heartfelt songwriting, virtuosic piano work, and unforgettable live shows. Since then, he has toured with Billy Joel, Kelly Clarkson, and Adele; collaborated with Sara Bareilles and Demi Lovato; and even performed at the Academy Awards. His newest album, Scenarios (October 2025), marks a bold new chapter, featuring brand-new songs that showcase both his storytelling and signature pianodriven sound.
Juraj Valčuha, Music Director
Jones Hall – 615 Louisiana Street houstonsymphony.org