Concerts and Events
2025 TMF Orchestra Series
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Festival Orchestra June 7: Mahler 5
Saturday, June 7, 2025 | Moores Opera House, University of Houston
Concert
7:30 p.m. | Moores Opera HousePre-concert performance by members of Virtuosi of Houston
6:30 - 7:20 p.m. | Moores Opera House LobbySettling the Score: Pre-concert lecture with Dr. Andrew Davis
6:30 - 7:10 p.m. | MSM Room 108Program
Mahler: Symphony No. 5 in C-sharp minorArtists
Festival Orchestra
Franz Anton Krager, conductorProgram Description
Mahler’s fifth symphony: an exhilarating journey from despair to elation, with a musical love letter in the middle! Come celebrate with us, as we launch our 2025 summer season of symphonic concerts, featuring an all-star orchestra of emerging professionals from across the world. Witness amazing young talent reaching new heights of artistry.
This concert is dedicated the Alan Austin, an extraordinary artist/leader, who was director of the Texas Music Festival for three decades. From the thousands of TMF alumni now performing and teaching worldwide: Thank you, Alan!
Festival Orchestra June 14: Caballé-Domenech conducts Respighi and Prokofiev
Saturday, June 14, 2025 | Moores Opera House, University of Houston
Concert
7:30 p.m. | Moores Opera HouseRED Carpet Night! Family friendly pre-concert event (see below for details)
4:30 - 6:30 p.m. | Moores Opera HousePre-concert performance by members of Virtuosi of Houston
6:30 - 7:20 p.m. | Moores Opera House LobbySettling the Score: Pre-concert lecture with Dr. Andrew Davis
6:30 - 7:10 p.m. | MSM Room 108Program
Respighi: Fountains of Rome
Prokofiev: Violin Concerto No. 1 in D major, Op. 19
Prokofiev: Suite from the ballet Cinderella, Op. 87Artists
Festival Orchestra
Josep Caballé-Domenech, conductor
Kirsten Yon, violin soloistProgram Description
Daring, glamorous, fantastic, and thrilling! Fairy tales come to life in the Moores Opera House. The Texas Music Festival Orchestra, led by one of Spain’s most renowned and established conductors, Josep Caballé-Domenech, perform Respighi’s enchanting Fountains of Rome. Houston’s own hometown-virtuoso violinist, Kirsten Yon, performs Prokofiev’s alluring and adventurous Violin Concerto, followed by music from the ballet Cinderella – a sonic fairy tale that music lovers of any age will love.This concert is a celebration of Houston’s home-grown arts. Join us as we celebrate our local Art Car Parade and Art Bike Parade winners, plus other local artists that make our city great.
Join us before the concert:
RED Carpet Night!
Met-Ball-esque fashion runway + signature-Houston, Art-Car-esque, DIY artistry + a family-friendly concert = RED Carpet Night at the Texas Music festival.
From 4:30 – 6:30 p.m. Houston artists will help you create an art-car inspired, RED-carpet-ready fashion make-over! At 6:30 p.m., get seen at our glamorous RED carpet parade, inspired by a 21st century Cinderella’s ball. Then, enjoy The Texas Music Festival Orchestra’s performance of Cinderella inspired music by Prokofiev and other fantastic symphonic masterworks.
Are you a Space City Cinderella? Prince Clutch? MOTHER, either evil step- or fairy god-? Join us!
Presented with the Houston Center for Visionary Art, UH System Public Art, The Blaffer Art Museum Student Association, and the UH FAB (fashion and Business Organization).
Sign-up for our FREE art-fashion workshop and get a code for FREE tickets to the Texas Music Festival!
Full schedule
- 4:30 – 6:30PM: Art Fashion Workshop
- 6:30PM: Pre-concert, RED Carpet Parade outside the Moores Opera House
- 7:30 PM: The Texas Music Festival Orchestra performs Prokofiev’s Cinderella and other fanciful symphonic masterworks.
Festival Orchestra June 28: Mei-Ann Chen conducts Rachmaninoff
Saturday, June 28, 2025 | Moores Opera House, University of Houston
Concert
7:30 p.m. | Moores Opera HousePre-concert performance by members of Virtuosi of Houston
6:30 - 7:20 p.m. | Moores Opera House LobbySettling the Score: Pre-concert lecture with Dr. Andrew Davis
6:30 - 7:10 p.m. | MSM Room 108Program
Clyne: Restless Oceans
TBA: 2025 Mitchell-Hogg Competition Winner
Rachmaninoff: Symphonic Dances, Op. 45Artists
Festival Orchestra
Mei-Ann Chen, conductor
2025 Cynthia Woods Mitchell - Ima Hogg Competition Winner, soloistProgram Description
Swoon! Get swept off your feet! The Texas Music Festival Orchestra presents their Festival Finale concert, featuring Rachmaninoff’s notoriously enchanting Symphonic Dances. The concert opens with GRAMMY-nominated composer Anna Clyne’s Restless Oceans. Then, meet a new shooting star, as we enjoy a solo performance from this year’s Cynthia Woods Mitchell – Ima Hogg Competition.This concert is dedicated to Houston’s all-star arts educators! The Musicians of the Texas Music Festival owe so much to their incredible teachers. Join us as we honor and celebrate our city’s extraordinary and talented music, theater, dance, and art teachers.
Teachers come for FREE! Register here for special pre-concert arts education workshop (three hours of CPE credit), reception, and concert tickets.
Sharon Ley Lietzow Piano Series
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Barry Douglas Recital: Thursday, June 5 | 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, June 5 | 7:30 p.m. in Dudley Recital Hall
BARRY DOUGLAS RECITAL
The Texas Music Festival is thrilled to open our 2025 Festival with a recital from one of the world’s most admired and in-demand virtuosos, Irish pianist/conductor Barry Douglas. Since winning the gold medal at the 1986 Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition, Moscow, Douglas has become a highly sought-after recitalist, concerto soloist, and chamber musician, annually performing across the globe from Royal Albert Hall, Barbican and Wigmore Hall and the Verbier Festival to the Forbidden City Concert Hall in Beijing, Grand Theatre in Shanghai and other cities in China.
Program
Schubert: Four Impromptus, D.899, Op. 90
Tchaikovsky: Romance, No. 5 from Six Pieces, Op. 51, Valse Sentimentale, No. 6 from Six Pieces, Op. 51, Nocturne in F Major, Op. 10, No. 1, Danse Charactéristique, No. 4 from Eighteen Pieces, Op. 72
Liszt: Sonata in B minorClayton Stephenson Recital: Thursday, June 12 | 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, June 12 | 7:30 p.m. in Dudley Recital Hall
CLAYTON STEPHENSON RECITAL
“…a poet, a dramatist and a master story-teller…” (Gramophone) – Clayton Stephson, the charismatic 2022 Cliburn Competition finalist, performs a colorful program of classical music favorites, plus Keith Jarrett’s take on the classic Harold Arlen song "Over the Rainbow."
Program
Arlen—Jarrett: "Over the Rainbow"
Albéniz: Iberia, Book I
Stravinsky: Trois mouvements de PetrouchkaGabriela Martinez Recital: Thursday, June 26 | 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, June 26 |7:30 p.m. in Dudley Recital Hall
GABRIELA MARTINEZ RECITAL
A Venezuelan superstar concert pianist who calls Houston her home, Gabriela Martínez makes her Texas Music Festival debut with a stunning and unexpected program. The repertoire features Beethoven and Villa-Lobos alongside works by two brilliant young American women composers: Missy Mazzoli and Rice University alumna Caroline Shaw.
Program
HALCYON
Rachmaninoff: Moments Musicaux, Op. 16 (Selections)
Jessica Meyer: Halcyon Skies
Caroline Shaw: Gustave Le Gray
Heitor Villa Lobos: Bachianas Brazileras, No. 4
Federico Ruiz: Tríptico Tropical (Selections)
Mason Bates: White Lies For Lomax
Szymanowsk: Variations in B-Flat Minor
Chamber Music Series
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Formosa Quartet and Faculty: Friday, June 6 | 7:30 p.m.
Friday, June 6 | 7:30 p.m. in Dudley Recital Hall
Chamber Music I: Formosa Quartet and Faculty
Join us for an eclectic and adventurous concert of chamber music. Texas Music Festival faculty artists share this program with the “Spellbinding” (The Strad magazine) Formosa Quartet, UH’s string quartet in residence.
Program
Fazil Say: The Moving Mansion (Hommage à Atatürk) for Piano Quintet
W.A. Mozart: Gran Sestetto Concertante
A Formosa Quartet “Formosa Set” – an assortment of shorts from the FQ’s collection of folk, pop, jazz, and poetry arrangements. Curated especially for each concert, our Set is like a flight of desserts after a main course, offering a chance for audiences to “let their hair down,” tap their toes, and enjoy the string quartet medium in somewhat less-conventional contexts.Harpsichordist Matthew Dirst, Faculty, and Fellows: Tuesday, June 10 | 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, June 10 | 7:30 p.m. in Dudley Recital Hall
Chamber Music II: Harpsichordist Matthew Dirst, Faculty, and Fellows
Music has the power to transport us across time, around the world, and into the sublime and mysterious realms of the spirit. This concert begins with a sonic portrait of Houston’s own Rothko Chapel, then whirls through the famous churches of Rome, lounges in an ornamented interior of Venice, then swaggers, carefree through the streets of roaring-twenties Paris. We are honored to feature the renowned harpsichordist and Ars Lyrica Houston Artistic Director, Mathew Dirst, as he helps guide select Texas Music Festival fellows and our faculty through an eclectic tour of baroque and new music masterworks.
Program
Lee R. Kesselman: Blocks for Bassoon Quartet
G. F. Handel: Concerto Grosso Opus 6, No. 7
Caroline Shaw: "Stucco & Brocatelle"
Andrew Norman: “Sabina” from A Companion’s Guide to Rome
Francis Poulenc: Sextet for Winds and Piano FP 100Collaboration Celebration: Tuesday, June 24 | 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, June 24 | 7:30 p.m. in Dudley Recital Hall
Chamber Music III: Collaboration Celebration!
Our Texas Music Festival faculty and fellows join together for one last evening of collaborative chamber music. The art of sacrifice; the art listening; the art of consensus; the art of leadership; the art of bold experimentation; the art of mutual support – that’s chamber music. Come celebrate young professional musicians reaching new heights of maturity and artistry, as they collaborate directly with our world-class Texas Music Festival faculty.
Join us for the finale of our 2025 chamber music series, when faculty and fellows will perform their most beloved and often most challenging chamber masterworks.
Program
Stravinsky: Octet
Performances by the Texas Music Festival Jazz Institute faculty
Brahms: Piano Quintet in F minor, Op. 34
Free Events
Cynthia Woods Mitchell - Ima Hogg Competition, Final Round: Sunday, June 8 | 2:00 p.m.
Sunday, June 8, 2:00 p.m. | Dudley Recital Hall, FREE
TMF’s young artists compete for the chance to perform as soloist with the festival orchestra and cash prizes. A distinguished panel of judges chooses the winner, but YOU can help to choose the Audience Favorite prize. Come discover Classical music’s rising star soloists!
Piano Institute Chamber Music: Wednesday, June 11 | 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, June 11, 7:30 p.m. | Dudley Recital Hall, FREE
Piano Institute participants play music for four hands and chamber works with Orchestra Fellows.
Piano Institute Final Performance: Saturday, June 14 | 2:00 p.m.
Saturday, June 14, 2:00 p.m. | Dudley Recital Hall, FREE
Solo works for piano by Institute performers.
No Zoning - Student Chamber Music: Wednesday, June 18 & Friday, June 20
Wednesday, June 18, 7:30 p.m. | Kinder HSPVA, FREE
Friday, June 20, 7:30 p.m. | Kinder HSPVA, FREENo Zoning - a musical exploration of Houston
The Texas Music Festival Fellows are set free! Chamber music performances, presented in collaboration with Houston arts organizations in many of Houston’s eclectic and iconic cultural landmarks.
Help us celebrate what makes Houston special.
No Zoning - Student Chamber Music: Saturday, June 21 | 3:00 p.m. (DACAMERA)
Saturday, June 21, 3:00 p.m. | The Menil Collection, FREE
No Zoning - a musical exploration of Houston
Student Chamber Music in collaboration with DACAMERADACAMERA Presents DACAMERA Young Artists and Texas Music Festival Fellows at the Menil Collection
The Texas Music Festival Fellows are set free! Chamber music performances, presented in collaboration with Houston arts organizations in many of Houston’s eclectic and iconic cultural landmarks.
Help us celebrate what makes Houston special.
No Zoning - Student Chamber Music: Saturday, June 21 | 7:00 p.m. (Saengerbund)
Saturday, June 21, 7:00 p.m. | Houston Saengerbund Saengerhalle, FREE
No Zoning - a musical exploration of Houston
Student Chamber Music in collaboration with Houston SaengerbundAn evening of German chamber music, social singing, and general good times at the Saengerhalle with Houston Saengerbund.
The Texas Music Festival Fellows are set free! Chamber music performances, presented in collaboration with Houston arts organizations in many of Houston’s eclectic and iconic cultural landmarks.
Help us celebrate what makes Houston special.
No Zoning - Student Chamber Music: Sunday, June 22 | 1:00 p.m. (Beer Can House Block Party)
Sunday, June 22, 1:00 p.m. | The Beer Can House, FREE
No Zoning - a musical exploration of Houston
Student Chamber Music in collaboration with The Orange Show Center for Visionary ArtA Beer Can House Block Party with percussion and brass chamber music at Houston’s iconic folk art masterwork, the Beer Can House.
The Texas Music Festival Fellows are set free! Chamber music performances, presented in collaboration with Houston arts organizations in many of Houston’s eclectic and iconic cultural landmarks.
Help us celebrate what makes Houston special.
Pre-College Institutes: Friday, June 27 | 5-8 p.m.
Friday, June 27
Pre-College Institutes- 5:00 p.m. in the Moores Opera House - FREE
Percussion Ensemble
Blake Wilkins, director - 6:00 p.m. in the Moores Opera House - FREE
High School Wind Ensemble Institute
David Bertman, director - 7:00 p.m. in the Moores Opera House - FREE
Jazz Institute: Middle School and High School Orchestras
Noe Marmolejo, director
- Classic to contemporary big band jazz, performed by Houston middle and high school all-stars from the TMF Jazz Institute.
- 5:00 p.m. in the Moores Opera House - FREE
Masterclasses
Masterclass schedule coming soon!
