InTUNE The Houston Symphony Magazine
Fiesta Sinfónica
September 18, 2026
ORCHESTRA ROSTER Juraj Val!uha
Steven Reineke, Principal POPS Conductor
Music Director Roy and Lillie Cullen Chair
FIRST VIOLIN Yoonshin Song, Concertmaster Max Levine Chair Vacant, Associate Concertmaster Ellen E. Kelley Chair Boson Mo, Assistant Concertmaster Qi Ming, Assistant Concertmaster Fondren Foundation Chair Tong Yan Ferenc Illenyi Si-Yang Lao Christopher Neal Sergei Galperin Annie Kuan-Yu Chen Han Xie Samantha Washecka Agnes Tse SECOND VIOLIN Vacant, Principal Eunseo Lee, Associate Principal Amy Semes Mihaela Frusina Jing Zheng Anastasia Iglesias Tina Zhang* Yankı Karata! Hannah Duncan Alexandros Sakarellos VIOLA Joan DerHovsepian, Principal Wei Jiang, Acting Associate Principal Samuel Pedersen, Assistant Principal Paul Aguilar Sheldon Person Fay Shapiro Keoni Bolding Jimmy Cunningham CELLO Brinton Averil Smith, Principal Janice H. and Thomas D. Barrow Chair Christopher French, Associate Principal Jane and Robert Cizik Chair Anthony Kitai Louis-Marie Fardet Jeffrey Butler Maki Kubota Xiao Wong Charles Seo Jeremy Kreutz DOUBLE BASS Robin Kesselman, Principal Timothy Dilenschneider, Associate Principal Andrew Pedersen, Assistant Principal Eric Larson Logan May Burke Shaw
COMMUNITY-EMBEDDED MUSICIAN Lindsey Baggett, Violin LIBRARIANS Ali Verderber, Associate Librarian Megan Fisher, Assistant Librarian
Andrés Orozco-Estrada, Conductor Laureate Gonzalo Farias, Associate Conductor
Donald Howey Avery Weeks FLUTE Kayla Burggraf, Principal General Maurice Hirsch Chair Matthew Roitstein, Associate Principal Judy Dines Kathryn Ladner* PICCOLO Kathryn Ladner* OBOE Jonathan Fischer, Principal Lucy Binyon Stude Chair Anne Leek, Associate Principal Adam Dinitz Pablo Moreno+ ENGLISH HORN Adam Dinitz Barbara and Pat McCelvey Chair CLARINET Mark Nuccio, Principal Bobbie Nau Chair Vacant, Associate Principal Christian Schubert Alexander Potiomkin Ben Freimuth+ E-FLAT CLARINET Ben Freimuth+ BASS CLARINET Alexander Potiomkin
TRUMPET Mark Hughes, Principal George P. and Cynthia Woods Mitchell Chair John Parker, Associate Principal Richard Harris TROMBONE Nick Platoff, Principal Bradley White, Associate Principal Phillip Freeman BASS TROMBONE Phillip Freeman TUBA Dave Kirk, Principal TIMPANI Leonardo Soto, Principal Matthew Strauss, Associate Principal PERCUSSION Vacant, Principal Mark Griffith Matthew Strauss HARP Allegra Lilly, Principal KEYBOARD Wesley Ducote, Principal LIBRARIAN Luke Bryson, Principal
BASSOON Rian Craypo, Principal Isaac Schultz, Associate Principal Elise Wagner Adam Trussell CONTRABASSOON Adam Trussell HORN William VerMeulen, Principal Mr. and Mrs. Alexander K. McLanahan Endowed Chair Robert Johnson, Associate Principal Nathan Cloeter, Assistant Principal/Utility Ian Mayton Barbara J. Burger Chair Brian Mangrum Spencer Bay+
STAGE PERSONNEL 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
*on leave + contracted substitute
PERFORMANCE CALENDAR 2026-27 season
Haunted Halloween October 31
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Fiesta Sinfónica September 18
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Opening Night: Celebrating America at 250 September 19
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Simply the Best: A Tribute to Tina Turner September 25 & 26*
Disney Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas in Concert Live-to-Film October 31 Shostakovich’s Ninth Symphony & Yoonshin Song November 6, 7* & 8
Rachmaninoff Festival: Rachmaninoff’s Second Symphony October 2, 3* & 4
La Vida Loca November 21 & 22*
Rachmaninoff Festival: Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 October 9, 10* & 11
Thanksgiving Weekend: Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 7 & Shéhérazade November 27, 28* & 29
Mozart’s Jupiter & JIJI October 16, 17* & 18
Dvořák’s Symphony No. 8 & Gil Shaham December 4, 5* & 6
Dolly Parton’s Threads: My Songs in Symphony October 30, November 1 See our full year calendar for even more concerts!
Classical Series
Bank of America POPS Series
PNC Family Series
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Summer & Specials
Chamber Series
*Performance livestreamed
Juraj valČuha Music Director Roy and Lillie Cullen Chair
Juraj Valčuha, who is entering his fifth successful season as Music Director with the Houston Symphony, is recognized for his expressive artistry, incisive musicianship, and the dynamic collaboration he has forged with the orchestra since his appointment. He is known for his sharp baton technique, natural stage presence, and the impressive ease of his interpretations that translate even the most complex scores into immersive experiences.
He has since led the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Dresden Staatskapelle, Munich Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, Swedish Radio Symphony, Amsterdam Royal Concertgebouw, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Orchestre de Paris, Maggio Musicale in Florence, Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia Rome, Milan’s Filarmonica della Scala, Montréal Symphony, and the NHK and Yomiuri orchestras in Tokyo.
Before joining the Houston Symphony in June 2022, Valčuha was Music Director of the Teatro di San Carlo, Naples, from 2016 to 2022, and first guest conductor of the Konzerthausorchester Berlin. He was Chief Conductor of the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI from 2009 to 2016. He has held the post of Principal Guest Conductor of the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra since 2023.
He enjoys regular collaborations with American orchestras such as the Pittsburgh, Chicago, and San Francisco Symphony orchestras; the Minnesota Orchestra; and the New York Philharmonic, among others. International touring with the Orchestra Sinfonica della RAI took them to the Musikverein in Vienna; Philharmonie in Berlin, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Zurich, and Munich; to the Enesco Festival in Bucharest; and to the Abu Dhabi Classics. With the Konzerthausorchester Berlin, he visited Riga, Vilnius, and Tallinn to mark the 100th anniversary of the Baltic nations.
The 2005–06 Season marked the start of his international career on the podium of the Orchestre National de France followed by remarkable debuts in the United Kingdom with the Philharmonia London, in Germany with the Munich Philharmonic, and in the United States with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.
Valčuha champions the compositions of living composers and programs contemporary pieces in most of his concerts. He has conducted world premieres, including Christopher Rouse’s Supplica with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Steven Mackey’s violin concerto with Leila Josefowicz and the BBC Symphony in Manchester, Nico Muhly’s Bright Idea with the Houston Symphony and, most recently, Andy Akiho’s Timpani Concerto with Leonardo Soto and the Houston Symphony. He also conducted, in the presence of the composer, Steve Reich’s Four Seasons at the Melos-Ethos Festival in Bratislava. Other composers he has supported and continues to follow with interest are Bryce Dessner, Steven Stucky, Andrew Norman, James MacMillan, Luca Francesconi, Anna Thorvaldsdóttir, Anna Clyne, Julia Wolfe, and Jessie Montgomery, among others. Juraj Valčuha is a prized opera conductor. His most recent productions include Tristan und Isolde at the Deutsche Oper Berlin and the Bavarian Opera in Munich, Salomé at the Semper Oper Dresden, Pelleas et Mélisande at the Geneva Opera, and Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen at Paris Opéra Bastille. In the 2025–26 Season, he led the San Francisco, Chicago, and Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestras. In Europe, he joined the Orchestre National de France, the Konzerthaus Orchester Berlin, the Bamberg Symphony, the Santa Cecilia Orchestra in Rome, the Basque National Orchestra, the NDR Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg and on tour, and the RAI National Orchestra in Turin.
The 2026–27 Season will be taking him to the Yomiuri Nippon, Pittsburgh, and the San Francisco Symphony Orchestras, the WDR Symphony in Cologne, SWR Stuttgart, NDR Hamburg, the Orchestre National de France, the Santa Cecilia Orchestra in Rome, and the Rai Orchestra in Torino. He will conduct Elektra at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, and Shostakovich’s Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk at the Rome Opera. Born in Bratislava, Slovakia, Valčuha studied composition and conducting in his birthplace, then at the conservatory in St. Petersburg (with Ilya Musin), and finally, at the Conservatoire Supérieur de la Musique in Paris.
2026–27 SEASON
SOCIETY BOARD OF TRUSTEES OFFICERS Barbara McCelvey President
Barbara J. Burger Immediate Past President
John Rydman** Board Chair Chair, Artistic & Orchestra Affairs
Mike S. Stude** Chair Emeritus Paul Morico General Counsel
Jonathan Ayre Secretary Chair, Finance
Gary Ginstling^ Executive Director/CEO Margaret Alkek Williams Chair
Janet F. Clark^ Immediate Past Chair
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Brad W. Corson Chair, Governance & Leadership
Ed Schneider Chair, Development
Juraj Val!uha^ Music Director Roy and Lillie Cullen Chair
Carey Kirkpatrick Chair, Marketing & Communications
Robert Orr Chair, Strategic Planning
Joan DerHovsepian^ Musician Representative
Jesse B. Tutor** Chair, Audit
Mark Hughes^ Musician Representative
Jerre Williams^ President, Houston Symphony League
Jeremy Kreutz^ Musician Representative
Evan B. Glick Chair, Popular Programming Sippi Khurana, M.D. Chair, Education & Community Engagement Mary Lynn Marks Chair, Volunteers & Special Events
James H. Lee^ President, Houston Symphony Endowment
Steven P. Mach At-Large Member Bobby Tudor** At-Large Member Gretchen Watkins At-Large Member
Mark Nuccio^ Musician Representative
GOVERNING DIRECTORS Gary Beauchamp Eric Brueggeman MK Campion John Cassidy, M.D. Khoa Dao Lidiya Gold
David J. M. Key David Krieger Paul Leach Cindy Levit Isabel Stude Lummis Cora Sue Mach**
Rodney Margolis** Meredith Marshall Leslie Nossaman David Peavy Chris Powers Brittany Sakowitz
Justin Stenberg William J. Toomey II Betty Tutor** Robert Weiner Margaret Alkek Williams**
TRUSTEES Christopher Armstrong David Balderston David J. Beck Carrie Brandsberg-Dahl Nancy Shelton Bratic Terry Ann Brown** Ralph Burch John T. Cater** Robert Chanon Heaven Chee Michael H. Clark Virginia Clark Andrew Davis, Ph.D. Denise Davis Tracy Dieterich Kelli Cohen Fein Jeffrey B. Firestone Eugene A. Fong Aggie L. Foster
Kate Dearing Fowler Aoife French Carolyn Gaidos Andrew Gould Lori Harrington Pablo Hernandez SchmidtTophoff Jeff Hiller Grace Ho Gary L. Hollingsworth John W. Hutchinson Brian James Matthew Kades Lilia Khakimova I. Ray Kirk, M.D. Matthew Loden Kirby Lodholz Michael Mann, M.D. Nancy Martin
Jack Matzer Jackie Wolens Mazow Diane K. Morales Tim Ong Edward Osterberg Jr. Kusum Patel Gloria Pryzant Miwa Sakashita Andrew Schwaitzberg Helen Shaffer** Becky Shaw Michael Silliman Jim R. Smith Miles O. Smith** Quentin Smith Tad Smith Anthony Speier Tina Raham Stewart Terry Thomas
Nanako Tingleaf Margaret Waisman, M.D. Fredric A. Weber Vicki West Steven J. Williams David J. Wuthrich Ellen A. Yarrell Robert Yekovich
FOUNDATION FOR JONES HALL REPRESENTATIVES Janet F. Clark Brad W. Corson As of September 18, 2026
Barbara McCelvey
EX-OFFICIO Alejandro Gallardo Reverend Ray Mackey, III Frank F. Wilson IV
Fredric Weber ^Ex-Officio **Lifetime Trustee
ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF LEADERSHIP GROUP Gary Ginstling, Executive Director/CEO Margaret Alkek Williams Chair Elizabeth S. Condic, Chief Financial Officer Vicky Dominguez, Chief Operating Officer Rolanda Gregory, Chief Marketing Officer Jennifer Renner, Chief Development Officer Mayenne Minuit, Executive Assistant DEVELOPMENT Leanna Aldis, Manager, Foundation Relations Sarah Ansell, Director of Special Events Sarah Bhalla, Board Relations Associate Grace Blando, Development Officer Lauren Buchanan, Development Communications Manager Alex Canales, Manager, Donor Services Isabel Cook, Development Associate, Annual Giving & Membership Jessie De Arman, Development Associate, Gifts, Records, & Research Timothy Dillow, Senior Director, Individual Giving Amanda T. Dinitz, Director, Principal Gifts & Endowment Kamra Kilmer, Manager, Corporate Relations Karyn Mason, Institutional Giving Officer Hadia Mawlawi, Endowment & Planned Giving Officer Gavin Reed, Major Gifts Officer Tim Richey, Major Gifts Officer Katie Salvatore, Director, Annual Giving & Membership Phillip Smith, Special Events and League Liaison Officer Lena Streetman, Director, Development Operations Kristen Taylor, Membership Manager Sarah Thompson, Donor Events Manager Christina Trunzo, Director, Institutional Giving EDUCATION | COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT Olivia Allred, Education Manager Allison Conlan, Senior Director, Education & Community Engagement Austin Hinkle, Education & Community Engagement Coordinator Jazmine Olwalia, Community Engagement Manager Marilyn Ralston, DeLUXE K!ds Site Manager Community-Embedded Musicians (CEM): Lindsey Baggett, Lead CEM Lucinda Chiu, CEM Teaching Artist David Connor, Senior CEM Teaching Artist Emil De Veyra, CEM Teaching Artist Bensen Kwan, CEM Education Specialist Brittany Leavitt, CEM Teaching Artist Bianca Lozano, CEM Teaching Artist Adrian Ponce, CEM Teaching Artist Lauren Ross, CEM Teaching Artist Jaya Varma, CEM Teaching Artist
FINANCE | ADMINISTRATION | IT | HR José Arriaga, Systems Engineer Henry Cantu, Finance Accountant Kimberly Cegielski, Staff Accountant Heather Fails, Database Administrator Ronin Jackson, IT Intern Joel James, Director of Human Resources Tanya Lovetro, Director of Budgeting & Financial Reporting Freddie Piegsa, Help Desk Technician Morgana Rickard, Controller Gabriela Rivera, Senior Accountant Pam Romo, Office Manager/HR Coordinator Lee Whatley, Senior Director, IT & Analytics MARKETING | COMMUNICATIONS Bryan Ayllon, UX & Conversion Specialist Rachel Cheng, Marketing & External Relations Assistant Bella Cutaia, Manager, Patron Services Kathryn Judd, Director, Marketing Priya Kurup, Senior Associate, Group Sales Caroline Lawson, Patron Services Representative Yoo-Ell Lee, Graphics & Media Designer Milow Lozano, Ticketing Systems & Marketing Operations Specialist Ciara Macaulay, Creative Director Ashley Martinez, Patron Services Coordinator Mariah Martinez, Email Marketing Coordinator Alexander McKeveny, Performance Marketing Specialist Casey Pearce, Graphic Design Manager Aracely Quevedo, Patron Services Representative Nadjalie Santos, Front of House Coordinator Eric Skelly, Senior Director, Communications Christian Sosa, Web Experience Director Alexa Ustaszewski, Manager, Revenue and Audience Insights Sophie Volpe, Digital Content Specialist Leecia Whatley, Patron Services Representative Jenny Zuniga, Director, Patron Services OPERATIONS | ARTISTIC Stephanie Alla, Associate Director of Artistic Planning Becky Brown, Associate Director of Orchestra Personnel Juan Pablo Brand, Artistic Assistant and Assistant to the Music Director Megan Fisher, Assistant Librarian Julia Hall, Assistant Director, Houston Symphony Chorus Parker Hart, Concert Operations Manager Adrian Hernandez, Concert Media Production Manager Brian Miller, Director of Orchestra Personnel Giancarlo Minotti, Audio Production Manager José Rios, Assistant Stage Manager Brad Sayles, Senior Recording Engineer Ali Verderber, Associate Librarian Meredith Williams, Director of Concert Operations Rebecca Zabinski, Senior Director of Artistic Planning
Featured Program
Fiesta Sinfónica Gonzalo Farias, conductor 0:04
Arr. E. LOPEZ-YAÑEZ – Vista alegre
0:07
SORO – Tres Aires Chilenos I. Allegro ma non troppo III. Allegro moderato
0:04
VILLOLDO-MATOS/DRAGO – El choclo & la cumparsita
0:04
T. ÁLVAREZ/DÁVILA – Marinera trujillana
0:05
BEETHOVEN/S.I. JONER – Cinco Salsa
0:06
MEJÍA – Acuarela
0:04
GUTIÉRREZ/V. MEZA – Alma Llanera
0:04
LECUONA/V. MEZA – La comparsa
0:03
Q. MENDOZA Y CORTÉS/LANG – Cielito Lindo
0:03
Arr. E. LOPEZ-YAÑEZ – La llorona
0:05
J.S. BACH/S.I. JONER – Salsaria
0:05
Arr. R. WENDEL – Fiesta Mexicana Mexican Hat Dance-La Cucaracha-La Bamba
There will not be an intermission
About the Music
Friday, September 18
Jones Hall
7:30 p.m.
recognized as “a focused, musical artist who knows what he wants and how to get it—with grace and substance.”
Tallahassee Symphony, and the Houston Symphony, where in 2024 he conducted the world premiere of Arturo Márquez’s Guitar Concerto with Pablo Sainz-Villegas.
Program Bio
Gonzalo Farias, conductor Gonzalo Farias, Associate Conductor of the Houston Symphony, is an imaginative and engaging orchestral leader, awardwinning pianist, and dedicated educator. Praised for his “clear, engaging style with a lyrical, almost Zen-like quality,” he is
Sponsors
He has held conducting posts with the Kansas City Symphony, Jacksonville Symphony, Virginia Symphony Orchestra, and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. As Music Director of the Joliet Symphony Orchestra, he strengthened community connections through innovative programming, pre-concert lectures, and bilingual collaborations, including a narrated performance of Bizet’s Carmen. Recent and upcoming appearances include the Nashville Symphony, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Buffalo Philharmonic,
He was one of six conductors chosen for the prestigious Bruno Walter National Conductor Preview, presented by the League of American Orchestras, and was appointed by the National Endowment for the Arts as a grant review panelist. Born in Santiago de Chile, Farias began piano studies at age five. He earned his bachelor’s degree at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile and continued his education at the New England Conservatory, studying under Wha-Kyung Byun and Russell
Program Bio Sherman. He has won prizes at the Claudio Arrau International Piano Competition, Maria Canals, and Luis Sigall competitions. His conducting mentors include Donald Schleicher, Marin Alsop, Larry Rachleff, and Otto-Werner Mueller.
as a self-organizing system. Influenced by Zen Buddhist practice and second-order cybernetics, he views music as a shared space where performers and audiences co-create meaning, reflecting on our shared human condition.
Beyond performance, Farias is committed to reimagining music as a force for personal growth, dialogue, cooperation, and community-building. His doctoral dissertation, Logical Predictions and Cybernetics, examines Cornelius Cardew’s The Great Learning to explore music-making
LA VIDA LOCA January 21 & 22*, 2027 *Livestream Performance 2 p.m.
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JOSÉ HERNÁNDEZ’ MERRY-ACHI CHRISTMAS December 21, 2026
Family Series Introduce your little ones to the magic of live music!
Haunted Halloween October 31 Ho-Ho-Holiday December 12 Cirque Magic for Kids January 30 Peter and the Wolf April 10
Juraj Valčuha, Music Director
Jones Hall – 615 Louisiana Street houstonsymphony.org