ROCO Honors Centennial of Julia Ideson Library with Unchambered Performance, Featuring Harpist Laurie Meister and World Premiere by Master of the King’s Music, composer Errollyn Wallen

Pictured: Laurie Meister, Julia Ideson Library, Errollyn Wallen

HOUSTON, TX – ROCO continues its Season 21 Unchambered Series with Music in the Era of Ideson, an intimate performance by ROCO principal harpist Laurie Meister, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the historic Julia Ideson Building, an iconic Houston landmark. The concert takes place at 5:00 PM on Saturday, February 28, 2026.

The library’s anniversary is highlighted in a newly commissioned world premiere by acclaimed British composer and Master of the King’s Music, Errollyn Wallen, titled 1492, 1493, and the Toledo School of Translators. Sponsored by the Houston Public Library Foundation, the new work serves as a musical homage to the library’s extensive collection of murals, which were painted by women artists employed by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) during the Great Depression. Intersecting music, art, and history, ROCO aims to capture the enduring spirit of resilience that defined the era and that has been preserved within the library’s walls.

“We are delighted to kick off the celebration of the Julia Ideson Building’s Centennial with ROCO,” stated Nick Sawicki, executive director of the Houston Public Library Foundation. “Libraries are a place where stories are told and music is an important way in which those stories are shared.”

In addition to Wallen’s piece, Meister has curated a collection of early 20th-century music for harp, violin, and cello to be performed with fellow ROCO musicians Eva Burmeister, violin and Shino Hayashi, cello. In honor of Julia Ideson and her namesake Houston Public Library building, the program showcases works written during Ideson’s lifetime. Music selections include Fantaisie for Violin and Harp by Camille Saint-Saëns, Hamabdil by Granville Bantock, and a trio arrangement of Claude Debussy’s Children’s Corner Suite (arr. Carlos Salzedo)

The concert marks a highlight of the festivities surrounding Houston Public Library’s centennial, which include special exhibitions detailing its evolution since the building’s opening in 1926.

Pay What You Wish tickets for the concert are available now on the ROCO official event page, with a free livestream at roco.org/live, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitch, and on the ROCO mobile app.