performance CALENDAR 2024 –25 SEASON
The Music of ABBA
June 15
Jurassic Park in Concert
June 22 & 23
The Music of The Rolling Stones
June 28 & 29
Ain’t No Mountain High Enough: The Music of Motown
September 28 & 29
Opening Weekend: Dvořák’s New World
October 4, 5 & 6
Trifonov in Concert
October 10
Dvořák’s Violin Concerto
October 12 & 13
Hansel and Gretel & Don Quixote
November 1, 2 & 3
It Don’t Mean a Thing: Swingin’ Uptown Classics with Byron Stripling
A Viennese Waltz Christmas
December 7 & 8
Yo-Yo Ma in Concert
December 9
Very Merry Pops
December 12, 14 & 15
Holly Jolly Holiday
December 14
S Handel's Messiah
December 20, 21 & 22
Pink Martini with China Forbes: 30th Anniversary Season
January 3, 4 & 5
November 8, 9 & 10 S
Clap your hands, say yeah! The Great American Music Adventure
November 9
Michael Tilson Thomas Conducts Beethoven 9
November 14
Disney Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas in Concert
November 16 & 17
Bach, Mozart & Brahms
November 23 & 24
Thanksgiving Weekend: Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto
November 29, 30 & December 1
An Eschenbach & Bruckner
Birthday Celebration
January 11 & 12
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban™ in Concert
January 18 & 19
Beethoven’s Violin Concerto & Tchaikovsky
January 24, 25 & 26
Viva Italia! Opera Beyond Words
February 7 & 9
Duke Bluebeard’s Castle
February 15 & 16
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back in Concert
February 21 & 22
007: James Bond Forever
February 28, March 1 & 2
Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Missing Maestro
March 1
Hilary Hahn Plays Brahms
March 7, 8 & 9
Korngold’s Violin Concerto & Cinderella
March 14, 15 & 16
Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody & The Little Mermaid
March 21, 22 & 23
Showstoppers! Celebrating Iconic Women of Broadway
April 4, 5 & 6
La Flor: The Music of Selena
April 12 & 13
Sibelius 5 & Stravinsky
April 18 & 19
Cirque Rocks!
April 25, 26 & 27
Cirque For Kids
April 26
Beethoven 7 & Mozart
May 1, 3 & 4
Trumpet Brilliance & Boléro
May 9, 10 & 11
Stayin’ Alive: The Bee Gees & Beyond
May 16, 17 & 18
Bruce Liu Plays Chopin
May 23, 24 & 25
Juraj Valčuha Conducts Mahler 3
May 30, 31 & June 1
John Williams & Steven Spielberg: Movie Magic
June 6, 7 & 8
© 2023 Disney
Introducing a harmonious blend of timeless artistry and whimsical charm — STEINWAY X DISNEY: MICKEY MOUSE LIMITED EDITION . Cra ed with passion and precision, each piano is hand-painted, evoking the enchanting world of Disney through the masterful vision of acclaimed Italian artist, Elena Salmistraro. is isn’t just a musical instrument; it’s a limited-edition masterpiece, with only 25 pianos available worldwide.
STEINWAY PIANO GALLERY
2001 W. Gray St. Houston, TX 77019
(713) 520-1853
www.steinwaypianos.com
Juraj Valčuha
Music Director
Roy and Lillie Cullen Chair
COMMUNITY-EMBEDDED MUSICIANS
Lindsey Baggett, violin
David Connor, double bass
Rainel Joubert, violin
ASSISTANT LIBRARIANS
Hae-a Lee
Anna Thompson
STAGE PERSONNEL
Stefan Stout, Stage Manager
José Rios, Assistant Stage Manager
Nicholas DiFonzo, Head Video Engineer
Justin Herriford, Head Audio Engineer
Connor Morrow, Head Stage Technician
Giancarlo Minotti, Audio Production Manager
• Formed in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1972, the pop group ABBA is one of the most successful musical acts of all time. With songs like “Mamma Mia,” “S.O.S.,” “Waterloo,” and “Dancing Queen,” the quartet has sold hundreds of millions of records, topped sales and airplay charts around the world, and won countless international awards and accolades.
• The group’s name was formed with the first initials of its four members–Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad–arranged as a palindrome. All four had been musically active individually from the late 1950s and early ’60s. They came together in 1970, adopted their name in 1973, and began their winning ways with a victory at the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest.
• Although they never officially broke up, the members of ABBA went their separate ways after a television appearance in December 1982. After resisting reunion for decades despite mounting interest stirred by movies and tribute acts that used their music, they finally came back together in 2016, and released their ninth and final album, Voyage, in 2021. ABBA Voyage, a related concert experience celebrating the group’s music and legacy, combines digital avatars of the group’s members with a live band.
• For this celebration of the musical legacy of ABBA, the Houston Symphony and guest conductor Lucas Waldin are joined by Rajaton, a globally successful Finnish a cappella quintet whose name, appropriately, translates as “boundless.”
Charles Goodnight Texas Straight Bourbon Whiskey, 57.5% alc./vol. (115 Proof). Bottled by Goodnight Distillery, Mira Loma, CA. Lighthouse Gin. 40% alc./vol. Distilled from 100% Grain. Imported and Bottled by Lighthouse Distillery, Mira Loma, CA. ©2024 Foley Family Wines, Inc., Santa Rosa, CA. Please drink responsibly.
• Of all the collaborations between a filmmaker and a composer in Hollywood history, practically none can compare to the extraordinary success Steven Spielberg and John Williams have enjoyed. Their partnership began in 1972, when Williams scored Spielberg’s debut feature film, Sugarland Express, and has continued to this year, when Williams received his 54th Academy Award nomination for his score to Spielberg’s Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. All told, the two have collaborated on 29 films.
• Williams didn’t win the Oscar this year, but the nomination was itself a milestone on several counts. It made Williams, age 91 at the time, the most-nominated living person, and the second-most nominated of all time behind the late Walt Disney, who earned 59 nominations. Williams broke his own record for the oldest person nominated for a competitive Oscar category. He’s won five times, including three Oscars for Spielberg films: Jaws (1978), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1983), and Schindler’s List (1994).
• Composed in 1993, the score for Jurassic Park includes two of Williams’s most celebrated themes: the noble “Theme from Jurassic Park,” which accompanies the film’s first dinosaur sighting, and the spirited “Journey to the Island,” foreshadowing the adventure ahead as a helicopter approaches Isla Nublar. Another memorable cue, “The Raptor Attack,” extends a line of dark, scary themes Williams has written to accompany such perils as a Great White shark—and Darth Vader!
• Honoring Williams at the 44th American Film Institute Life Achievement Award in 2016, Spielberg summed up his collaborator’s particular genius. “Without John Williams, bikes don’t really fly,” the director said. “Nor do brooms in quidditch matches, nor do men in red capes. There is no Force. Dinosaurs do not walk the earth. We do not wonder. We do not weep. We do not believe. John, you breathe belief into every film we have made.”
• Founded in London in 1962, the Rolling Stones is one of the most popular rock bands in the world. The band has sold more than 250 million albums, won three Grammy Awards as well as a Lifetime Achievement honor, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989. Songs like “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,” “Jumpin’ Jack Flash,” “Street Fighting Man,” “Sympathy for the Devil,” “Miss You,” and “Start Me Up” are as popular now as they were when they were first released.
• Boyhood friends Mick Jagger and Keith Richards formed the Rolling Stones after a chance encounter on a train platform led them to discover a shared love of American rock and blues artists like Chuck Berry and Howlin’ Wolf—a passion that has continued right up to their 2023 studio album, Hackney Diamonds, which closes with a cover of the Muddy Waters song “Rolling Stone Blues.”
• Since they first started touring in 1963, the Rolling Stones have played more than 2,000 concerts around the world, pushing the boundaries of concert-presentation technology to accommodate the ever-larger venues their vast and growing audience demanded. For one free concert in Rio de Janeiro in 2006, more than 500 lights, hundreds of speakers, and a video screen more than 40 feet long were needed to reach an audience estimated at 1.5 million members. And they’re still filling stadiums to this day.
• For this celebration of the Rolling Stones, the Houston Symphony and conductor Brent Havens will be joined by a live rock band fronted by Mick Adams, whose uncanny performances as Mick Jagger have earned him international acclaim.
YOUNG ASSOCIATE LEADERSHIP
Kirby Lodholz, Chair
Carrie Brandsberg-Dahl, Vice Chair
Laurel Flores, Communications Chair Jeff Hiller, Membership Chair
Principal Corporate Guarantor ($250,000 and above)
Spec’s Wines, Spirits & Finer Foods / Spec’s Charitable Foundation**
Grand Guarantor ($150,000 and above)
ConocoPhillips**
Guarantor ($100,000 and above)
Bank of America
Boston Consulting Group* Frost Bank
Underwriter ($50,000 and above)
Amerapex
Baker Botts L.L.P.*
Cameron Management*
Chevron**
CKP*
Houston Christian University
Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo**
Sponsor ($25,000 and above)
EOG Resources
The Events Company*
ExxonMobil
H-E-B/H-E-B Tournament of Champions**
Partner ($15,000 and above)
Beam Suntory City Kitchen* Faberge
Supporter ($10,000 and above)
American Tank and Vessel, Inc.
Accordant Advisors*
Houston First Corporation*
Marine Foods Express, Ltd.**
Mark Kamin & Associates
Benefactor ($5,000 and above)
Beck Redden LLP
Russell Reynolds Associates, Inc.
Patron (Gifts below $5,000)
Amazon
Avatar Innovations
Baker Hughes
Christian Dior
Jashn Social Bespoke Catering*
KPMG US Foundation, Inc.
Houston Methodist*
Kalsi Engineering Oliver Wyman* PaperCity*
Kinder Morgan Foundation**
Kirkland & Ellis
The Lancaster Hotel*
Nexus Health Systems
Oxy**
PNC**
Rémy Martin
Sewell
Neiman Marcus*
One Market Square Garage*
Rand Group, LLC*
Silver Eagle Distributors Houston, LLC
Gorman’s Uniform Service Jackson & Company*
New Timmy Chan Corporation
Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, L.L.P.
University of St. Thomas*
Volume Social Club*
Mercantil ONEOK, Inc.
Nippon Steel North America, Inc.
Quantum Bass Center*
SEI, Global Institutional Group
SERCA Wines*
KTRK ABC-13*
Shell USA, Inc.**
Silver Eagle Beverages Truist
Univision Houston & Amor 106.5FM Vinson & Elkins LLP
Lockton Companies of Houston USI Southwest
Quantum Energy Partners
Sire Spirits
Beth Wolff Realtors
Vivaldi Music Academy
Zenfilm*
Wortham Insurance & Risk Management
Smith, Graham & Company
Soren Pedersen Catering & Events*
Stewart Title Company
TAM International, Inc.
Diamond Guarantor ($1,000,000 and above)
The Brown Foundation, Inc.
Houston Symphony Endowment**
Premier Guarantor ($500,000 and above)
The Alkek and Williams Foundation
Grand Guarantor ($150,000 and above)
City of Houston through the Miller Theatre Advisory Board**
The Cullen Foundation
Guarantor ($100,000 and above)
The Jerry C. Dearing Family Foundation
Underwriter ($50,000 and above)
Albert and Ethel Herzstein Charitable Foundation
Beauchamp Foundation
The Elkins Foundation
Sponsor ($25,000 and above)
The Melbern G. & Susanne M. Glasscock Foundation**
Partner ($15,000 and above)
Ruth & Ted Bauer Family Foundation**
William E. & Natoma Pyle Harvey Charitable Foundation**
The Hood-Barrow Foundation
Supporter ($10,000 and above)
Edward H. Andrews
The Carleen & Alde Fridge Foundation
George & Mary Josephine Hamman Foundation
Benefactor ($5,000 and above)
Leon Jaworski Foundation
Patron (Gifts below $5,000)
The Lubrizol Foundation
The Scurlock Foundation
Houston Symphony League
The Wortham Foundation, Inc.
City of Houston through Houston Arts Alliance
The Cullen Trust for the Performing Arts
The Hearst Foundation**
The Humphreys Foundation
MD Anderson Foundation
The Houston Arts Combined Endowment Fund
The Fondren Foundation
Houston Symphony Chorus Endowment
LTR Lewis Cloverdale Foundation
William S. & Lora Jean Kilroy Foundation
The Vivian L. Smith Foundation**
The Schissler Foundation
Sterling-Turner Foundation
The Vaughn Foundation
The C. Howard Pieper Foundation
Texas Commission on the Arts**
Petrello Family Foundation
The Pierce Runnells Foundation
Strake Foundation**
The Radoff Family Foundation
Keith & Mattie Stevenson Foundation
John P. McGovern Foundation**
The Powell Foundation**
The William Stamps Farish Fund
