Video Library Tag: Works by Women

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’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.

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 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 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.

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.

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 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.