Step into the Listening Room

River Oaks Chamber Orchestra puts music in your pocket: New mobile approach captures fans

There's no mistaking when Alecia Lawyer zooms around your part of town. Her mommy SUV is branded with license plates that announce the whereabouts of the fierce leader of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra — known as ROCO, rhymes with loco, to the cool kids.

Lawyer, the sounds of her revolutionary ensemble to be exact, has gone digital and mobile.

ROCO recently launched an online platform where anyone can listen for free and purchase tracks of live recordings for 99 cents and full-evening concerts for $9.99. Using players from SoundCloud, a social media service where anyone can upload, record, promote and share audio files, ROCO's freshly pressed Listening Room seizes the excitement of the concert experience, captured by Houston Public Radio KUHF/KUHA and edited/produced by Andrew Bradley.

"The reason why people love coming to our concerts is the people playing in the orchestra. To our audience, it matters who we are as individuals — in and outside of music."

Included in the inaugural collection are Rossini's La Scala di Seta Overture, in which Lawyer double tongues the crap out of that perky oboe riff, Kodaly's colorful Dances of Galanta, conductor Mei-Ann Chen's take on Martinu's Toccata e Due Canzoni, principal cellist Richard Belcher's expensive rendition of Haydn's Cello Concerto in C major and the world premiere of Shepherd School of Music Anthony K. Brandt'sMaternity: Women's Voices Through the Ages, a collaboration with Renaissance man David Eagleman.

There are many more selections in ROCO's new ROCOreplay cyber store, going as far back as November 2005, the group's opening season, when principal flutist Christina Jennings shined with Griffes' Poem for Solo Flute and Orchestra.

"ROCO is all about the musician-audience connection," Lawyer says. "The reason why people love coming to our concerts is the people playing in the orchestra.

"To our audience, it matters who we are as individuals — in and outside of music."

That's why Terri Golas, ROCO's general manager, created ROCOringtones, a collection of seven clips (49 cents each or $1.99 for the set) designed for fans on the go that also highlight former concertmaster Brian Lewis, percussionist Matt McClung and clarinetist Nathan Williams.

What's next? ROCO car horns? ROCO washing machine beeps? ROCO email sending whooshes? ROCO fire alarms?

Whatever is on tap, surely it will make for a more mellifluous world.

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"Here come the grannies!"

Walk through the Magic Door to experience the world of Bluey in Houston

bluey and bingo's bedroom at camp in houston

Courtesy of CAMP

Houston will soon be the home of a new CAMP store, featuring interactive installations like the house from "Bluey."

Bluey is coming to the Galleria this February “for real life” through an immersive event that invites visitors to enter the world of the famous Australian Heeler family. This one-of-a-kind experience brings the Heeler home and backyard to life with intricate details that will delight fans of all ages.

Tickets are on sale now for Bluey x CAMP, the inaugural interactive experience of the combination toy store, party venue, and immersive theater space. This is The Family Experience Company’s first CAMP location in Houston, with the business securing a 7,500-square-foot permanent retail space in the Galleria.

Through “The Magic Door,” a pivoting wall, visitors step into seasonally rotating interactive spaces beginning with a 5,000-square-foot lifesize replica of Bluey’s house.

Visitors can play games made popular by the show, such as grannies and keepy uppy, and bust a move when “dance mode” is activated. The kitchen’s fridge is covered in drawings by the Heeler puppies, while the living room TV plays Bluey.

Families can explore both a pillow fort and a cardboard castle — two-story structures complete with slides — before venturing into a playroom stocked with toys and costumes from the show. In the backyard, a recreation of the Heeler’s large tree is surrounded by charming gnomes. A photo opportunity with Bluey and Bingo tops off the visit.

Beyond the world of Bluey, CAMP offers even more for visitors in its Canteen space, with a splatter room, The Schmutz Bar (a slime creation station), a party room, and a playable truck. Customers can also shop for toys, clothing, and accessories.

Houston joins a list of CAMP’s locations in Dallas, Atlanta, New York City, Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C. Installations change seasonally, with other current features including Paw Patrol, The Little Mermaid, and Encanto.

Courtesy of CAMP

Houston will soon be the home of a new CAMP store, featuring interactive installations like the house from "Bluey."

bluey galleria-houston camp bluey x camp