Long before audiences were forced to stay home, the Houston orchestra was deep into streaming. Long before anyone heard of “flattening the curve,” Houston’s ROCO was ahead of the curve. With the Covid-19 pandemic forcing Americans to seek entertainment and cultural enrichment on the Internet, the potential — and necessity — of streaming…
River Oaks CO achieves liftoff with premiere of celestial erhu concerto | Texas Classical Review
River Oaks CO achieves liftoff with premiere of celestial erhu concerto Mon Feb 10, 2020 at 11:42 am By Steven Brown When the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra commissioned Kevin Lau to write a concerto for erhu, the two-stringed Chinese instrument, he sidestepped the obvious approach. Rather than seek inspiration in the music or culture of…
ROCO’s Debut Album Visions Take Flight Earns Grammy Nod | Houston Press
ROCO isn’t playing around — and they’ve got the street cred to prove it. Fresh off releasing its debut album, Visions Take Flight, ROCO’s recording producer Blanton Alspaugh earned a nomination from Grammy voters in the “Producer of the Year, Classical” category. The album was conducted by the Houston-based chamber orchestra’s artistic partner Mei-Ann Chen, and the gratitude marks Alspaugh’s ninth nomination in the category and his 22nd nomination overall.
ROCO’s Newest Premiere Shows Life’s Thorns And Roses | Houston Press
History isn’t always so rosy, but it tends to bend toward hope…The Holocaust is no exception to this record, and it provided the backdrop for ROCO’s upcoming concert Hope for Beauty.
Alecia Lawyer: The Importance of Taking an Entrepreneurial Approach to Your Art – Unmistakable Creative | The Unmistakable Creative
Alecia Lawyer is the Founder, Artistic Director and Principal Oboe at Roco, a professional music ensemble with players across the US and Canada. Alecia joins us for this discussion to walk us through her inspiring journey of graduating from Julliard, owning a studio of 8 students to finally becoming the founder of a professional music ensemble.
River Oaks Chamber Orchestra’s Season Opener Brings Out Powerhouse Music Backers | PaperCity Magazine
Following the orchestra’s opening concert, “Time for Hope,” more than 260 guests moseyed to the country club ballroom where members of the orchestra were seated at each table, making for musically-inspired dinner conversation.
Personal struggles of five women provide spark for River Oaks Chamber Orchestra’s Time for Hope concert | Houston Chronicle
In an age when advocacy has revolutionized female empowerment, ROCO travels back in time to give voice to the voiceless — generations of women who lived largely unheard and largely unknown.
ROCO Rocks Classical Music, World Premieres In 15th Season Kickoff | Houston Press
The month of September heralds the start of a new arts season, speckled with fresh interpretations of older shows as well as never before seen or heard new works.
Classical Music CD Reviews: ROCO’s “Visions Take Flight,” Nordic Affect’s “He(a)r,” and “John Cage: Guitar.”
Visions Take Flight is one of those rarest of accomplishments: a contemporary music album that’s a sheer joy to listen to, from start to finish. Nordic Affect’s concept album manages to make and leave a strong emotional impact
ARTISTIC PARTNERS, NEW WORKS, AND HISTORIC MUSICAL MOMENTS: HOUSTON’S ROCO AT 15 | Arts and Culture TX
STEVEN BROWN, APRIL 30, 2019 Photo: ROCO in Concert: Queen of Hearts, Nov. 2018; Mei-Ann Chen, conducting. Photo by Blueprint Film Co. Don’t hold your breath waiting for Houston’s River Oaks Chamber Orchestra (ROCO) to anoint a conductor as its music director. Being player-driven is in ROCO’s DNA. But founder-oboist Alecia Lawyer wants to bring in…
ROCO to perform game-changing brass piece | Houston Chronicle
A game player has three responsibilities: Gobble up the dots. Travel through the maze. Avoid the ghosts…Although the arcade game, released in 1980, wasn’t the inspiration for Chicago-based composer James Stephenson when creating “Chase Sequence,” it’s certainly a fitting analogy, particularly when Houston’s River Oaks Chamber Orchestra will perform the piece Saturday in a concert that closes its “Unchambered” series in a season titled “Games People Play.”
A Chamber Piece So Difficult, the Composer Says It’s Too Hard for Him to Play | Houstonia
COMPOSER JAMES STEPHENSON wrote “Chase Sequence” for the United States Marine Band’s brass quintet about eight years ago. He had the idea that the piece would start out with an energetic start from a trumpet, with the other instruments following each other quickly through the music. River Oaks Chamber Orchestra’s brass quintet presents the piece to cap off its Unchambered series. With “Chase Sequence,” they’re highlighting a contemporary work, as well as classical jazz pieces.
