Video Library Tag: By Composer

ROCO's 19th season continued November 11th with INFRARED, spotlighting the full chamber orchestra in a program featuring more than the eye can see—including two radiant world premieres commissioned by ROCO.

Conductor Johannes Debus made his ROCO debut, leading “Nell ‘Inferno”, the blazing first movement of Season 19 Composer-In-Residence Richard Danielpour’s "Triptych (Symphony in Three Movements After the Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri)", and Brazilian-American composer Clarice Assad’s colorful "Ode to Carmen Miranda".

Missy Mazzoli’s "Sinfonia (for Orbiting Spheres)" goes galactic, comprised of “…music in the shape of a solar system, a collection of rococo loops that twist around each other within a larger orbit”, before Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 1 with its fiery opening brings the listener back to earth, in time for Mozart’s delectable Divertimento, KV 136—a work written simply to entertain.

Conductor Delyana Lazarova made her ROCO debut on November 12th in a concert inspired by fantasy and fortune, leading the full chamber orchestra in two ROCO-commissioned world premieres, including William Bolcom‘s Dedication, orchestrated by Edmund Cionek, and Judah Adashi‘s the sun begins to fade, as part of ROCO’s FIFteen Project.

Also featured were Finding Rothko by Adam Schoenberg, ROCO’s Season 18 Composer-in-Residence, inspired and accompanied by the visionary abstract paintings of Mark Rothko, along with Caroline Shaw’s elegant Entr’acte for strings, and Mozart's joyful overture to The Marriage of Figaro. Completing the evening is Joseph Haydn’s Symphony No. 100, also nicknamed the “Military Symphony,” for its vivid second movement musically depicting battle.

ROCO's 19th season continued February 24 with "SUPERSONIC", as conductor Delyana Lazarova returned, leading the full chamber orchestra in a high-octane program brimming with dynamic energy! Composer-In-Residence Richard Danielpour’s “Voci dal Purgatorio”, a journey to rebirth – the second movement of his Symphony in Three Movements After the Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri - was heard in its U.S. premiere, and Jessica Meyer’s Go Big or Go Home–a work “written from a place of self-realization, empowerment, and celebration of how joyous life can be”, featuring blues guitar phenom Clay Melton and his band, was given its premiere in a new arrangement for chamber orchestra. An alluring work by Bulgarian-British composer Dobrinka Tabakova, Fantasy Homage to Schubert, plus Elfrida Andree’s colorful, lyrical Symphony No. 2 in A Minor, completed the program.

The Houston Youth Symphony also returned as special guest, with a side-by-side performance of Franz Schubert’s richly textured and emotionally laden Overture in the Italian Style.

ROCO's 19th season continued November 11th with INFRARED, spotlighting the full chamber orchestra in a program featuring more than the eye can see—including two radiant world premieres commissioned by ROCO.

Conductor Johannes Debus made his ROCO debut, leading “Nell ‘Inferno”, the blazing first movement of Season 19 Composer-In-Residence Richard Danielpour’s "Triptych (Symphony in Three Movements After the Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri)", and Brazilian-American composer Clarice Assad’s colorful "Ode to Carmen Miranda".

Missy Mazzoli’s "Sinfonia (for Orbiting Spheres)" goes galactic, comprised of “…music in the shape of a solar system, a collection of rococo loops that twist around each other within a larger orbit”, before Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 1 with its fiery opening brings the listener back to earth, in time for Mozart’s delectable Divertimento, KV 136—a work written simply to entertain.

ROCO made its debut at the jewel of Houston’s 5th Ward Cultural Arts District, the beautifully renovated historic DeLUXE Theater, on January 25th as we welcomed guest violinist Nicole Cherry in collaboration with ROCO Artistic Partner Scott St. John, presenting an evening of chamber works honoring and inspired by the outstanding contributions of London-based nineteenth-century Afro-European violin virtuoso, George Bridgetower.

A part of Dr. Cherry’s commissioning project, “ForgeWithGeorge”, the premiere of David Wallace’s The Bridgetower featured, for solo violin with creative vocalization—along with Yvette Jackson’s recent commission Remembering 1619 for violin and tape. Fellow ROCO string musicians joined for further works by George Bridgetower, Joseph Bologne – Chevalier de Saint-Georges, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Duke Ellington.

ROCO’s In Concert series opened on September 23 and 24 with “Family” at Miller Outdoor Theatre and The Church of St. John the Divine!

Artistic Partner Mei-Ann Chen led the orchestra in a program inspired by community, family, and hope, honoring Houston’s cultural diversity. Juan Pablo Contreras‘ Mariachitlán takes you to the colorful streets of the composer’s birthplace in Jalisco, Mexico, featuring a mariachi band, and the traditional Vietnamese folk song Bèo dạt mây trôi, tells the story of longing to be reunited with missing loved ones.

Grammy-nominated guitarist Mak Grgic featured as soloist in the world premiere of Borders, a ROCO-commissioned guitar concerto by Michael Abels (composer for the films NOPE, GET OUT, and US), echoing themes of strife and healing. Ludwig van Beethoven‘s dramatic Symphony No. 5, nicknamed the “Fate Symphony,” wrapped up the evening, reminding us that our fate can be in our own hands, encouraging us to write our own stories.

ROCO’s In Concert series, showcasing the full 40-piece orchestra, opened on September 25 with “Bursting at the Seams” at The Church of St. John the Divine, and livestreamed at ROCO.org, Facebook, and YouTube.

Conducted by ROCO’s Artistic Partner Mei-Ann Chen, the concert featured the world premiere of the first movement of Maxime Goulet’s Ice Storm Symphony, Turmoil, telling the story of Canada’s historic, devastating 1998 ice storm, and also featured the world premiere of Marcus Maroney’s OK, Goodbye. for flute, viola d’amore, and chamber orchestra, inspired by the melting of the Icelandic Okjökull glacier, and highlighting soloists Matt Dane and Christina Jennings. Sharing our joy to be back in performance with you, Michael Abels’ Delights & Dances and Domenico Cimarosa’s “Il Maestro di Cappella” Overture completed the program, with a surprise - the opening of Beethoven's "Pastoral Symphony"!

ROCO’s trailblazing spirit was embodied in “COURAGEOUS”, spotlighting the full 40-piece chamber orchestra, on February 8th at The Church of St. John the Divine! Led by ROCO’s newest Artistic Partner Delyana Lazarova, and featuring acclaimed pianist Lara Downes, this concert was a testament to daring artistry.

The concert featured the world premiere of Clarice Assad’s Total Eclipse, a piano concerto commissioned by ROCO and written especially for Lara Downes, inspired by the 2024 total solar eclipse and contrasts of light and darkness. The evening culminated with revolutionary exuberance, in Ludwig van Beethoven‘s passionate Symphony No. 7.

ROCO’s 17th season Albert & Margaret Alkek Foundation In Concert Series closed on April 23 with “Tying Up Loose Ends”, live at The Church of St. John the Divine.

Conducted by Rei Hotoda in her ROCO debut, the program centered around the world premiere of ""Plumes"" for large chamber orchestra by Season 17 Composer-In-Residence Derek Bermel, a ROCO commission based on J. Henry Fair’s photography collection “Industrial Scars”—capturing the beauty and destruction of industrial and human impacts on our planet. Thanks to the National Endowment for the Arts for supporting Derek Bermel's residency!

ROCO’s 17th season Albert & Margaret Alkek Foundation In Concert Series closed on April 23 with “Tying Up Loose Ends”, live at The Church of St. John the Divine.

Conducted by Rei Hotoda in her ROCO debut, the program centered around the world premiere of "Plumes" for large chamber orchestra by Season 17 Composer-In-Residence Derek Bermel, a ROCO commission based on J. Henry Fair’s photography collection “Industrial Scars”—capturing the beauty and destruction of industrial and human impacts on our planet. Thanks to the National Endowment for the Arts for supporting Derek Bermel's residency!

ROCO’s Season 17 Unchambered series wrapped up April 2 with “Spinning Tales”, highlighting the percussion family, live from MATCH and also livestreamed at ROCO.org, Facebook, YouTube, and A440.live.

Featuring and curated by ROCO percussionists Matthew McClung, Christina Carroll, and Craig Hauschildt, the program presented music by composers such as Quinn Mason, Thomas Rex Beverly, Christopher Deane, Keiko Abe, and more, taking the audience on a journey through a wide variety of percussive instruments.

Field recordist, nature sound library creator, sound designer, and composer Thomas Rex Beverly has supplied sound libraries for a variety of award-winning films and TV shows - explore his original works and recordings at: https://thomasrexbeverly.com/

ROCO continued its 2016-2017 season with “People are People – Conductorless!”. Grammy-nominated violinist, Andrés Cárdenes, returned as concertmaster to lead the orchestra’s annual conductorless concert.

Cárdenes also served as soloist in the world premiere of a new concerto written specifically for him and commissioned by ROCO – Lorenz’s second violin concerto, Dance Unlikely. Other works featured on the program included Boccherini’s Symphony No. 25 in A major, Copland’s Three Latin American Sketches, Mendelssohn’s Sinfonia No. 8 in D major, and Erberk Eryilmaz’s Flying Sirto.

ROCO's Season 16 Connections series continued via livestream in February, with an intimate concert featuring the music of Margaret Bonds—one of the most prolific Black composers of the 1900s—plus works by composers who influenced or were influenced by her, including Florence Price, Ned Rorem, and Robert Owens.

A rare, previously unknown recording of Margaret Bonds in performance was discovered in the Mastersons’ collection at Rienzi. Produced in collaboration with Rienzi, the concert featured and was curated by returning ROCO favorite, Timothy Jones, bass-baritone, and Howard Watkins on piano.

Recorded at Rienzi, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, February 4, 2021, by Blueprint Film Co.

ROCO's Season 16 Connections series continued via livestream in February, with an intimate concert featuring the music of Margaret Bonds—one of the most prolific Black composers of the 1900s—plus works by composers who influenced or were influenced by her, including Florence Price, Ned Rorem, and Robert Owens.

A rare, previously unknown recording of Margaret Bonds in performance was discovered in the Mastersons’ collection at Rienzi. Produced in collaboration with Rienzi, the concert featured and was curated by returning ROCO favorite, Timothy Jones, bass-baritone, and Howard Watkins on piano.

Recorded at Rienzi, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, February 4, 2021, by Blueprint Film Co.

ROCO's Season 16 Connections series continued via livestream in February, with an intimate concert featuring the music of Margaret Bonds—one of the most prolific Black composers of the 1900s—plus works by composers who influenced or were influenced by her, including Florence Price, Ned Rorem, and Robert Owens.

A rare, previously unknown recording of Margaret Bonds in performance was discovered in the Mastersons’ collection at Rienzi. Produced in collaboration with Rienzi, the concert featured and was curated by returning ROCO favorite, Timothy Jones, bass-baritone, and Howard Watkins on piano.

ROCO’s principal flute, Brook Ferguson, featured as soloist and curator on “Force of Nature”, presented December 8, 2018, at MATCH (Midtown Arts and Theater Center Houston). Showcasing nature-themed music for flute, oboe, cello, and piano, the program included Michael Gandolfi’s Geppetto’s Workshop, and a new ROCO commission by Stephanie Ann Boyd – Sapien.

The extraordinary was experienced in ROCO’s milestone 20th season-opening concert “REMARKABLE” – featuring the full 40-piece chamber orchestra in three world premieres plus a new twist on an out-of-this-world classic, recorded live from The Church of St. John the Divine on September 28th, 2024. Under the dynamic direction of Artistic Partner Mei-Ann Chen, we headed to the stars with the world premiere ROCO commission Constellations by Viet Cuong, ROCO’s Season 20 Composer in Residence, spotlighting “constellations” of ROCO musicians as soloists in each movement. Mark Buller‘s powerful ROCO commission John the Revelator paid tribute to ROCO’s home venue of The Church of St. John the Divine, featuring organist Steven A. Newberry, and Gustav Holst‘s vivid tour of our solar system, The Planets, featured in a new rescoring by Jim Stephenson.

ROCO’s In Concert series, showcasing the full 40-piece orchestra, opened on September 25 with “Bursting at the Seams” at The Church of St. John the Divine, and livestreamed at ROCO.org, Facebook, and YouTube.

Conducted by ROCO’s Artistic Partner Mei-Ann Chen, the concert featured the world premiere of the first movement of Maxime Goulet’s Ice Storm Symphony, Turmoil, telling the story of Canada’s historic, devastating 1998 ice storm, and also featured the world premiere of Marcus Maroney’s OK, Goodbye. for flute, viola d’amore, and chamber orchestra, inspired by the melting of the Icelandic Okjökull glacier, and highlighting soloists Matt Dane and Christina Jennings. Sharing our joy to be back in performance with you, Michael Abels’ Delights & Dances and Domenico Cimarosa’s “Il Maestro di Cappella” Overture completed the program, with a surprise - the opening of Beethoven's "Pastoral Symphony"!

ROCO’s Albert and Margaret Alkek Foundation In Concert series continued with a celebration of “Friends”, on February 18 at the Lucian and Nancy Morrison Theatre at Brockman Hall for Opera – Rice University!

This concert truly showcased the orchestra, as the ensemble performed conductorless, with Artistic Partner and Concertmaster Scott St. John leading from the chair. Underlining themes of friendship and hope, the concert featured the premiere of Brian Raphael Nabors‘ Upon Daybreak, a ROCO co-commission as part of New Music USA’s Amplifying Voices initiative, inspired by Maya Angelou’s poem “A Brave and Startling Truth,” along with Antonin Dvorak’s early favorite Serenade for Strings, Joachim Raff’s vivacious Sinfonietta, and the overture to the opera Jery und Bätely by Ingeborg von Bronsart. Completing the program, the resilient African-American spiritual Keep Me From Sinking Down spotlighted Scott St. John, in Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s powerful orchestral setting featuring solo violin.

Bold musical expression, inspired by the human experience, takes center stage in “OUTSPOKEN”— featuring the full 40-piece chamber orchestra on November 2nd, at The Church of St. John the Divine. Led by GRAMMY-winning conductor JoAnn Falletta, be captivated by the world premiere of Jonathan Leshnoff‘s No Grit No Pearl, a ROCO-commissioned work celebrating resilience, and Juan Pablo Contreras‘ vibrant Alma Monarca, another world premiere co-commissioned by ROCO—honoring his family and the tradition of Día de los Muertos.

Violinists Scott St. John and Brian Lewis feature in John Novacek‘s spirited showpiece, Three Rags for two violins and orchestra, and the evening wraps up with the Texas premiere of Franz Schubert’s Death and the Maiden, reimagined by Andy Stein, ushering the journey into a realm beyond.

ROCO’s In Concert series opened on September 23 and 24 with “Family” at Miller Outdoor Theatre and The Church of St. John the Divine!

Artistic Partner Mei-Ann Chen led the orchestra in a program inspired by community, family, and hope, honoring Houston’s cultural diversity. Juan Pablo Contreras‘ Mariachitlán takes you to the colorful streets of the composer’s birthplace in Jalisco, Mexico, featuring a mariachi band, and the traditional Vietnamese folk song Bèo dạt mây trôi, tells the story of longing to be reunited with missing loved ones.

Grammy-nominated guitarist Mak Grgic featured as soloist in the world premiere of Borders, a ROCO-commissioned guitar concerto by Michael Abels (composer for the films NOPE, GET OUT, and US), echoing themes of strife and healing. Ludwig van Beethoven‘s dramatic Symphony No. 5, nicknamed the “Fate Symphony,” wrapped up the evening, reminding us that our fate can be in our own hands, encouraging us to write our own stories.

The extraordinary was experienced in ROCO’s milestone 20th season-opening concert “REMARKABLE” – featuring the full 40-piece chamber orchestra in three world premieres plus a new twist on an out-of-this-world classic, recorded live from The Church of St. John the Divine on September 28th, 2024. Under the dynamic direction of Artistic Partner Mei-Ann Chen, we headed to the stars with the world premiere ROCO commission Constellations by Viet Cuong, ROCO’s Season 20 Composer in Residence, spotlighting “constellations” of ROCO musicians as soloists in each movement. Mark Buller‘s powerful ROCO commission John the Revelator pays tribute to ROCO’s home venue of The Church of St. John the Divine, and Gustav Holst‘s vivid tour of our solar system, The Planets, features in a new rescoring by Jim Stephenson.

ROCO’s 17th season Albert & Margaret Alkek Foundation In Concert Series closed on April 23 with “Tying Up Loose Ends”, live at The Church of St. John the Divine.

Conducted by Rei Hotoda in her ROCO debut, the program centered around the world premiere of "Plumes" for large chamber orchestra by Composer-In-Residence Derek Bermel based on J. Henry Fair’s photography collection “Industrial Scars”—capturing the beauty and destruction of industrial and human impacts on our planet.

The program also included Viet Cuong’s percussion concerto "Re(new)al", inspired by types of renewable energies and featuring soloists Craig Hauschildt, Ksenija Komljenović, Todd Meehan, and Doug Perkins, plus a new work by Cynthia Lee Wong, "In a Blink of an Eye", as part of ROCO’s FIFteen Project.

ROCO’s 17th season Albert & Margaret Alkek Foundation In Concert Series closed on April 23 with “Tying Up Loose Ends”, live at The Church of St. John the Divine.

Conducted by Rei Hotoda in her ROCO debut, the program centered around the world premiere of ""Plumes"" for large chamber orchestra by Composer-In-Residence Derek Bermel based on J. Henry Fair’s photography collection “Industrial Scars”—capturing the beauty and destruction of industrial and human impacts on our planet.

The program also included Viet Cuong’s percussion concerto ""Re(new)al"", inspired by types of renewable energies and featuring soloists Craig Hauschildt, Ksenija Komljenović, Todd Meehan, and Doug Perkins, plus a new work by Cynthia Lee Wong, ""In a Blink of an Eye"", as part of ROCO’s FIFteen Project.

ROCO’s In Concert series opened on September 23 and 24 with “Family” at Miller Outdoor Theatre and The Church of St. John the Divine! Artistic Partner Mei-Ann Chen led the orchestra in a program inspired by community, family, and hope, honoring Houston’s cultural diversity.

Featured was the signature ROCO commission "Anthem of Hope" by Emmy Award-winning composer Anthony DiLorenzo, commissioned in response to the resilience shown by the city of Houston following Hurricane Harvey's devastation. Composed in just a few days, this work received its premiere less than a month after the storm, at ROCO's opening concert of the 2017-2018 season.

In ROCO's spirit of collaboration, this work was made free to perform, with numerous performances by other area organizations over the 2017-2018 season.

ROCO's 19th season Albert and Margaret Alkek Foundation Series kicked off with SEISMIC, an opening concert of epic proportions, featuring the full 40-piece chamber orchestra led by Artistic Partner Mei-Ann Chen in two ROCO-commissioned world premieres and an exhilarating tale of love, intrigue, and adventure, presented at Miller Outdoor Theatre on September 29th, and at The Church of St. John the Divine on September 30th.

Anthony DiLorenzo’s ROCO commission Tectonal, featuring AI text-informed animation by composer and artist Cynthia Lee Wong and based on the acclaimed book The Telling Image by renowned documentary filmmaker Lois Stark, compels the audience to rethink, re-hear and re-visualize how they view the world. ROCO’s commission The Nightingale by Kevin Lau—recently released as our first-ever children’s book, premiered in a new scoring for full chamber orchestra—then the evening closed with a journey to the exotic lands of The Arabian Nights in Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov‘s ravishing symphonic suite Scheherazade.

ROCO’s Albert and Margaret Alkek Foundation In Concert series continued with a celebration of “Friends”, on February 18 at the Lucian and Nancy Morrison Theatre at Brockman Hall for Opera – Rice University!

This concert truly showcased the orchestra, as the ensemble performed conductorless, with Artistic Partner and Concertmaster Scott St. John leading from the chair. Underlining themes of friendship and hope, the concert featured the premiere of Brian Raphael Nabors‘ Upon Daybreak, a ROCO co-commission as part of New Music USA’s Amplifying Voices initiative, inspired by Maya Angelou’s poem “A Brave and Startling Truth,” along with Antonin Dvorak’s early favorite Serenade for Strings, Joachim Raff’s vivacious Sinfonietta, and the overture to the opera Jery und Bätely by Ingeborg von Bronsart. Completing the program, the resilient African-American spiritual Keep Me From Sinking Down spotlighted Scott St. John, in Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s powerful orchestral setting featuring solo violin.

ROCO welcomed back conductor JoAnn Falletta, as the full 40-piece chamber orchestra shined in works of luminous orchestral color and creativity, including three premieres! Glimpse a vision of paradise in the third and final movement of Composer-In-Residence Richard Danielpour’s Symphony in Three Movements After the Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri, then experience the bold sounds of Conni Ellisor’s consortium-commissioned A Woman Without Apology, and dance to Astor Piazzolla’s Tangazo—an edgy tango, then delight in the Texas premiere of Richard Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos Symphony-Suite, a chamber arrangement of his comic 1912 “opera-within-an-opera”.

ROCO’s Season 18 Connections Series continued March 22 at Asia Society Texas Center, in From Here, There, and Nowhere, presenting an intimate evening of chamber music!

ROCO violinist Min-Jeong Koh curated a personal, meaningful program of works by Asian composers, accompanied by her sister Bo Yon Koh on piano—musically telling their stories of immigrating from Korea to embracing their new home in North America.

ROCO's Season 18 In Concert series wrapped up with a look toward our "Future," on April 29th at The Church of St. John the Divine!

In a program inspired by daring creativity and artistic innovation, conductor Michelle Merrill made her ROCO debut, leading the orchestra in the premiere of a ROCO-commissioned orchestral work by Juno award-winner Vivian Fung, Parade.

Louise Farrenc's fiery Symphony No. 1 also featured, with Igor Stravinsky's suite from the ballet Pulcinella, and Ludwig van Beethoven's Overture to the Creatures of Prometheus appropriately rounded out our 18th Season as we were joined by Houston's musical future: the Houston Youth Symphony!

ROCO's In Concert series continued on November 17, 2018 at The Church of St. John the Divine, with the all-female-composer program “Queen of Hearts”, led by ROCO favorite Mei-Ann Chen. The program included Ruth Gipps' Seascape, the world premiere of Solitaire by Heather Schmidt, and was rounded out by Louise Farrenc's powerful Symphony No. 3.

Collaboration and innovation were on display in this June 7, 2024 showcase led by ROCO Artistic Partner and conductor Mei-Ann Chen as part of the 2024 League of American Orchestras Conference in Houston. Featuring works by Gabriela Lena Frank, Jennifer Higdon, Errollyn Wallen, Reena Esmail, Heather Schmidt, and Leanna Primiani, and a premiere by Autumn Maria Reed—one of the finalists of ROCO and American Composers Orchestra’s EarShot Call for Scores by early career female composers—this concert highlighted ROCO’s innovative nature, commitment to women composers, and expansion of the classical canon.

ROCO’s In Concert series, showcasing the full 40-piece orchestra, opened on September 25 with “Bursting at the Seams” at The Church of St. John the Divine, and livestreamed at ROCO.org, Facebook, and YouTube.

Conducted by ROCO’s Artistic Partner Mei-Ann Chen, the concert featured the world premiere of the first movement of Maxime Goulet’s Ice Storm Symphony, Turmoil, telling the story of Canada’s historic, devastating 1998 ice storm, and also featured the world premiere of Marcus Maroney’s OK, Goodbye. for flute, viola d’amore, and chamber orchestra, inspired by the melting of the Icelandic Okjökull glacier, and highlighting soloists Matt Dane and Christina Jennings. Sharing our joy to be back in performance with you, Michael Abels’ Delights & Dances and Domenico Cimarosa’s “Il Maestro di Cappella” Overture completed the program, with a surprise - the opening of Beethoven's "Pastoral Symphony"!

Conductor Delyana Lazarova made her ROCO debut on November 12th in a concert inspired by fantasy and fortune, leading the full chamber orchestra in two ROCO-commissioned world premieres, including William Bolcom‘s Dedication, orchestrated by Edmund Cionek, and Judah Adashi‘s the sun begins to fade, as part of ROCO’s FIFteen Project.

Also featured were Finding Rothko by Adam Schoenberg, ROCO’s Season 18 Composer-in-Residence, inspired and accompanied by the visionary abstract paintings of Mark Rothko, along with Caroline Shaw’s elegant Entr’acte for strings, and Mozart's joyful overture to The Marriage of Figaro. Completing the evening is Joseph Haydn’s Symphony No. 100, also nicknamed the “Military Symphony,” for its vivid second movement musically depicting battle.

ROCO’s Season 15 In Concert series kicked off September 28th with “Time for Hope”, a concert built around a world premiere by Lisa Bielawa entitled “Centuries in the Hours”, sung by mezzo-soprano Laurie Rubin. Conductor Mei-Ann Chen returned to lead the program, in her historic debut as ROCO's first-ever Artistic Partner, also conducting works by Franz Joseph Haydn, Judith Shatin, and Alejandro Basulto, plus the first three new works of ROCO's FIFteen Project.

ROCO’s Connections Series continued on February 10, 2024, as we celebrated collaboration in “Simple Gifts,” bringing us to a new location at Rothko Chapel!

Led by conductor Delyana Lazarova, Aaron Copland’s iconic tone poem Appalachian Spring, heard in its original 13-piece version, inspired the ROCO-commissioned world premiere of James Stephenson’s Persephone with solo dancer, with original choreography by Marlana Doyle, founder of Houston Contemporary Dance Company. Jennifer Higdon’s quintet Celestial Hymns, inspired by stained glass windows, rounded out the program, performed by Nathan Williams, clarinet; Scott St. John, violin; Matthew Dane, viola; Wilhelmina Smith, cello; and Audrey Andrist, piano.

ROCO's Connections series continued March 11 with "Journey to America", livestreamed in partnership with Holocaust Museum Houston, and opening with Tim Hinck’s “Fanfare for Rosa”—a 2018 work commissioned by the Chattanooga Symphony & Opera, written based on interviews the composer conducted with migrant children, recalling their experiences of entering the United States from South and Central America for the first time.

Featuring musicians Alecia Lawyer, oboe; Maureen Nelson, violin; Suzanne LeFevre, viola; Courtenay Vandiver Pereira, cello; and Chelsea De Souza, piano.

The short, emotionally-charged, fanfare echoes their own journeys, first tinged with terror and trauma, then developing in strength and optimism over its course, to a hope-filled musical response to the immigrant crisis.

ROCO made its debut at the jewel of Houston’s 5th Ward Cultural Arts District, the beautifully renovated historic DeLUXE Theater, on January 25th as we welcomed guest violinist Nicole Cherry in collaboration with ROCO Artistic Partner Scott St. John, presenting an evening of chamber works honoring and inspired by the outstanding contributions of London-based nineteenth-century Afro-European violin virtuoso, George Bridgetower.

A part of Dr. Cherry’s commissioning project, “ForgeWithGeorge”, the premiere of David Wallace’s The Bridgetower featured, for solo violin with creative vocalization—along with Yvette Jackson’s recent commission Remembering 1619 for violin and tape. Fellow ROCO string musicians joined for further works by George Bridgetower, Joseph Bologne – Chevalier de Saint-Georges, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Duke Ellington.

Recorded live at The DeLUXE Theater, Houston, Texas, January 25, 2025

ROCO’s Season 18 Connections Series continued March 22 at Asia Society Texas Center, in From Here, There, and Nowhere, presenting an intimate evening of chamber music!

ROCO violinist Min-Jeong Koh curated a personal, meaningful program of works by Asian composers, accompanied by her sister Bo Yon Koh on piano—musically telling their stories of immigrating from Korea to embracing their new home in North America.

Narrated by Alecia Lawyer
Illustrations by Amy Scheidegger Ducos
Adapted from Hans Christian Andersen

ROCO's 19th season Albert and Margaret Alkek Foundation Series kicked off with SEISMIC, an opening concert of epic proportions, featuring the full 40-piece chamber orchestra led by Artistic Partner Mei-Ann Chen in two ROCO-commissioned world premieres and an exhilarating tale of love, intrigue, and adventure, presented at Miller Outdoor Theatre on September 29th, and at The Church of St. John the Divine on September 30th.

Anthony DiLorenzo’s ROCO commission Tectonal, featuring AI text-informed animation by composer and artist Cynthia Lee Wong and based on the acclaimed book The Telling Image by renowned documentary filmmaker Lois Stark, compels the audience to rethink, re-hear and re-visualize how they view the world. ROCO’s commission The Nightingale by Kevin Lau—recently released as our first-ever children’s book, premiered in a new scoring for full chamber orchestra—then the evening closed with a journey to the exotic lands of The Arabian Nights in Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov‘s ravishing symphonic suite Scherazade.

Bold musical expression, inspired by the human experience, takes center stage in “OUTSPOKEN”— featuring the full 40-piece chamber orchestra on November 2nd, at The Church of St. John the Divine. Led by GRAMMY-winning conductor JoAnn Falletta, be captivated by the world premiere of Jonathan Leshnoff‘s No Grit No Pearl, a ROCO-commissioned work celebrating resilience, and Juan Pablo Contreras‘ vibrant Alma Monarca, another world premiere co-commissioned by ROCO—honoring his family and the tradition of Día de los Muertos.

Violinists Scott St. John and Brian Lewis feature in John Novacek‘s spirited showpiece, Three Rags for two violins and orchestra, and the evening wraps up with the Texas premiere of Franz Schubert’s Death and the Maiden, reimagined by Andy Stein, ushering the journey into a realm beyond.

ROCO’s 17th season In Concert series continued February 26, at 5:00 pm Central with “Canvasing the Earth” at The Church of St. John the Divine and also livestreamed at ROCO.org, Facebook, YouTube, and A440.

Conductor Sarah Hicks led the orchestra in her ROCO debut, featuring three world premieres, including "Earth" by Aaron Jay Kernis, featuring tenor Nicholas Phan.

Honoring survivors of human trafficking, Leanna Primiani’s "Neither men nor money validate my worth" also received its world premiere, accompanied by images from The New Abolitionists.

Completing the program were the world premiere of Jonathan Leshnoff‘s fanfare "Score," and Mussorgsky’s classic "Pictures at an Exhibition" in a special presentation, with accompanying images from the collections of Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

ROCO’s Connections Series continued January 27, 2024 with "BLOSSOMS", performed at The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston's Rienzi, featuring musicians Alecia Lawyer, oboe; Milena Pajaro van de Stadt, viola; and Audrey Andrist, piano; including works by Charles Loeffler, Rebecca Clarke, Margaret Bonds, Nicky Sohn, and Alyssa Morris.

The extraordinary was experienced in ROCO’s milestone 20th season-opening concert “REMARKABLE” – featuring the full 40-piece chamber orchestra in three world premieres plus a new twist on an out-of-this-world classic, recorded live from The Church of St. John the Divine on September 28th, 2024. Under the dynamic direction of Artistic Partner Mei-Ann Chen, we headed to the stars with the world premiere ROCO commission Constellations by Viet Cuong, ROCO’s Season 20 Composer in Residence, spotlighting “constellations” of ROCO musicians as soloists in each movement. Mark Buller‘s powerful ROCO commission John the Revelator pays tribute to ROCO’s home venue of The Church of St. John the Divine, and Gustav Holst‘s vivid tour of our solar system, The Planets, features in a new rescoring by Jim Stephenson.

ROCO’s In Concert series, showcasing the full 40-piece orchestra, opened on September 25 with “Bursting at the Seams” at The Church of St. John the Divine, and livestreamed at ROCO.org, Facebook, and YouTube.

Conducted by ROCO’s Artistic Partner Mei-Ann Chen, the concert featured the world premiere of the first movement of Maxime Goulet’s Ice Storm Symphony, Turmoil, telling the story of Canada’s historic, devastating 1998 ice storm, and also featured the world premiere of Marcus Maroney’s OK, Goodbye. for flute, viola d’amore, and chamber orchestra, inspired by the melting of the Icelandic Okjökull glacier, and highlighting soloists Matt Dane and Christina Jennings. Sharing our joy to be back in performance with you, Michael Abels’ Delights & Dances and Domenico Cimarosa’s “Il Maestro di Cappella” Overture completed the program, with a surprise - the opening of Beethoven's "Pastoral Symphony"!

ROCO's Connections series continued March 11 with "Journey to America", livestreamed in partnership with Holocaust Museum Houston, including chamber works by Bohuslav Martinů, Tom Hinck, and Milad Yousufi.

Martinů's Quartet for Oboe, Violin, Cello, and Piano, written in 1947 during his years in America, pays tribute to Mozart, with its Neoclassical style and graceful charm.

Listen for the lilting motion in triple meter, and simple tonality of the melody, which embody the elements of Czech folk song appearing throughout Martinů’s career.

In the composer’s words: ”I am always more myself in pure chamber music. I cannot express what pleasure it gives me when I start work and begin to handle four instrumental parts. In a quartet one feels at home. Outside it may be raining and darkness is falling but these four voices take no heed. They are independent, free to do what they like, free to create a unity, a new harmonious note."

Featuring musicians Alecia Lawyer, oboe; Maureen Nelson, violin; Courtenay Vandiver Pereira, cello; and Chelsea De Souza, piano.

ROCO's 16th season concluded with flair on April 24, 2021 in “Flamenco”, featuring the world premiere of ""The History of Red"", a co-commission by Reena Esmail based on a text by Chickasaw poet Linda Hogan, with soprano Kathryn Mueller as soloist, led by conductor Brett Mitchell.

The program also included the world premiere of Quinn Mason’s Princesa de la Luna for harp and strings, Samuel Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915, Errollyn Wallen’s Photography, and Carlos Surinach’s flamenco for orchestra, Ritmo Jondo, accompanied by live dance from the company Solero Flamenco.

ROCO’s Connections Series returned to the Asia Society Texas Center on October 20 presenting “Rise Up”— an evening of thought-provoking new chamber works and dialogue spotlighting the ongoing fight for women’s rights and equality, in the U.S, Iran, and around the world.

Artistic Partner Mei-Ann Chen led an ensemble of thirteen female ROCO musicians in the world premiere of Breaking the Veil by Grammy-winning Season 19 Composer-In-Residence Richard Danielpour and a new scoring of Texas-native composer Quinn Mason‘s ballet The 19th Amendment—performed along with members of Houston Contemporary Dance Company, premiering new choreography by Founding Artistic and Executive Director Marlana Doyle.

Inspired by the current uprising and historic struggles of Iranian women seeking equal rights and freedom, Grammy-winning composer Richard Danielpour’s Breaking the Veil honors his family’s Persian heritage, and is dedicated to his mother Mehri Danielpour Weil, an Iranian sculpturist.

Quinn Mason’s ballet The 19th Amendment, in the composer’s words, “not only depicts the struggle of obtaining the right to vote, but contemplates the effect that passing of the 19th amendment has had on our current generation”.

ROCO’s Season 17 Unchambered series wrapped up April 2 with “Spinning Tales”, highlighting the percussion family, live from MATCH and also livestreamed at ROCO.org, Facebook, YouTube, and A440.live.

Featuring and curated by ROCO percussionists Matthew McClung, Christina Carroll, and Craig Hauschildt, the program presented music by composers such as Thierry De Mey, Quinn Mason, Thomas Rex Beverly, Christopher Deane, Keiko Abe, and more, taking the audience on a journey through a wide variety of percussive instruments.

ROCO's 19th season continued February 24 with "SUPERSONIC", as conductor Delyana Lazarova returned, leading the full chamber orchestra in a high-octane program brimming with dynamic energy! Jessica Meyer’s Go Big or Go Home–a work “written from a place of self-realization, empowerment, and celebration of how joyous life can be”, featuring blues guitar phenom Clay Melton and his band, was given its premiere in a new arrangement for chamber orchestra, joined by the U.S. premiere of Composer-In-Residence Richard Danielpour’s “Voci dal Purgatorio”, a journey to rebirth – the second movement of his Symphony in Three Movements After the Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri. An alluring work by Bulgarian-British composer Dobrinka Tabakova, Fantasy Homage to Schubert, plus Elfrida Andree’s colorful, lyrical Symphony No. 2 in A Minor, completed the program.

The Houston Youth Symphony also returned as special guest, with a side-by-side performance of Franz Schubert’s richly textured and emotionally laden Overture in the Italian Style.

ROCO's Season 12 “In Concert” series came to a close with “Double Trouble”. The concert was led by conductor Steven Jarvi, with Scott St. John returning as concertmaster. The orchestra premiered another newly commissioned work on this concert - Alexander Miller’s ROCOmoji, which explores emotion through sound 😃. ROCO flutist, Brook Ferguson, was also featured in this concert, performing Saverio Mercadante’s Concerto for Flute in E-minor.

ROCO's 19th season continued November 11th with INFRARED, spotlighting the full chamber orchestra in a program featuring more than the eye can see—including two radiant world premieres commissioned by ROCO.

Conductor Johannes Debus made his ROCO debut, leading “Nell ‘Inferno”, the blazing first movement of Season 19 Composer-In-Residence Richard Danielpour’s "Triptych (Symphony in Three Movements After the Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri)", and Brazilian-American composer Clarice Assad’s colorful "Ode to Carmen Miranda".

Missy Mazzoli’s "Sinfonia (for Orbiting Spheres)" goes galactic, comprised of “…music in the shape of a solar system, a collection of rococo loops that twist around each other within a larger orbit”, before Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 1 with its fiery opening brings the listener back to earth, in time for Mozart’s delectable Divertimento, KV 136—a work written simply to entertain.

Continuing Season 14's In Concert series, “Ticket to Ride” took audiences on a musical journey of Europe by rail.

Conductor (see what we did there!) Brett Mitchell steered the proceedings in his ROCO debut, beginning with the world premiere of Jim Stephenson's tribute to miniature trains, ROCOmotive, then on to England and Germany with Ethel Smyth’s The Wreckers, Poland with Wojciech Kilar’s Orawa, France with the Saint-Saëns Cello Concerto No. 1, featuring Richard Belcher, ROCO principal cello, as soloist, and finally to Austria with Mozart’s Symphony No. 35, “Haffner”.

ROCO’s Albert and Margaret Alkek Foundation In Concert series continued with a celebration of “Friends”, on February 18 at the Lucian and Nancy Morrison Theatre at Brockman Hall for Opera – Rice University!

This concert truly showcased the orchestra, as the ensemble performed conductorless, with Artistic Partner and Concertmaster Scott St. John leading from the chair. Underlining themes of friendship and hope, the concert featured the premiere of Brian Raphael Nabors‘ Upon Daybreak, a ROCO co-commission as part of New Music USA’s Amplifying Voices initiative, inspired by Maya Angelou’s poem “A Brave and Startling Truth,” along with Antonin Dvorak’s early favorite Serenade for Strings, Joachim Raff’s vivacious Sinfonietta, and the overture to the opera Jery und Bätely by Ingeborg von Bronsart. Completing the program, the resilient African-American spiritual Keep Me From Sinking Down spotlighted Scott St. John, in Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s powerful orchestral setting featuring solo violin.

Bold musical expression, inspired by the human experience, takes center stage in “OUTSPOKEN”— featuring the full 40-piece chamber orchestra on November 2nd, at The Church of St. John the Divine. Led by GRAMMY-winning conductor JoAnn Falletta, be captivated by the world premiere of Jonathan Leshnoff‘s No Grit No Pearl, a ROCO-commissioned work celebrating resilience, and Juan Pablo Contreras‘ vibrant Alma Monarca, another world premiere co-commissioned by ROCO—honoring his family and the tradition of Día de los Muertos.

Violinists Scott St. John and Brian Lewis feature in John Novacek‘s spirited showpiece, Three Rags for two violins and orchestra, and the evening wraps up with the Texas premiere of Franz Schubert’s Death and the Maiden, reimagined by Andy Stein, ushering the journey into a realm beyond.

ROCO's Season 16 Connections series continued via livestream in February, with an intimate concert featuring the music of Margaret Bonds—one of the most prolific Black composers of the 1900s—plus works by composers who influenced or were influenced by her, including Florence Price, Ned Rorem, and Robert Owens.

A rare, previously unknown recording of Margaret Bonds in performance was discovered in the Mastersons’ collection at Rienzi. Produced in collaboration with Rienzi, the concert featured and was curated by returning ROCO favorite, Timothy Jones, bass-baritone, and Howard Watkins on piano.

On November 13, ROCO’s Season 17 In Concert series marched on with “A Stitch in Time” at The Church of St. John the Divine and also livestreamed at ROCO.org, Facebook, and YouTube.

Conductor Jeri Lynne Johnson made her ROCO debut, leading the Texas premiere of Mark Adamo’s Last Year for cello and orchestra, featuring ROCO Principal Cellist Richard Belcher, with each movement representing one of the four seasons. Winding up the program are Hilary Purrington’s FIFteen Project commission Threshold, and Jonathan Peters’ Arthropod Suite—accompanied by images from the Houston Museum of Natural Science and Houston Arboretum & Nature Center.

ROCO welcomed back conductor JoAnn Falletta, as the full 40-piece chamber orchestra shined in works of luminous orchestral color and creativity, including three premieres! Glimpse a vision of paradise in the third and final movement of Composer-In-Residence Richard Danielpour’s Symphony in Three Movements After the Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri, then experience the bold sounds of Conni Ellisor’s consortium-commissioned A Woman Without Apology, and dance to Astor Piazzolla’s Tangazo—an edgy tango, then delight in the Texas premiere of Richard Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos Symphony-Suite, a chamber arrangement of his comic 1912 “opera-within-an-opera”.

ROCO made its debut at the jewel of Houston’s 5th Ward Cultural Arts District, the beautifully renovated historic DeLUXE Theater, on January 25th as we welcomed guest violinist Nicole Cherry in collaboration with ROCO Artistic Partner Scott St. John, presenting an evening of chamber works honoring and inspired by the outstanding contributions of London-based nineteenth-century Afro-European violin virtuoso, George Bridgetower.

A part of Dr. Cherry’s commissioning project, “ForgeWithGeorge”, the premiere of David Wallace’s The Bridgetower featured, for solo violin with creative vocalization—along with Yvette Jackson’s recent commission Remembering 1619 for violin and tape. Fellow ROCO string musicians joined for further works by George Bridgetower, Joseph Bologne – Chevalier de Saint-Georges, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Duke Ellington.

Collaboration and innovation were on display in this June 7, 2024 showcase led by ROCO Artistic Partner and conductor Mei-Ann Chen as part of the 2024 League of American Orchestras Conference in Houston. Featuring works by Gabriela Lena Frank, Jennifer Higdon, Errollyn Wallen, Reena Esmail, Heather Schmidt, and Leanna Primiani, and a premiere by Autumn Maria Reed—one of the finalists of ROCO and American Composers Orchestra’s EarShot Call for Scores by early career female composers—this concert highlighted ROCO’s innovative nature, commitment to women composers, and expansion of the classical canon.

ROCO’s 17th season In Concert series continued February 26, 2022 at 5:00 pm Central with “Canvasing the Earth” at The Church of St. John the Divine and also livestreamed at ROCO.org, Facebook, YouTube, and A440.

Conductor Sarah Hicks led the orchestra in her ROCO debut, featuring three world premieres, including the orchestral version of "Earth" by Aaron Jay Kernis, featuring tenor Nicholas Phan, reflecting upon the fundamental environmental crisis of our time.

Commissioned by the League of American Orchestras with the generous support of the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation, Leanna Primiani’s "Neither men nor money validate my worth" also received its world premiere, honoring survivors of human trafficking, and was accompanied by images from The New Abolitionists. Completing the program was the world premiere of Jonathan Leshnoff‘s fanfare "Score" and Mussorgsky’s classic "Pictures at an Exhibition" in a special presentation, with accompanying images from the collections of Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

On November 13, ROCO’s Season 17 In Concert series marched on with “A Stitch in Time” at The Church of St. John the Divine and also livestreamed at ROCO.org, Facebook, and YouTube.

Conductor Jeri Lynne Johnson made her ROCO debut, leading the Texas premiere of Mark Adamo’s Last Year for cello and orchestra, featuring ROCO Principal Cellist Richard Belcher, with each movement representing one of the four seasons. Winding up the program are Hilary Purrington’s FIFteen Project commission Threshold, and Jonathan Peters’ Arthropod Suite—accompanied by images from the Houston Museum of Natural Science and Houston Arboretum & Nature Center.

ROCO’s In Concert series opened on September 23 and 24 with “Family” at Miller Outdoor Theatre and The Church of St. John the Divine!

Artistic Partner Mei-Ann Chen led the orchestra in a program inspired by community, family, and hope, honoring Houston’s cultural diversity. Juan Pablo Contreras‘ Mariachitlán takes you to the colorful streets of the composer’s birthplace in Jalisco, Mexico, featuring a mariachi band, and the traditional Vietnamese folk song Bèo dạt mây trôi, tells the story of longing to be reunited with missing loved ones.

Grammy-nominated guitarist Mak Grgic featured as soloist in the world premiere of Borders, a ROCO-commissioned guitar concerto by Michael Abels (composer for the films NOPE, GET OUT, and US), echoing themes of strife and healing. Ludwig van Beethoven‘s dramatic Symphony No. 5, nicknamed the “Fate Symphony,” wrapped up the evening, reminding us that our fate can be in our own hands, encouraging us to write our own stories.

ROCO’s Albert and Margaret Alkek Foundation In Concert series continued with a celebration of “Friends”, on February 18 at the Lucian and Nancy Morrison Theatre at Brockman Hall for Opera – Rice University!

This concert truly showcased the orchestra, as the ensemble performed conductorless, with Artistic Partner and Concertmaster Scott St. John leading from the chair. Underlining themes of friendship and hope, the concert featured the premiere of Brian Raphael Nabors‘ Upon Daybreak, a ROCO co-commission as part of New Music USA’s Amplifying Voices initiative, inspired by Maya Angelou’s poem “A Brave and Startling Truth,” along with Antonin Dvorak’s early favorite Serenade for Strings, Joachim Raff’s vivacious Sinfonietta, and the overture to the opera Jery und Bätely by Ingeborg von Bronsart. Completing the program, the resilient African-American spiritual Keep Me From Sinking Down spotlighted Scott St. John, in Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s powerful orchestral setting featuring solo violin.

Collaboration and innovation were on display in this June 7, 2024 showcase led by ROCO Artistic Partner and conductor Mei-Ann Chen as part of the 2024 League of American Orchestras Conference in Houston. Featuring works by Gabriela Lena Frank, Jennifer Higdon, Errollyn Wallen, Reena Esmail, Heather Schmidt, and Leanna Primiani, and a premiere by Autumn Maria Reed—one of the finalists of ROCO and American Composers Orchestra’s EarShot Call for Scores by early career female composers—this concert highlighted ROCO’s innovative nature, commitment to women composers, and expansion of the classical canon.

ROCO's 19th season Albert and Margaret Alkek Foundation Series kicked off with SEISMIC, an opening concert of epic proportions, featuring the full 40-piece chamber orchestra led by Artistic Partner Mei-Ann Chen in two ROCO-commissioned world premieres and an exhilarating tale of love, intrigue, and adventure, presented at Miller Outdoor Theatre on September 29th, and at The Church of St. John the Divine on September 30th.

Anthony DiLorenzo’s ROCO commission Tectonal, featuring AI text-informed animation by composer and artist Cynthia Lee Wong and based on the acclaimed book The Telling Image by renowned documentary filmmaker Lois Stark, compels the audience to rethink, re-hear and re-visualize how they view the world. ROCO’s commission The Nightingale by Kevin Lau—recently released as our first-ever children’s book, premiered in a new scoring for full chamber orchestra—then the evening closed with a journey to the exotic lands of The Arabian Nights in Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov‘s ravishing symphonic suite Scheherazade, featuring Concertmaster and Artistic Partner Scott St. John.

ROCO's Season 16 Connections series continued via livestream in February, with an intimate concert featuring the music of Margaret Bonds—one of the most prolific Black composers of the 1900s—plus works by composers who influenced or were influenced by her, including Florence Price, Ned Rorem, and Robert Owens.

A rare, previously unknown recording of Margaret Bonds in performance was discovered in the Mastersons’ collection at Rienzi. Produced in collaboration with Rienzi, the concert featured and was curated by returning ROCO favorite, Timothy Jones, bass-baritone, and Howard Watkins on piano.

ROCO’s Connections series continued on November 19, 2021, presenting Huang Ruo’s A Dust in Time: Passacaglia for Strings at Asia Society Texas Center, and also livestreamed at ROCO.org, Facebook, and YouTube.

ROCO made its debut at the jewel of Houston’s 5th Ward Cultural Arts District, the beautifully renovated historic DeLUXE Theater, on January 25th as we welcomed guest violinist Nicole Cherry in collaboration with ROCO Artistic Partner Scott St. John, presenting an evening of chamber works honoring and inspired by the outstanding contributions of London-based nineteenth-century Afro-European violin virtuoso, George Bridgetower.

A part of Dr. Cherry’s commissioning project, “ForgeWithGeorge”, the premiere of David Wallace’s The Bridgetower featured, for solo violin with creative vocalization—along with Yvette Jackson’s recent commission Remembering 1619 for violin and tape. Fellow ROCO string musicians joined for further works by George Bridgetower, Joseph Bologne – Chevalier de Saint-Georges, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Duke Ellington.

Continuing Season 14's In Concert series, “Ticket to Ride” took audiences on a musical journey of Europe by rail.

Conductor (see what we did there!) Brett Mitchell steered the proceedings in his ROCO debut, beginning with the world premiere of Jim Stephenson's tribute to miniature trains, ROCOmotive, then on to England and Germany with Ethel Smyth’s The Wreckers, Poland with Wojciech Kilar’s Orawa, France with the Saint-Saëns Cello Concerto No. 1, featuring Richard Belcher, ROCO principal cello, as soloist, and finally to Austria with Mozart’s Symphony No. 35, “Haffner”.

As part of ROCO's Season 20 Unchambered Series, live from The Menil Collection’s Dan Flavin Installation at Richmond Hall, ROCO Principal Hornist Bernhard Scully and Principal Percussionist Matthew McClung deliver a thrilling performance of Mark Schultz‘s Dragons in the Sky, for horn, percussion, and electronic tape.

Mark Schultz's "Dragons in the Sky" takes its title and inspiration from J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Silmarillion. To begin, Matthew McClung shares an excerpt from Tolkien's work which is musically depicted in this piece, describing the “Great Battle” between the elves and Morgoth.

One of Houston’s coolest people (named to Houston CityBook’s 2023 Cool 100), Korean-born and locally-based composer Nicky Sohn’s music has been described as “dynamic and full of wonder”, playing elegantly with rhythm and harmony, drawing inspiration from keen observation of the world around her.

We were delighted to work with Nicky on a new commission, “Colors of Life’s Garden”—celebrating the 25th anniversary of Rienzi’s founding as a house museum, and the cycle of life found within its stunning 4.4 acre gardens.

Premiered on January 27, 2024, this work was part of ROCO’s Connections Series concert "BLOSSOMS", performed at The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston's Rienzi, featuring musicians Alecia Lawyer, oboe; Milena Pajaro van de Stadt, viola; and Audrey Andrist, piano; and also including works by Charles Loeffler, Rebecca Clarke, Margaret Bonds, and Alyssa Morris.

Bold musical expression, inspired by the human experience, takes center stage in “OUTSPOKEN”— featuring the full 40-piece chamber orchestra on November 2nd, at The Church of St. John the Divine. Led by GRAMMY-winning conductor JoAnn Falletta, be captivated by the world premiere of Jonathan Leshnoff‘s No Grit No Pearl, a ROCO-commissioned work celebrating resilience, and Juan Pablo Contreras‘ vibrant Alma Monarca, another world premiere co-commissioned by ROCO—honoring his family and the tradition of Día de los Muertos.

Violinists Scott St. John and Brian Lewis feature in John Novacek‘s spirited showpiece, Three Rags for two violins and orchestra, and the evening wraps up with the Texas premiere of Franz Schubert’s Death and the Maiden, reimagined by Andy Stein, ushering the journey into a realm beyond.

The extraordinary was experienced in ROCO’s milestone 20th season-opening concert “REMARKABLE” – featuring the full 40-piece chamber orchestra live from The Church of St. John the Divine, on September 28th, 2024.

Gustav Holst‘s vivid tour of our solar system, The Planets, featured in a new rescoring for 40-piece chamber orchestra by Jim Stephenson, with accompanying original animation by James Templeton, all commissioned by ROCO. Thanks to our partner Ion Concert Media, whose revolutionary Museik software enabled the animation to be synced in real-time to the performance—James Templeton's stunning animation is now also available as part of their presentation library, for use by ensembles worldwide: https://www.ionconcertmedia.com/collections/all/products/the-planets-templeton

Under the dynamic direction of Artistic Partner Mei-Ann Chen, we headed to the stars with the world premiere ROCO commission Constellations by Viet Cuong, ROCO’s Season 20 Composer in Residence, spotlighting “constellations” of ROCO musicians as soloists in each movement. Mark Buller‘s powerful ROCO commission John the Revelator paid tribute to ROCO’s home venue of The Church of St. John the Divine, featuring organist Steven Newberry. and Gustav Holst‘s vivid tour of our solar system, The Planets, features in a new rescoring by Jim Stephenson.

ROCO’s Connections Series continued on February 10, 2024, as we celebrated collaboration in “Simple Gifts,” bringing us to a new location at Rothko Chapel!

Led by conductor Delyana Lazarova, Aaron Copland’s iconic tone poem Appalachian Spring, heard in its original 13-piece version, inspired the ROCO-commissioned world premiere of James Stephenson’s Persephone with solo dancer, with original choreography by Marlana Doyle, founder of Houston Contemporary Dance Company. Jennifer Higdon’s quintet Celestial Hymns, inspired by stained glass windows, rounded out the program.

ROCO welcomed back conductor JoAnn Falletta, as the full 40-piece chamber orchestra shined in works of luminous orchestral color and creativity, including three premieres! Glimpse a vision of paradise in the third and final movement of Composer-In-Residence Richard Danielpour’s Symphony in Three Movements After the Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri, then experience the bold sounds of Conni Ellisor’s consortium-commissioned A Woman Without Apology, and dance to Astor Piazzolla’s Tangazo—an edgy tango, then delight in the Texas premiere of Richard Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos Symphony-Suite, a chamber arrangement of his comic 1912 “opera-within-an-opera”.

ROCO's Season 18 In Concert series wrapped up with a look toward our "Future," on April 29th at The Church of St. John the Divine!

In a program inspired by daring creativity and artistic innovation, conductor Michelle Merrill made her ROCO debut, leading the orchestra in the premiere of a ROCO-commissioned orchestral work by Juno award-winner Vivian Fung, Parade.

Louise Farrenc's fiery Symphony No. 1 also featured, with Igor Stravinsky's suite from the ballet Pulcinella, and Ludwig van Beethoven's Overture to the Creatures of Prometheus appropriately rounded out our 18th Season as we were joined by Houston's musical future: the Houston Youth Symphony!

ROCO’s Season 17 Unchambered series wrapped up April 2 with “Spinning Tales”, highlighting the percussion family, live from MATCH and also livestreamed at ROCO.org, Facebook, YouTube, and A440.live.

Featuring and curated by ROCO percussionists Matthew McClung, Christina Carroll, and Craig Hauschildt, the program presented music by composers such as Quinn Mason, Thomas Rex Beverly, Christopher Deane, Keiko Abe, and more, taking the audience on a journey through a wide variety of percussive instruments.

From traditional folk songs of Chiapas, Mexico, the three tunes included were arranged for three percussionists/marimba by ROCO Principal Percussionist Matthew McClung.

ROCO made its debut at the jewel of Houston’s 5th Ward Cultural Arts District, the beautifully renovated historic DeLUXE Theater, on January 25th as we welcomed guest violinist Nicole Cherry in collaboration with ROCO Artistic Partner Scott St. John, presenting an evening of chamber works honoring and inspired by the outstanding contributions of London-based nineteenth-century Afro-European violin virtuoso, George Bridgetower.

A part of Dr. Cherry’s commissioning project, “ForgeWithGeorge”, the premiere of David Wallace’s The Bridgetower featured, for solo violin with creative vocalization—along with Yvette Jackson’s recent commission Remembering 1619 for violin and tape. Fellow ROCO string musicians joined for further works by George Bridgetower, Joseph Bologne – Chevalier de Saint-Georges, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Duke Ellington.

The extraordinary was experienced as ROCO’s milestone 20th season opened with “REMARKABLE” – featuring the full 40-piece chamber orchestra in three world premieres plus a new twist on an out-of-this-world classic, presented at Miller Outdoor Theatre on September 27th, hosted by guest emcee Fred Child of American Public Media’s Performance Today.

Under the dynamic direction of Artistic Partner Mei-Ann Chen, the concert featured the ROCO-commissioned world premiere of John Wineglass‘s Cityscapes in a new version for chamber orchestra, enhanced with immersive, panoramic video of Houston, shot by Houston First and edited by BEND Productions. Then, we headed to the stars with the world premiere ROCO commission Constellations by Viet Cuong, ROCO’s Season 20 Composer in Residence, spotlighting “constellations” of ROCO musicians as soloists in each movement. Gustav Holst‘s vivid tour of our solar system, The Planets, completed the galactic journey – featured in a new rescoring by Jim Stephenson, with stunning original animation by James Templeton.

ROCO’s 17th season Albert & Margaret Alkek Foundation In Concert Series closed on April 23 with “Tying Up Loose Ends”, live at The Church of St. John the Divine.

Conducted by Rei Hotoda in her ROCO debut, the program centered around the world premiere of "Plumes" for large chamber orchestra by Composer-In-Residence Derek Bermel based on J. Henry Fair’s photography collection “Industrial Scars”—capturing the beauty and destruction of industrial and human impacts on our planet—and also included Viet Cuong’s percussion concerto Re(new)al, and a new work by Cynthia Lee Wong, "In a Blink of an Eye", commissioned as part of ROCO’s FIFteen Project.

ROCO’s 17th season Albert & Margaret Alkek Foundation In Concert Series closed on April 23 with “Tying Up Loose Ends”, live at The Church of St. John the Divine.

Conducted by Rei Hotoda in her ROCO debut, the program centered around the world premiere of ""Plumes"" for large chamber orchestra by Composer-In-Residence Derek Bermel based on J. Henry Fair’s photography collection “Industrial Scars”—capturing the beauty and destruction of industrial and human impacts on our planet—and also included Viet Cuong’s percussion concerto Re(new)al, and a new work by Cynthia Lee Wong, ""In a Blink of an Eye"", commissioned as part of ROCO’s FIFteen Project.

Presented in collaboration with Holocaust Museum Houston, ROCO performs the world premiere of Milad Yousufi’s quintet “My Journey to America”, a co-commission with ROCO and the Winsor Music Consortium—a musical memoir telling the story of his own journey, from his birth and childhood in Kabul, Afghanistan, to the experience of becoming a refugee in New York City, and finding success as a musician.

Featuring musicians Alecia Lawyer, oboe; Maureen Nelson, violin; Suzanne LeFevre, viola; Courtenay Vandiver Pereira, cello; and Chelsea De Souza, piano.