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Your weekly guide to Houston: Five (plus) don't-miss events — great sackbut included

Artsy experience abound this week as the city's premiere classical ensemble welcomes its next baton leader. On tap this week are three historic concerts, a strong exhibition, photography that mirrors the American spirit, a parade on water and a performance that features a Canadian ensemble with a penchant for the sackbut.

Houston Symphony welcomes music director Andrés Orozco-Estrada

To experience the Houston Symphony under the baton of incoming music director Andrés Orozco-Estrada is to understand just how much influence a conductor has in shaping the overall sound, energy and passion in an institution that has been around for 100 years. Orozco-Estrada brings a youthful zest to the classical ensemble that has flourished in recent years to reclaim its rightful place in the diverse cultural fabric of this sprawling city.

You have three opportunities to catch the conductor as the 2014-15 sets into motion.

"Bienvenido, Andrés" on Friday at Miller Outdoor Theatre welcomes Venezuelan pianist Gabriela Montero in Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, alongside other light selections. "Opening Night with Andrés" on Saturday at Jones Hall is filled with concert standards such as Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition and Haydn's Trumpet Concerto with soloist Alison Balsom. "Fiesta Sinfonica con Andrés" on Sunday at Jones hall mostly repeats Friday's program that also celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month.

The skinny: "Bienvenido, Andrés" is on Friday, 8:30 p.m., at Miller Outdoor Theatre (free tickets are available for covered seating); "Opening Night with Andrés" is on Saturday, 7:30 p.m., at Jones Hall (tickets start at $25); "Fiesta Sinfonica con Andrés" in on Sunday, 6 p.m., at Jones Hall (tickets are free while they last).

Holocaust Museum Houston exhibition Ground Zero 360: Never Forget

Where were you when you heard the news? Wherever that was, you will never forget when your view of the world was changed radically as you learned about the horrific attack on our homeland.

This Holocaust Museum Houston exhibition curated by a retired New York City Police Department lieutenant Paul McCormack, who was onsite taking part in the rescue operation, presents photos taken that day by his wife, Nicola McClean. The collection of more than 80 images plus recordings of emergency calls, objects and remains from the World Trade Center reframe the fateful day in hopes of remembering the past so history doesn't repeat itself.

The skinny: On view through Jan. 11, 2015; Holocaust Museum Houston; $12 general admission, free for members and students.

Houston Center for Photography opening reception: Travelogues

Aside from apple pie, I am sure I am not the only one who associates road trips with the American spirit. The open road, the sense of adventure, the feeling of exploring unexplored places and terrains, the feeling when strangers become friends — all incite a sense of nostalgia about the freedom of travel adventures.

Photographers Nathan Hoang, Sara Macel and Natalie Slater tackle this subject in a new exhibition at the Houston Center for Photography. Offering images that honor the past, these three young artists eventually lead viewers to the same destination — home.

The skinny: Opening reception is on Friday, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., on view through Nov. 2; Houston Center for Photography; free event.

"Afloat" hosted by Houston Arts Alliance and Buffalo Bayou Partnership

As part of a three-month project titled Transported + Renewed organized by the Houston Arts Alliance that reintroduces the city's vibrant East End, this parade on water reimagines what has come to represent the zeitgeist of the Bayou City.

Think of this buoyant procession as the aqueous version of the Art Car Parade. With dragon boats, yachts, canoes, kayaks and decorated vessels, "Afloat" bows to the centennial anniversary of the Port of Houston.

The skinny (update): Due to expected inclement weather, the event originally scheduled for Sept. 13 has been moved to Oct. 4 and will take place in conjunction with the Buffalo Bayou Shrimp Festival.

Houston Chamber Choir presents "The Splendor of Venice" with Sacabuche

An ode to the sackbut (stop giggling), Canadian-based string and period trombone ensemble Sacabuche arrives to partner with the Houston Chamber Choir for two performances that recall the magnificence of St. Mark's Basilica in Venice. Works of late Rennaissance and early Baroque composers such as Giovanni Gabrieli, Hans Leo Hassler and Heinrich Schütz evince why Venice was an epicenter for musical creativity.

The skinny: Sunday, 7 p.m.; First Presbyterian Church of Kingwood; tickets are $10-20. Tuesday, 7:30 p.m.; Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart; tickets are $10-40.

The Houston Symphony welcomes music director Andrés Orozco-Estrada with three concerts at Jones Hall and Miller Outdoor Theatre.

Andres Orozco-Estrada, Wortham, portrait

Photo by © Julie Soefer

The Houston Symphony welcomes music director Andrés Orozco-Estrada with three concerts at Jones Hall and Miller Outdoor Theatre.

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Musical theater veteran joins prominent Houston company

Courtesy of Stages

Stages has named Valerie Rachelle as its new associate artist director.

A Houston theater company is adding an accomplished artist to its ranks. Stages announced that Valerie Rachelle will be the company’s new associate artistic director beginning in January 2026.

For more than a decade, Rachelle has been artistic director of the Oregon Cabaret Theatre in Ashland, Oregon, where she oversaw artistic vision and operations. That theater specializes in musical theater performances offered in a cabaret setting.

Rachelle comes to Houston with a career spanning nearly 30 years as a director and choreographer. She has extensive experience in developing new musicals and plays for regional theaters and opera companies across the United States, including the Tony Award-winning Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the Utah Shakespeare Festival, and Sierra Repertory Theatre. She was appointed to her position at Stages following a nationwide search.

“I’m beyond thankful for this opportunity to join this incredible company, and I’m excited to be a part of a creative entity that has a strong mission and vision as Stages,” Rachelle said in a statement.

In her role with Stages, she will support artistic director Derek Charles Livingston with season planning and casting; liaise with artists, press, and staff; and coordinate day-to-day operations for the artistic department. She will also assist with crafting educational materials, direct and choreograph productions, and serve as the primary liaison with theatrical unions.

“We are thrilled to welcome Valerie to Stages in this role,” said Livingston. “I have seen her work as a director and director choreographer — she's excellent. Those skills combined with her experience as a theatre artistic director and manager only further fortify Stages' commitment to artistic excellence and community engagement.”

Born and raised in Eugene, Oregon, Rachelle began her career as a dancer and apprentice ballerina with the Eugene Ballet Company before earning her BFA in acting from California Institute of the Arts. She received her MFA in Directing from the University of California, Irvine. She has held teaching and directing positions at numerous institutions, including the University of Southern California, Southern Oregon University, Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts, and others. She has also served as a mentor through Statera Arts, an organization dedicated to gender equity in the arts.

Rachelle teaches musical theater, auditioning, and singing at Southern Oregon University when she isn’t on the road as a freelance director and choreographer. She’s also a classically trained singer and toured the world with her parents and their illusionist show as a child.

“Joining the team that has a long-standing reputation of excellence in theater is an honor,” Rachelle added.

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