By Kristin Wolfe Jensen ROCO Principal Bassoon This summer, I am enjoying a chance to catch up on family time while planning ahead for the next school year at the University of Texas at Austin and bassoon reed making. Life as a music professor and performer during the school year does not fit neatly into a…
Summer Adventures: Suzanne LeFevre
By Suzanne LeFevre ROCO Associate Artistic Director & Violist I feel like the luckiest person in the world. For three months, I pack my husband, my dog and 50 bags of clothing plus shoes into my Chevy Equinox and hit the road in search for music and food adventures. Because the two — tunes and…
ROCOrooters
ROCOrooters is our popular music education/childcare program for kids between 2 months (after their first set of shots) and 10 years. The program runs during and after concerts at The Church of St. John the Divine. Kids enjoy fun music and concert etiquette instruction, a trip into the concert hall (for ages 5-10), and an…
The ROCO Story
The ROCO Story Known as “the most fun you can have with serious music”, ROCO was founded in 2005 by oboist and Juilliard graduate, Alecia Lawyer. After multiple experiences in other start up musical organizations, she saw the need for a sustainable model that would focus on authentic connections between musicians and audience. Drawing on…
Don’t miss this opportunity to make a difference in 2014!
As the end of 2014 approaches, this is a perfect opportunity to make direct, tax-free transfers to ROCO directly from your IRA. On December 19th, President Obama reinstated a law, H.R. 5771, the “Tax Increase Protection Act of 2014”, allowing you to make a beneficial gift to ROCO directly from your IRA until December 31, 2014.…
Thomas Hultén: Walk With Me
I got the idea for this program a few years ago when I realized that if I wanted a piano part for Ray Steadman-Allen’s piece “Immortal Theme – Suite for Trombone” I had to write it myself. The only available version was for trombone and brass band. I had first heard this piece as a teen-ager in Sweden, performed by…
Making Jabberwocky
The Commission In early 2014 I was approached by The River Oaks Chamber Orchestra founder Alecia Lawyer to compose an original work for ROCO’s November concert series. Alecia had familiarized herself with several of my previous compositions and felt I would be well suited to write a piece in a similar vein. Fantasy is a…
Listen to Alecia Preview our Tenth Season Opener
By St.John Flynn, September 24th, 2014 Alecia Lawyer founded the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra, or ROCO as it’s affectionately known, 10 years ago. The orchestra is celebrating its 10th anniversary with its fullest season yet, one that includes a larger chamber music series, collaborations with other arts organizations, and four new world première commissions…
Outside the Practice Room: Reflections from a ROCO Intern
By Bridget Kinneary, ROCO Intern Bridget Kinneary is a rising senior at the Eastman School of Music. She is working on a double major in Viola Performance and Music Education. Bridget is also enrolled in Eastman’s Arts Leadership Program. She served as a ROCO Intern during the summer of 2014. Being a student of music…
Road Trip with François, Kristin and Alastair
By Jason Stephens, ROCO librarian As ROCO’s orchestra librarian, I find and order all the music that ROCO plays in their full chamber orchestra concerts . . . And occasionally, I get some obscure requests that are a little harder to find. Last year, Alecia and Kristin Wolfe Jensen approached me about finding a bassoon…
No, the conductor is not sick!
By Aloysia Friedmann We have indeed planned to play ROCO Celebrates Austria-Conductorless! without a conductor at the helm. The River Oaks Chamber Orchestra started the idea of a performing one “conductor-less” concert per year in 2007, our third season. “Why?” you might ask… When a conductor leads an orchestra, the members of the orchestra are…
Making Music in Cuba
By Tammy Linn, violin I performed “The Train Song” at a September salon concert for members of the Founding Consortium, along with expert help from ROCO bassist Erik Gronfor and train whistler Suzanne Lyons (aka the ROCO Cookie Lady). I had contemplated whether or not to program “The Train Song” for this particular soiree, fearful…
