The esteemed Houston Symphony Orchestra is coming to campus to perform pieces from some of history’s most famous composers.
Students, faculty and locals can come and enjoy classic and elegant pieces such as: Johannes Brahms’ “Variations on a Theme of Haydn, Opus 56a, Johann Hummel’s “Concerto fro Trumpet and Orchestra in E-flat major” and Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Symphony No. 7 in A major, Opus 92.”
Joining the performance will be conductor Justin Brown, the general music director of the Badisches Staatstheater in Karlsruhe, Germany as well as the music director laureate of the Alabama Symphony Orchestra. Brown also performed the first German production of the 20th century opera “Verlobung im Traum” by Hans Krasa and was even chosen, along with the orchestra, to perform for the president of Germany at the annual benefit concert in June 2015.
Also joining the performance will be trumpeter Mark Hughes. Principal trumpet of the Houston Symphony since 2006, he is an esteemed musician whose accolades include studying at Northwest University with the late Vincent Cichowicz of the Chicago Symphony, participating as a scholarship student in the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and holding the position of associate principal trumpet of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra for twelve years.
Steve Brosvik, General Manager and Chief of Operations Officer at the Houston Symphony said the Gaertner Performing Arts Center is a great performance space for the symphony as the venue enhances their sound and makes for a great show.
“We really enjoy performing in the concert hall at Sam Houston State University,” Brosvik said. “It is a great acoustic space with a very enthusiastic audience and a helpful operations staff. The stage allows us to hear one another which helps us create a tighter ensemble and blend which allows us to play our best.”
The concert is a great opportunity for students, especially those in the school of music, to be exposed to talented professional musicians and learn from their performance. It is also a great opportunity for everyone in attendance to simply be exposed to beautiful music.
Brosvik said in the orchestra’s preparation for their concert is a great opportunity to see the ensemble in training and hopes audiences will learn from their process.
“Our dress rehearsal will be in the concert hall at SHSU the day of the concert,” Brosvik said. “We hope some students and faculty will be able to attend both the rehearsal and the concert.”
Brosvik hopes the audience will be positively impacted by the music and leave wanting to hear more classic and orchestra music.
“We always hope that our audiences leave our concerts feeling more connected to the music, more attached to the experience of listening to live orchestral music and frankly more attached to the Houston Symphony,” Brosvik said. “We wanted to create an experience that makes people want to come back for more.”
The Houston Symphony will perform Friday at 7:30 p.m. in the GPAC Concert Hall.
Tickets are on sale for $30-35 and can be purchased by phone at 936-294-2339 or online at shsu.edu/boxoffice.
