Thanks, Tommy

Houston-born Broadway legend donates 50,000 item personal collection to UH

Tommy Tune has received 10 Tony Awards.

Courtesy of University of Houston

Broadway legend Tommy Tune and his sister Gracey have made a major gift to the University of Houston, ensuring that the star's larger-than-life legacy will be available for scholars and students for generations to come. The Tony Award-winning actor, choreographer, and director has given a collection of costumes, scripts, design sketches, choreography notes, photos and personal letters to the university.

More than 50,000 items in all, the collection captures the creative spirit of Broadway in the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s and provides a window into how iconic productions were conceived, staged, and experienced. Tune, a native Houstonian who earned his master's degree in directing from UH in 1964, has been one of Broadway's luminaries for decades, helming the original production of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Nine, and more. He is the first person to win Tony Awards in four different categories, and the only person in Tony Awards history to win the same categories in consecutive years, taking home best choreography and best directing in 1990 and 1991. He is also the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Tony Award.

He starred opposite Barbra Streisand in the 1969 film Hello, Dolly!

“The University of Houston felt like the natural home for it because it’s where my story truly began,” Tune said. “This collection represents my life in musical theater, and I want it to inspire the next generation of artists in the city that first inspired me.”

The collection is housed in the UH Archives in the MD Anderson Library. Tune's sister Gracey noted that her brother's extraordinary career is part of theater history.

“You don’t win nine Tony Awards in so many facets of the craft — and a 10th for Lifetime Achievement — without shaping the era itself,” she said. “This collection covers every corner of his Broadway life, and many of his creations still live on stages around the world.”

The gift means that current and future generations of students and researchers will have access to remarkable items and letters.

“This collection is a significant contribution to the study of theater history, particularly musical theater,” said University of Houston Archivist Mary Manning. “It will be invaluable to students, performers, filmmakers and researchers who want to explore Tune’s creative process, reconstruct productions or gain cultural context for the works he directed and performed in.”

Tune's connections to Houston run deep. TUTS' annual Tommy Tune Awards are named for the star, and recognize excellence in high school musical theater.

Tune expressed gratitude for the university and acknowledged that donating these pieces of his life and work represent a full-circle moment.

“The University of Houston has an energy and creative spirit that matches everything this collection represents,” Tune said. “If my life’s journey can help even one young artist see a bigger future for themselves, it will be the perfect encore.”

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raise the baton

Prestigious international conductor competition will debut in Houston

Photo by Clayton Stephenson

Conductor Marin Alsop will lead the judging panel.

Houston is about to get a new baton in town, and this one comes with international ambitions.

The Cliburn has announced the launch of the Cliburn International Competition for Conductors.

Classical music cognoscenti might be asking what this has to do with Houston. After all, the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition has long been synonymous with Fort Worth. The answer lies in legacy, logistics, and a bit of full-circle musical fate: Houston is home to a world-class orchestra, a premier music school, and a deep-rooted connection to Van Cliburn himself, who made his orchestral debut here at age 12.

The new program is set to debut in June 2028 in Houston. So there it is.

Open to conductors ages 21 to 35, the competition marks the first major international conducting competition in North America, placing the city on the global podium for emerging musical leadership.

The new initiative is a collaboration between The Cliburn, the Houston Symphony, and the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University. The Houston Symphony will perform with all competitors.

“The event will bring people to Houston from around the world, enhancing our reputation as an international city with a thriving arts and cultural sector,” Gary Ginstling, executive director and CEO of the Houston Symphony, tells CultureMap.

Competition rounds will take place at both the Shepherd School and Jesse H. Jones Hall for the Performing Arts.

“Collaborations like this are central to who we are as a university,” Matthew Loden, dean of the Shepherd School of Music, says. “They build on a deep network of relationships we’ve established with renowned arts organizations in Texas and around the world, and they strengthen the multifaceted programs already in place at Shepherd.

Loden frames Houston — and Texas more broadly — as uniquely positioned to lead in the arts. Often dubbed the Third Coast, he sees the region as more than a participant in the global cultural conversation. Instead, he views Texas as actively shaping a growing center for artistic innovation, making Houston a fitting home for the first major international conducting competition in North America. It’s a point of pride, he notes, but hardly a surprise.

At the helm of the jury will be Marin Alsop, who also conducted the 2022 and 2025 Van Cliburn International Piano Competitions. An artistic advisory committee stacked with conducting prowess will help shape the competition’s structure and repertoire, including former Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra music director Miguel Harth-Bedoya (Shepherd’s resident director of orchestras), current Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra music director Robert Spano, Kent Nagano, Juraj Valčuha (Houston Symphony music director), and Xian Zhang.

Applications will open in October 2026, with submissions due in November 2027. A screening jury will narrow the pool to as many as 25 applicants for live auditions in early 2028, ultimately selecting 12 competitors. All rounds will be open to the public, with tickets going on sale in early 2028, and performances livestreamed to a global audience.

One grand prize winner will receive $50,000, concert engagements, and enhanced career support, while finalists will each earn $20,000.

Building on the Cliburn’s digital reach, more than 100 million video views across 180 countries in recent years, the new competition aims to be a launchpad for the next generation of maestros, with Houston as the overture.

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