Houston Symphony to Offer FREE Concert with Houston Baptist University, 1/15

HOUSTON (January 5, 2015) - Widely acclaimed young conductor, composer and pianist Teddy Abrams will lead the Houston Symphony in a free community concert at the Dunham Theater in Houston Baptist University's Morris Cultural Arts Center at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, January 15.

The program will begin with one of Abrams' original compositions, Fiddling, that will show off the technical ability of the Houston Symphony string players. Abrams is music director of the Louisville Orchestra and has performed with and conducted ensembles worldwide. He studied conducting at both the Curtis Institute of Music and the Aspen Music Festival and was the youngest conducting student ever accepted at both institutions.

Next on the program will be Copland's Suite from Billy the Kid, a 1938 ballet about the teenage outlaw that is famous for incorporating cowboy tunes and American folk songs. The performance will conclude with Tchaikovsky's emotionally powerful Symphony No. 4, a staple of the orchestral repertoire and one of the composer's best works.

The concert is free and open to the public, but reservations are required. To RSVP, clickhere. Houston Baptist University is located at 7502 Fondren Rd, Houston, TX.

About Teddy Abrams

An unusually versatile musician, Teddy Abrams is a widely acclaimed conductor, as well as an established pianist, clarinetist and composer. Music Director of the Louisville Orchestra and Music Director and Conductor of the Britt Classical Festival, he also serves as Resident Conductor of the MAV Symphony Orchestra in Budapest, which he first conducted in 2011. From 2008 to 2011, Abrams was the Conducting Fellow and Assistant Conductor of the New World Symphony (NWS) and conducted many performances, including subscription concerts and numerous other full and chamber orchestra events. Abrams has conducted the NWS in Miami Beach, Washington, D.C. and at Carnegie Hall, and he recently returned to conduct the NWS on subscription with Joshua Bell as soloist.

Abrams has appeared as a soloist with a number of orchestras-including playing and conducting the Ravel Piano Concerto with the Jacksonville Symphony in Fall 2013-and he has performed chamber music with the St. Petersburg String Quartet, Menahem Pressler, Gilbert Kalish, Time for Three and John Adams, in addition to annual appearances at the Olympic Music Festival. Dedicated to exploring new and engaging ways to communicate with a diverse range of audiences, Abrams co-founded the Sixth Floor Trio in 2008

Abrams studied conducting with Michael Tilson Thomas, Otto-Werner Mueller and Ford Lallerstedt at the Curtis Institute of Music, and with David Zinman at the Aspen Music Festival. He was the youngest conducting student ever accepted at both institutions. Abrams is also an award- winning composer and a passionate educator. He has taught at numerous schools throughout the U.S. His 2009 Education Concerts with the New World Symphony (featuring the world premiere of one of Abrams' own orchestral works) were webcast to hundreds of schools throughout South Florida. Abrams performed as a keyboardist with the Philadelphia Orchestra, won the 2007 Aspen Composition Contest, and was the Assistant Conductor of the YouTube Symphony at Carnegie Hall in 2009. He graduated from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music with a bachelor's degree in music, having studied piano with Paul Hersh.

About Houston Baptist University

Founded in 1960, HBU is an independent Christian university that offers enriched academic and student life experiences in a major metropolitan area. As a result of its twelve-year vision, The Ten Pillars: Faith and Reason in a Great City, HBU has become a comprehensive, national university with the implementation of doctoral programs beginning in the fall of 2016. By fostering the intellectual, moral and spiritual development of its students, the University provides A Higher Education, one that prepares students to succeed not only in their careers but also in life. For more information about HBU, please visit hbu.edu.

About the Houston Symphony

During the 2015-16 season, the Houston Symphony will celebrate its second season with Music Director Andrés Orozco- Estrada, and continues its second century as one of America's leading orchestras with a full complement of concert, community, education, touring and recording activities. The Houston Symphony is one of the oldest performing arts organizations in Texas whose inaugural performance was held at The Majestic Theater in downtown Houston on June 21, 1913. Today, with an annual operating budget of $32.8 million, the full-time ensemble of 87 professional musicians and 4 community-embedded musicians is the largest performing arts organization in Houston, presenting more than 300 performances for 400,000 people, including 97,000 children, annually. For tickets and more information, please visit www.houstonsymphony.org or call 713-224- 7575.

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