The Houston Symphony is an American

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

based in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. The orchestra is resident at the

Jesse H. Jones Hall for the Performing Arts The Jesse H. Jones Hall for the Performing Arts (commonly known as Jones Hall) is a performance venue in Houston, Texas, and the permanent home of the Houston Symphony Orchestra and Society for the Performing Arts. Jones Hall is also frequently re ...

History

The first concert of what was to become the Houston Symphony took place on June 21, 1913, sponsored by the Houston philanthropist Ima Hogg. Initially, the orchestra was composed of only 35 part-time musicians. Despite its small stature and budget, the orchestra and its first conductor, Julien Paul Blitz, enjoyed a good response and continued to perform. He conducted until 1916, then Paul Bergé, until the orchestra disbanded in 1918. The orchestra reformed in 1930, still as a semi-professional orchestra, and gave its first full season of concerts the following year conducted by Uriel Nespoli. In the spring of 1936 the symphony society officially became the Houston Symphony Society. Ernst Hoffmann began his tenure that year with increased support from the Society and began hiring professional musicians. The orchestra continued to expand over the next several decades, and its first 52-week contract was signed in 1971.

Leopold Stokowski Leopold Anthony Stokowski (18 April 1882 – 13 September 1977) was a British conductor. One of the leading conductors of the early and mid-20th century, he is best known for his long association with the Philadelphia Orchestra and his appeara ...

was music director from 1955 to 1961. During his tenure, the Houston Symphony gave the American premiere of the Symphony no. 11 of

Dmitri Shostakovich Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, , group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his Symphony No. 1 (Shostakovich), First Symphony in 1926 and was regarded throug ...

, and subsequently made the first commercial recording of the work. When Stokowski invited African-American opera singer

Shirley Verrett Shirley Verrett (May 31, 1931 – November 5, 2010) was an American operatic mezzo-soprano who successfully transitioned into soprano roles, i.e. soprano sfogato. Verrett enjoyed great fame from the late 1960s through the 1990s, particularly we ...

to sing with the Houston Symphony in the early 1960s, he was forced to rescind his invitation when the orchestra board refused to accept a black soloist. Stokowski later made amends by giving her a prestigious date with the

Philadelphia Orchestra The Philadelphia Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. One of the " Big Five" American orchestras, the orchestra is based at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, where it performs its subscription ...

. The orchestra performed in either the City Auditorium or the Music Hall until the construction in 1966 of the

. In 2001, the orchestra lost millions of dollars' worth of instruments, music, and archives when

Tropical Storm Allison Tropical Storm Allison was a tropical storm that devastated southeast Texas in June of the 2001 Atlantic hurricane season. An arguable example of the " brown ocean effect", Allison lasted unusually long for a June storm, remaining tropical or s ...

flooded the basement levels of Jones Hall. In 2003, the musicians went on strike for 24 days, and the settlement included a pay cut for the musicians and a reduction in the size of the orchestra.

Hans Graf Hans Graf (born 15 February 1949 in Marchtrenk) is an Austrian conductor. As a child, Graf learned the violin and the piano. He studied at the Musikhochschule in Graz, Austria, and graduated with diplomas in piano and conducting. He also partic ...

was the music director of the orchestra from 2001 to 2013, the longest tenure of any Houston Symphony music director. In September 2009, the orchestra announced the conclusion of his tenure as music director at the end of the 2012–2013 season, upon which Graf took the title of conductor laureate of the orchestra.

Andrés Orozco-Estrada Andrés Orozco-Estrada (born 14 December 1977) is a Colombian violinist and conductor, with dual nationality in Colombia and Austria. Early life Born in Medellín, Orozco-Estrada studied music at the Instituto Musical Diego Echavarría and lea ...

became music director in September 2014, with an initial contract of five years. In March 2017, the orchestra announced an extension of Orozco-Estrada's contract through the 2021–2022 season. Orozco-Estrada and the orchestra have recorded commercially for the PENTATONE label. Orozco-Estrada concluded his Houston music directorship at the close of the 2021–2022 season.

Juraj Valčuha Juraj Valčuha (born 1976, Bratislava) is a Slovak conductor who has worked mainly in Italy and France. He is the designated conductor of the Houston Symphony Orchestra from the 2022/23 season. Life Born in Bratislava, Valčuha studied compos ...

first guest-conducted the orchestra in 2011. He returned as a guest conductor twice, in April 2018 and in March 2021. In July 2021, the orchestra announced the appointment of Valčuha as its next music director, effective with the 2022–2023 season.

Music Directors

Notable musicians, past and present

The following Houston Symphony musicians have articles in Wikipedia: * Arlene Weiss Alda, clarinet, assistant principal 1956–1957 *

James Austin James Austin may refer to: Sports * Jim Austin (baseball) (born 1963), former baseball pitcher * Jim Austin (rugby league), New Zealand rugby league player * James Austin (judoka) (born 1983), English judoka * James Austin (American football) (19 ...

, trumpet, principal 1960–1977 * Edward Carroll, trumpet, associate principal 1975–1976 * Wayne Crouse, viola, principal 1951–1983 *

Willard Somers Elliot Willard Somers Elliot (18 July 1926 in Fort Worth, Texas – 7 June 2000 in Fort Worth, Texas) was an American bassoonist and composer. He was the bassoonist with the Houston Symphony Orchestra (1946–1949), bassoonist with the Dallas Symphon ...

, bassoon 1946–1949 *

Paul Ellison Paul Ellison (born October 17, 1941) is co-principal bass at the Grand Teton Festivals, and is Professor of Double Bass at Rice University's Shepherd School of Music. He was also on the faculty of The Colburn School Conservatory of Music in Los A ...

, bass, principal 1964–1987 *

Armando Ghitalla Armando Ghitalla (June 1, 1925 – 14 December 2001) was an American orchestral trumpeter. He studied at the Juilliard School, and performed in the New York City Opera, the New York City Ballet, and the Houston Symphony. He was a member of the Bost ...

, trumpet 1948–1950 *

Desmond Hoebig Desmond Hoebig is a Canadian cellist with a career as a soloist, orchestral and chamber musician. Hoebig has held the chair of Principal Cellist in the Cleveland Orchestra, Houston Symphony Orchestra, and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. Hoebig is cur ...

, cello, principal 1991–2003 *

Frank Huang Frank Xin Huang (born September 5, 1978) is a Chinese-born American violinist and teacher. Since 2015 he has been the concertmaster of the New York Philharmonic. Previous to his position in New York, Huang was the first violinist of the Ying Qua ...

, violin, concertmaster 2010–2015 * Benjamin Kamins, bassoon, principal 1981–2003 * Julie Landsman, horn, co-principal 1982–1985 *

Cristian Măcelaru Cristian Măcelaru (born 15 March 1980, Timișoara, Romania) is a Romanian conductor. Biography Măcelaru is the youngest child from a family of 10 children. He studied violin as a youth. He continued his music studies in the United States at th ...

, violin 2004–2006 * Erik Ralske, horn, associate principal *

Hal Robinson Harold Hall ("Hal") Robinson (born July 29, 1952Birth records
of < ...

, bass, assistant principal 1977–1985 * Elaine Shaffer, flute, principal 1948–1953 *

Joseph Silverstein Joseph Harry Silverstein (March 21, 1932 – November 21, 2015) was an American violinist and conductor. Known to family, friends and colleagues as "Joey", Silverstein was born in Detroit. As a youth, Silverstein studied with his father, Bernard ...

, violin 1950–1953 *

Brinton Averil Smith Brinton Averil Smith (born 1969, in Royal Oak, Michigan) is an American cellist. Smith has been the principal cellist of the Houston Symphony since 2005 and is a faculty member of the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University and the Aspen Mus ...

, cello, principal 2005–present *

Laila Storch Laila Storch (February 28, 1921 – December 2, 2022) was an American oboist. Biography She was the first woman oboist to graduate from the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia, where she studied with Marcel Tabuteau. Career Storch was the principa ...

, oboe, principal 1948–1955 * William VerMeulen, horn, principal 1990–present *

John McLaughlin Williams John McLaughlin Williams (born 1957) is a Grammy award-winning American orchestral conductor and violinist. He attended the Boston University School of Music, the New England Conservatory and is a graduate of The Cleveland Institute of Music. Hi ...

, violin 1981–1982 * Harold Wright, clarinet, c. 1949–1952

References

External links

Houston Symphony official websiteHistory from The Handbook of Texas Online
{{Coord missing, Texas Culture of Houston Texas classical music Music of Houston Tourist attractions in Houston Musical groups established in 1913 Orchestras based in Texas 1913 establishments in Texas