River Oaks Chamber Orchestra

We’re celebrating our season finale with a BANG! Join us at Miller Outdoor Theatre on Sunday, April 21st for a free concert featuring the 40-piece River Oaks Chamber Orchestra and dynamic guest conductor Andre Raphel. ROCO will present the Houston premiere of a ROCO co-commissioned double percussion concerto by internationally-acclaimed composer Jonathan Leshnoff, performed by percussionists Matt McClung and Todd Meehan.  And in ROCO fashion, there will be some traditional classics by Mendelssohn and Respighi along with a few surprises!

Free, assigned seat tickets are available at the Miller Theatre Box Office on first-come first-serve basis while supplies last between 10:30 am and 1:00 pm on the day of the performance . Remaining tickets are given out one hour before curtain, 7:00 pm. Or bring a blanket and sit on the lawn!

Sunday, April 21, 2013

8pm, Miller Outdoor Theatre
6000 Herman Park Drive
Houston, TX 77030
Admission is FREE.
Sponsored in part by the City of Houston through the Miller Theatre Advisory Board 

Program

Felix Mendelssohn Symphony No. 4, “Italian”
Ottorino Respighi The Birds
Jonathan Leshnoff Concerto for Two Percussionists
Plus a few Surprises! 

We’re topping off our 2012-2013 season with an action-packed program that includes a commissioned double percussion premiere by Jonathan Leshnoff.

On Saturday, April 20, and Sunday, April 21, River Oaks Chamber Orchestra (“ROCO”) will present “Big Bang!” with dynamic guest conductor Andre Raphel and the 40-piece River Oaks Chamber Orchestra. Featuring traditional classics by Mendelssohn and Respighi paired with bombastic drums, the ROCO season finale will be a blast for classical music aficionados and families alike. ROCO will present the Houston premiere of a commissioned double percussion concerto by internationally-acclaimed composer Jonathan Leshnoff, performed by percussionists Matt McClung and Todd Meehan.  And in ROCO fashion, there will be a surprise or two!

André Raphel has established a reputation as an exciting and versatile conductor.  Described by the New York Times as “An agile, demonstrative conductor who is physically drawn into the music,” Raphel is currently in his tenth season as Music Director of the Wheeling Symphony Orchestra. Raphel has also served as Assistant Conductor to Kurt Masur at the New York Philharmonic for two years.

Jonathan Leshnoff has earned an international reputation as one of America’s most gifted young composers. Named by the Baltimore Sun as an “Artist to Watch,” Jonathan Leshnoff’s music has been lauded by Strings Magazine as “quite distinct from anything else that’s out there,” The New York Times declared in a November, 2008 review that “the afternoon’s keenest discovery was Mr. Leshnoff.”The award-winning composer is a Professor of Music at Towson University.

ROCO in Concert: “Big Bang!” 

Saturday, April 20, 2013
5pm, at the Church of St. John the Divine
2450 River Oaks Blvd. at Westheimer, with valet parking available
Houston, TX 77019
With ROCOrooters music education/childcare program
Tickets are $25 general admission, $10 for students at HERE or 713-665-2700

Sunday, April 21, 2013
8pm, Miller Outdoor Theatre
6000 Herman Park Drive
Houston, TX 77030
Admission is FREE. Tickets for covered seating are available HERE.
Sponsored in part by the City of Houston through the Miller Theatre Advisory Board 

Program
Felix Mendelssohn Symphony No. 4, “Italian”
Ottorino Respighi The Birds
Jonathan Leshnoff Concerto for Two Percussionists
Plus a few Surprises!

On Thursday, April 4, at 7:30, the ROCO String Quartet will perform “Czechs, Please!” featuring selections by Czechoslovakian composers. The program features beautiful and lyrical love songs for quartet from Dvořák as well as Erwin Schulhoff’s first string quartet. The night will be filled with Czech dance music, jazz influenced tunes, folksongs, and a lively movement “alla slovacca”. The program will also include music from Kozeluch and Suk, plus a ROCO surprise or two!

ROCO String Quartet Chamber Concert
Czechs, Please!
Thursday, April 4, 2013
Cullen Hall at University of St. Thomas
4001 Mt. Vernon Houston 77006
7:00pm Wine reception
7:30pm Performance
Tickets: $20 general admission, $10 for students
Buy Tickets

Program:

• Antonín Dvořák Cypresses
• Leopold Kozeluch  String Quartet E Flat Major, Op. 32, Adiago
• Erwin Schulhoff String Quartet No. 1
• Josef Suk Barcarolle and Ballade
• Plus a surprise or two!

About the ROCO String Quartet
Through this String Quartet series, ROCO is featuring chamber ensembles drawn from within the full 40-piece chamber orchestra. Chamber music has been called “music among friends” because of its intimate nature. The series allows ROCO to expand relationships among musicians, with composers, and with the audience by presenting musical conversations that include contemporary as well as classic repertoire.

Performing with the ROCO String Quartet will be violinists Cecila Belcher and Pasha Sabouri, violist Suzanne LeFevre, and cellist Eric Gaenslen. Each is an accomplished artist-performer.

New York-based violinist Cecilia Belcher has performed with the St. Louis Symphony, Pittsburg and Houston Symphony, The Knights, and ROCO. She has previously been a member of the New World Symphony, as concertmaster and principal second violin, Verbier Festival Orchestra, and Canton Symphony. Cece is ROCO’s principal second violin.

Pasha Sabouri has soloed at the Edinburugh Festival, as well as with the Texas Chamber Orchestra, Las Vegas Philharmonic, Henderson Symphony, and others. He has also won first prize in the National Federation of Music Clubs Young Artist Competition, as well as being National Finalist for Music Teachers National Association Young Artists Division. This is Pasha’s fourth season with ROCO.

 Suzanne LeFevre is a violist and personnel manager for ROCO, as well as a violist for Houston Grand Opera and Mercury Baroque, and an affiliate artist at University of Houston.  This is Suzanne’s eighth season with ROCO.

Cellist Eric Gaenslen has performed as a chamber musician, recitalist and guest soloist in venues across North America and Europe. As cellist of the renowned Rossetti String Quartet, Eric has performed at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Berlin Konzerthaus, with such artists as Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Eugenia Zuckerman, Gautier Capuçon and Pepe Romero. This is Eric’s second season with ROCO.

ROCO principal trumpet, Joseph Foley, will present a chamber concert along with a few of his friends on Sunday afternoon, March 3, 4:00pm, at Gremillion &Co. Fine Art Annex, 2504 Nottingham. His eclectic program will include music by Bach, Arban, Hanson, Strauss, plus music for jazz trio.

Mr. Foley will perform with pianist and Professor of Music at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music,   Thomas Jaber, and double bassist, Michael Gorman.

The performance is one in a series of Chamber Concerts performed at Gremillion &Co. Fine Art Annex. It will be a casual, interactive afternoon of musical conversation with with a wine reception before and during the concert. Admission is $20 ($10 for students), and valet parking will be available.

Buy Tickets

ROCO and University of St. Thomas are pleased to present the second in a series of chamber concerts featuring the ROCO String Quartet in Cullen Hall at University of St. Thomas. This series is another step in the University’s multi-year plan to establish a major performing arts center on the St. Thomas campus.

ROCO String Quartet Chamber Concert

Thursday, February 21, 2013
Cullen Hall at University of St. Thomas
4001 Mt. Vernon Houston 77006
7:00pm Reception
7:30pm Performance
Tickets: $20 general admission, $10 for students
Buy Tickets

Program: London & England: Its composers and its influence

• Ralph Vaughan Williams String Quartet in A minor
• Benjamin Britten A Phantasy for Oboe and String Quartet
• Joseph Haydn String Quartet Op.74, No. 3
• Two pieces based on traditional English folksongs by Frank Bridge

About the ROCO String Quartet
Through this String Quartet series, ROCO is featuring chamber ensembles drawn from within the full 40-piece chamber orchestra. Chamber music has been called “music among friends” because of its intimate nature. The series allows ROCO to expand relationships among musicians, with composers, and with the audience by presenting musical conversations that include contemporary as well as classic repertoire.

Performing with the ROCO String Quartet will be violinists Ellen de Pasquale and Evan Price, violist Suzanne LeFevre, cellist Richard Belcher, and special guest, oboist Alecia Lawyer. Each is an accomplished artist-performer.

Widely acclaimed for the beauty of her playing and refined musicianship, Ellen de Pasquale is a regular guest at leading music festivals throughout the United States and Europe, as well as an active recitalist and chamber musician

Evan Price is steadily gaining recognition as one of the world’s most confident voices in extra-classical string playing at age 24, Price joined the world-renowned Turtle Island String Quartet. For the next ten years, he played with, arranged music for, and toured the world with Turtle Island, and is the recipient of two GRAMMY® awards for his work with the group.

Suzanne LeFevre is a violist and personnel manager for ROCO, as well as a violist for Houston Grand Opera and Mercury Baroque, and an affiliate artist at University of Houston.

New Zealand cellist, Richard Belcher has performed as a chamber musician and in solo settings across the USA and internationally. He is cellist with the Grammy-nominated Enso String Quartet, of which he is a founding member, and principal cellist with ROCO.

Oboist, Alecia Lawyer is ROCO’s founder who also serves as artistic and executive director and performs as principal oboist of ROCO. In addition, she solos with area orchestras and is oboist with the contemporary composers group Musiqa in Houston.

Buy Tickets for this performance

Saturday, February 9 and Sunday, February 10, ROCO will perform “A Timeless Feast with Brandenburg No. 2” featuring Joseph Swensen as guest concertmaster and violin soloist with the 40-piece River Oaks Chamber Orchestra.

The delicious program serves up feast- and time-themed pieces, including the much-loved second Brandenburg Concerto, Sibelius Belshazzar’s Feast Suite, Handel Alexander’s Feast Overture, and Haydn “Clock” Symphony. And as always, there will be a surprise or two.

ROCO in Concert: “A Timeless Feast with Brandenburg No. 2”

Saturday, February 9, 2013
5pm, at the Church of St. John the Divine
2450 River Oaks Blvd. (at Westheimer)
Houston, TX 77019
with ROCOrooters music education/childcare program
Tickets are $25 general admission, $10 for students here or at 713-665-2700

Sunday, February 10, 2013
7pm, Chapelwood United Methodist Church
11140 Greenbay St.
Houston, TX 77024
Admission is Free

Program
Brandenburg Concerto No. 2
Handel Alexander’s Feast Overture
Haydn “Clock” Symphony
Sibelius Belshazzar’s Feast Suite
And more…

ROCO is delighted to announce the launch of “ROCOreplay,” an online listening room and music store that enables ROCO fans to enjoy ROCO music anytime, anywhere. ROCO audience members have been asking for a way to buy recordings of ROCO concerts so that they may enjoy them again and again.

ROCOreplay extends the audience experience beyond the concert hall and provides three ways to re-experience ROCO performances:

• The Listening Room is an online location where listeners may hear full concerts as well as individual pieces that were recorded live during ROCO performances. Concerts are listed by season and available for replay within the web page. It’s FREE and available anytime from within the ROCO website. The Listening Room is located under the “Listen” tab at http://rocohouston.org.

• The ROCO Music Store is just a click away from the Listening Room. There, listeners may preview tracks and buy digital downloads of concert albums and music tracks. Albums are arranged by concert and are keyword searchable by composer, conductor, soloist, and other descriptors such as “premiere” and “conductorless.”

• ROCOringtones are excerpts from live performances that have been crafted into iPhone ringtones. With a ROCOringtone in your pocket, you’ll enjoy a little bit of ROCO every time your phone rings! The first set of ringtones offered in the store highlights individual ROCO musicians in featured performances. ROCOringtones are one more way that ROCO personalizes the orchestral experience and delivers “the most fun you can have with serious music.”

Please visit and enjoy our new Listening Room and ROCOreplay music store.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. Why is ROCO offering music recordings for sale and for listening online?

A1.  We are responding to our patrons’ requests for a way to purchase and listen to recordings of ROCO performances. We are extending the audience experience beyond the concert hall by introducing our new listening room, music store and ROCOringtones.  At launch, ROCOreplay includes recordings of live performances from ROCO’s first seven seasons.

Q2.  How do I get to the ROCO Listening Room?

Q2.  Find it under the “Listen” tab on the ROCO website: www.rocohouston.org.

Q3.  How do I get to the ROCOreplay music store?

A3.  Three ways:  1)via the red tab at the top of every page of the ROCO website (www.rocohouston.org), 2) via the “buy all” link at the bottom of the music player in the Listening Room, and 3) directly at www.rocoreplay.com.

Q4.  What format are the downloaded files?

A4. The music files are MP3 files. When you download an album, you will receive a zipped file that contains multiple MP3 files. To use them, just double click on the zipped file, extract them to the directory of your choice.

Q5.  How do I play downloaded music files?

A5.  You can play them on any device that can play MP3 files, including your computer, iPhone, iPad, iPod, etc.

Q6.  Can’t I just buy a CD of ROCO music?

A6.  At this time, we’re only offering digital versions of our recordings.

Q7.  How do I get ROCOringtones from the ROCOreplay store and onto my iPhone?

A7.  Purchase them from ROCOreplay and download them to your computer. You’ll want to save them in your iTunes “Tones” folder, then connect and sync your iPhone ringtones.

Q8. Why did ROCO create music ringtones? Has anyone else done this?

A8. ROCO has achieved a reputation as an innovator and “orchestral trailblazer.” Building on our commitment to reimagine the orchestral experience, we see ROCOringtones as one more way to personalize the orchestral experience and create “the most fun you can have with serious music.” As far as we know, we are the first classical musical organization to introduce ringtones made from our own performances.

Q9.  Will ROCOringtones play on all phones?

A9.   Only iPhones can play ROCOringtones at this time.

Q10. What if I have a problem purchasing and downloading music files?

Q10. If you have any problems purchasing or playing ROCO music files, email us at replay@rocohouston.org or call us at 713-665-2700 and we’ll talk you through it.

Join ROCO for the annual Conductorless Concert Feb 9th & 10th, with violin soloist and guest concertmaster Joseph Swensen.

Wikipedia defines conductorless as “a unique style of collaborative leadership in which the musicians interpret the music, not the conductor.” Performing without a conductor requires collaboration, mutual respect, and “radical trust”.  It empowers the individual musicians in a way that translates into an exciting experience for the audience. Performing conductorless is a ROCO signature and part of what makes ROCO “the most fun you can have with serious music.”

 
By removing the “wall” between orchestra and audience, the chamber orchestra exposes an intimate dialogue among its musicians and invites the audience into a delightful conversation. Few orchestras of ROCO’s size attempt to perform conductorless, especially on pieces as challenging as those on ROCO’s February 9th and 10th concerts. Sharing leadership among ROCO’s 40 musicians showcases the high level of artistry and strong spirit of “musical joie de vivre” that is ROCO’s signature.  The result a fantastic audience experience that author/journalist, John DeMers calls, “the most fun you can have with serious music.”

ROCO is thrilled to have so much talent under the St. Johns roof for our November concert, Musical Mélange with Organ Solo!

Joining esteemed conductor Edwin Outwater and guest concertmaster Stephanie Sant’Ambrogio, Grammy award-winning organist Paul Jacobs will present Guilmant Symphony No. 1 for Organ and Orchestra. Our concert home, The Church of St. John the Divine, has one of the most beautiful organs in Houston, so this piece will be a truly unique ROCO experience!

Along with the fun the organ will bring, we will also set the fall mood with a Houston premiere of Pierre Jalbert’s Autumn Rhapsody. Jalbert states that the piece is inspired by the “autumn landscape in Vermont, when the trees present a multicolored tapestry, and the wind begins to blow colder than summer”.

This concert is the perfect introduction to the holiday season and is sure to pair well with crisp weather and family cheer!

For more information click here

This Sunday afternoon, ROCO is pleased to present a chamber concert featuring Bassonist Daniel Chrisman. Within the intimate setting of Gremillion &Co. Fine Art Annex, Daniel chose to present a wide range of works that highlight the love of his instrument, the power of music and the fun of getting to share it all with ROCO’s wonderful audience. We caught up with Daniel to see what makes his musical selections so special.

The music will range from peaceful to unconstrained. As he says, “The Bach is very meditative and is something I always come back to when I need to center myself.” The contemplative Bach pairs well with the deceptively simple Saint-Saens: “it moves through lots of harmonic changes but without sounding excessively complex.  Ideally, it should sound very simple; the first movement song-like and the second, an alternatively light and aggressive waltz.” To continue with the theme of exciting and complex music, Daniel will perform Alexandre Tansman’s Sonatine, which is, as he puts it, “a piece I’ve always wanted to conquer! It’s wildly difficult and the outer movements are a welcome opportunity to play with barbaric abandon while the middle movement is soulful and somber.”

Exciting pieces like Transman Sonatine give voice to the bassoon in ways many have never heard before. Presenting this view of the bassoon is something  special to Daniel, as his roots with the instrument go back generations. Growing up in rural Kentucky, the bassoon was not a common instrument, so he says seeing one for the first time, “fascinated me, the sight and sound of the bassoon struck me as quite mysterious and exotic.” Discovering his family’s history, he learned that his grandmother’s brother actually performed with the Boston Symphony as a bassoonist. After visiting him and his wife, (also a bassoonist) he came away with a family heirloom- his very own bassoon. His passion for bassoon was set in stone in college: “Bassoon lessons, practice room culture, and ensemble performance were like oxygen to me…I added contrabassoon to my repertoire in graduate school, deciding that there was opportunity in making that big clunker sound like a real musical instrument.  It turns out that I quite enjoy making the lowest sounds in the orchestra!”