Music

The Varieties of Experimental Experience: Soundings on Marfa Sounding

The thing about writing about “experimental music” is that the phrase “experimental music,” if it…

Travel Music: Harmony in the Air Delights Houston’s Airport Passengers

June 13, 2016

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Travel Music: Harmony in the Air Delights Houston’s Airport Passengers

Air travelers nationwide were grumbling about lengthening lines at security checks. A federal transportation official…

June 7, 2016

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Summer Premieres at Lone Star Lyric

When Kelli Estes planned her first season for Houston’s Lone Star Lyric Theater, the company…

Bringing Music to the People: ROCO’s New Season

June 7, 2016

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Bringing Music to the People: ROCO’s New Season

The River Oaks Chamber Orchestra isn’t planning a Fourth of July concert, but maybe it…

A Season of Firsts: Hans Graf at Texas Music Festival

May 31, 2016

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A Season of Firsts: Hans Graf at Texas Music Festival

For nearly three decades, the Emmanuel and Helen Olshan Texas Music Festival (TMF) has courted…

A History in Fragments: Jazz on Film at MFAH

May 27, 2016

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Film

A History in Fragments: Jazz on Film at MFAH

If there is a history of jazz, it’s forever incomplete, like archeologists finding fragments of…

Old Yet New: Ars Lyrica’s Fresh Take on Vivaldi and Next Season’s News

May 19, 2016

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Old Yet New: Ars Lyrica’s Fresh Take on Vivaldi and Next Season’s News

Maybe you’ve heard Antonio Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons umpteen times. Nevertheless, Ars Lyrica wants to…

Classics & Connections: The Dallas Opera’s 2016/17 Season

April 22, 2016

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Classics & Connections: The Dallas Opera’s 2016/17 Season

The Dallas Opera's 60th season is back to basics, with three classics of the Western…

Collaboration Defines Dallas Symphony Orchestra’s SOLUNA Festival

April 20, 2016

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Collaboration Defines Dallas Symphony Orchestra’s SOLUNA Festival

Collaboration happens in the arts, especially in the performing arts, whether the artists involved enjoy…

Houston Symphony’s Musical Ambassador Carlos Andrés Botero Creates Value and Connections

April 20, 2016

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Houston Symphony’s Musical Ambassador Carlos Andrés Botero Creates Value and Connections

The Houston Symphony’s Sunday matinee was coming up, and a couple of hundred early birds…

April 11, 2016

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Sight of Sound

The Dallas Chamber Symphony dives into the world of Filmmaking

April 5, 2016

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Art

The Masque of the Red Death

A multi-sensory art experience

March 23, 2016

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Musiqa at FotoFest and More

Composer Marcus Maroney saw an impetus for his own creativity in Edward Burtynsky’s dramatic photographs.

Unforced Time: Nameless Sounds Brings Australia’s The Necks to the MATCH

March 23, 2016

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Unforced Time: Nameless Sounds Brings Australia’s The Necks to the MATCH

I came on to The Necks late, maybe last year. When I first heard it,…

Women at the Podium: The Dallas Opera Institute for Women Conductors

March 21, 2016

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Women at the Podium: The Dallas Opera Institute for Women Conductors

Last year, the Dallas Opera embarked on a 20-year plan to change the world of…

March 18, 2016

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Fort Worth Opera Comes Into its Own

There’s a lot for the Fort Worth Opera Festival to celebrate this year: the company…

March 14, 2016

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Eric Whitacre at Dallas Winds

Eric Whitacre is proof that there are advantages to breaking some rules – his path…

Pushing Music Forward: <em>No Idea</em> Expands to Houston

March 11, 2016

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Pushing Music Forward: No Idea Expands to Houston

No Idea Festival, founded by Chris Cogburn in 2003, has been around for a while,…

Compose It: How Graham Reynolds became Austin’s go-to composer for theater, dance and film

March 6, 2016

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Austin

Compose It: How Graham Reynolds became Austin’s go-to composer for theater, dance and film

Even if you’re unfamiliar with Graham Reynolds’ name, you’ve probably heard his work — he…

Playing the Block: Maria Chavez at Marfa Myths

February 25, 2016

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Playing the Block: Maria Chavez at Marfa Myths

Marfa Myths is the devil-may-care response to the revelry of SXSW. Curated by Ballroom Marfa…

February 24, 2016

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Houston Chamber Choir’s Spring Season

Robert Simpson sums up what keeps him going: “I’m always excited about whatever is over…

New Music in Dallas: Voices of Change Lives Up to its Name

February 22, 2016

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New Music in Dallas: Voices of Change Lives Up to its Name

Playing in the Dallas Symphony, Dallas Opera Orchestra and other ensembles offers plenty of fulfillment.…

Weaving Narratives of Music and Art: Jennie C. Jones at the CAMH

February 11, 2016

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Art

Weaving Narratives of Music and Art: Jennie C. Jones at the CAMH

Music, much like visual art, has long been a tool used to comment and reflect…

February 10, 2016

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Dance

Performania: Small Scaling the Arts

here's something about do-ablity that is making me a more eager watcher these days. Perhaps…

February 8, 2016

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Art

The A+C Top Ten: February 2016

Our top ten picks for arts + culture events in Texas for February 2016.

Merging Music & Literature: A <em>Proust Sonata</em> at Da Camera

February 2, 2016

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Film

Merging Music & Literature: A Proust Sonata at Da Camera

Sarah Rothenberg, artistic director of Da Camera and Houston’s great maestro of performances that blend…

Ambition, Excellence & Optimism: WindSync’s Big Vision

February 1, 2016

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Ambition, Excellence & Optimism: WindSync’s Big Vision

It has been six years since bassoonist Tracy Jacobson ran through the halls of Shepherd…

Light & Love: Conspirare Pays Tribute to Matthew Shepard

February 1, 2016

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Light & Love: Conspirare Pays Tribute to Matthew Shepard

It has been seventeen years since the nearly lifeless body of Matthew Shepard was found…

Music & Milestones: Dallas Bach Society’s Spring Season

January 25, 2016

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Music & Milestones: Dallas Bach Society’s Spring Season

Sure, J.S. Bach is the most revered composer of his time. But the society goes…

A Baroque Zarzuela at Orchestra of New Spain

January 20, 2016

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A Baroque Zarzuela at Orchestra of New Spain

The hole in the history books made no sense. Spanish music had flourished during the…

What We Loved & More: A + C Writers Look Back at 2015 and Ahead to 2016

January 2, 2016

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Books

What We Loved & More: A + C Writers Look Back at 2015 and Ahead to 2016

We asked the A + C family what performances stood out for them in 2015…

Apollo Chamber Players Explore Texas Roots

December 17, 2015

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Apollo Chamber Players Explore Texas Roots

Like many new musicians, when he left Rice University with his Master’s degree of music,…

Opera in the Desert: Fire Island Opera Festival in Marfa

December 16, 2015

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Opera in the Desert: Fire Island Opera Festival in Marfa

If you took the Santa Fe Opera’s summer performance schedule and, while you were busy…

Seeing With the Heart: <em>The Little Prince</em> Charms at HGO

December 14, 2015

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Seeing With the Heart: The Little Prince Charms at HGO

For a long time after its world premiere in 2003, I hoped Houston Grand Opera…

October 23, 2015

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Musical Explorers: Aperio Turns Ten

As artistic director of Aperio:Music of the Americas Michael Zuraw has sifted through hundreds of…

Ancient Airs: New York Baroque Dance Company Performs with Dallas Bach Society and Ars Lyrica

October 21, 2015

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Dance

Ancient Airs: New York Baroque Dance Company Performs with Dallas Bach Society and Ars Lyrica

There are two opportunities in Texas to experience the wonder of Catherine Turocy's New York…

Not Your Average Conductor: A Visit with Austin Symphony’s Peter Bay

October 16, 2015

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Austin

Not Your Average Conductor: A Visit with Austin Symphony’s Peter Bay

Peter Bay became Music Director and Conductor of the Austin Symphony Orchestra in 1998.

October 16, 2015

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Song of Houston: Story of HGOco

In the September world premiere of O Columbia, the new chamber opera from HGOco, a…

Young, Bold & Conductorless: KINETIC Launches their First Season

September 22, 2015

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Young, Bold & Conductorless: KINETIC Launches their First Season

Houston, meet KINETIC, a new conductorless ensemble founded by two accomplished young musicians: New Zealand…

Dream Team: Terrence McNally and Jake Heggie Collaborate on Great Scott at Dallas Opera

September 21, 2015

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Dream Team: Terrence McNally and Jake Heggie Collaborate on Great Scott at Dallas Opera

In his new work, an opera singer would perform the national anthem at the Super…