Houston Symphony's New Season

From Mozart to MacFarlane, Houston Symphony's new season has something for everyone

The Houston Symphony's upcoming season offers something for just about everyone, with a salute to living composers, an all-Mozart program on Thanksgiving weekend and collaborations with a wide range of celebrity figures, including superstar singer Andrea Bocelli, funnyman Seth McFarlane and acclaimed cellist Yo-Yo Ma.

The 2016-17 season was unveiled Monday night at Jones Hall before an audience of symphony supporters. The event will be broadcast on Houston Public Media TV 8 on Friday (January 29) at 8:30 pm.

Among the highlights:

Opening Night

In his third year as Houston Symphony conductor, Andrés Orozco-Estrada opens the season with a performance of Prokofiev’s enduring classic, Peter and the Wolf, on September 17, 2016, featuring a celebrity guest narrator, at Jones Hall. A gala will follow at The Corinthian.

Salute to John Adams

As part of a salute to living composers, John Adams’ 70th birthday will be celebrated in two different programs in early 2017: Doctor Atomic Symphony, a work inspired by Robert Oppenheimer and the Manhattan Project, and Adams' Concerto for Saxophone and Orchestra, featuring native Houstonian Timothy McAllister, who inspired the work.

World Premiere

Houston Symphony Composer-in-Residence Gabriela Lena Frank’s Requiem, a multicultural work that interweaves traditional Latin and Meso-American texts with new text by Pulitzer Prize-winner Nilo Cruz, will have its world premiere in May 2017.

Great Masterworks

The classical season, over 18 concert weekends, will include Mahler’s Symphony No. 1, Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5, Brahms’ Symphony No. 1 and the completion of the three-season Beethoven cycle of all nine symphonies featuring the composer’s Sixth and Seventh Symphonies as well as Beethoven’s only opera Fidelio.

Yo Yo Ma Returns

Superstar cellist Yo-Yo Ma returns for Dvořák’s Cello Concerto, a powerful masterpiece written during the time Dvořák spent in America, on February 4, 2017.

Former Conductors Are Back, Too

Former Houston Symphony music directors Hans Graf and Christoph Eschenbach are among the season's guest conductors, along with Fabien Gabel, James Gaffigan, Vasily Petrenko and Kazuki Yamada.

Seth MacFarlane Performs

Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane makes his debut with the Houston Symphony on Labor Day weekend (September 4), singing hidden gems of the 1940s and 1950s swing era, along with selections from the Great American Songbook.

Raiders of the Lost Ark Live!

The Symphony’s Summer Series at Jones Hall celebrates the classic film’s 35th anniversary when the Houston Symphony performs John Williams’ score in its entirety as fans watch the epic film on the big screen.

POPs Season Highlights

Principal POPS conductor Michael Krajewski takes up the baton for his final season with a lineup that includes Broadway vocalist Linda Eder, Pink Martini, 50 years of music from James Bond films, and a "Classic Broadway" celebration featuring the music of composers Rodgers and Hammerstein, Lerner and Loewe, Cole Porter and George Gershwin during Krajewski's final weekend with the POPs orchestra.

Family Stuff

The symphony family series includes a "Magic Carpet Ride,” with music from Disney’s Aladdin, a jazzy “Mardi Gras Menagerie” and “Dr. Seuss at the Symphony,” spotlighting music from Green Eggs and Ham.

For more information on the full season, visit www.houstonsymphony.org.

Linda Eder performs with the Houston POPS.

Photo courtesy of Houston Symphony

Linda Eder performs with the Houston POPS.

symphony

Get inspired

Noted Houston street artist paints vibrant new mural at downtown venue

Photo courtesy of Hobby Center for the Performing Arts

GONZO247 poses in front of his new mural, "Houston is Inspired" inside Hobby Center

Visitors to the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts can now see an incredible new mural by one of Houston's most iconic street artists.Mario Enrique Figueroa, Jr., known as Gonzo247, debuted his piece, "Houston is Inspired" on Friday, December 12.

“This piece is all about capturing the energy that makes Houston, Houston," said the artist in a statement. "It’s that raw, vibrant hustle — the music, the culture, the stories we’ve been telling for generations. I wanted to create something that pulls people in, gets them hyped for what they’re about to experience. Every color, every shape, every detail is telling a story, a vibe. This ain’t just a mural or a piece of art — it’s a journey. It's about the grind, the growth, and the inspiration we pass on to each other, on and off the stage.”

The piece is called "Houston is Inspired," after the program at Hobby meant to showcase local performers by offering them week-long residencies on a prestigious stage. This season includes CJ Emmons's one-man comedy musical show I'm Freaking Talented; a rhythmic interactive storytelling experience called Our Road Home by Jakari Sherman; and Lavanya Rajagopalan's combination of music, dance and verse, Kāvya: Poetry in Motion. Information about all three shows, including ticket prices and availability, can be found at TheHobbyCenter.org.

The last show (debuting May 1) was a particular inspiration to Gonzo247. Viewers may notice a pair of hands in a traditional Indian dance pose, a direct reference to Rajagopalan's show.

The Houston is Inspired program was launched launched in the 2023-2024 season. In addition to the residency in Zilkha Hall, artists are given a $20,000 stipend for production and marketing costs. It is now a permanent fixture of the Hobby season. Applicants for future seasons can submit here.

Known for his original "Houston is Inspired" mural in downtown's Market Square, Gonzo247 has been an active force in Houston art for 30 years, including producing the video series Aerosol Warfare about the street art scene in the 1990s and 2000s as well as founding the Graffiti and Street Art Museum. He also served as the artist liaison for Meow Wolf's Houston installation. If anyone's visual vision is perfect to welcome audience members to shows highlighting homegrown talent, it's him.

“Art’s all about telling stories, but it ain’t just what you see — it’s what you feel," he said. "This piece speaks to the heart of everything we’re about: culture, rhythm, struggle, and triumph. When you walk into the space, you gotta feel the anticipation, the energy building up. That’s what I wanted to capture — the vibe of the whole city, the passion in the work, and that next-level hunger to rise up and create something fresh. It’s like the beat drops, and everything just connects.”

visual-art downtown mural gonzo247