Houston Symphony's Lunada Concert to Celebrate Latin American Composers

In celebration of the wide diversity of musical influences from Spain and Latin America, the Houston Symphony and the Mexican Institute of Greater Houston will present the free annual Lunada concert at Miller Outdoor Theatre on Saturday, October 10, 2015, at 7:30 p.m. Now in its 11th year, the program will feature music that reflects both the old and new worlds, including works from Mexican, Venezuelan, Brazilian, Spanish and Colombian composers.

This year's Lunada will be led by recently appointed Musical Ambassador and Assistant Conductor, Carlos Andrés Botero, who will be making his conducting debut with the Symphony. Botero has worked as a consultant for the orchestra in various capacities since the beginning of the 2014-15 season, including serving as co-host of the "Musically Speaking with Andrés" series at Rice University.

Botero and the orchestra will be joined by Colombian baritone Blas Canedo Gonzalez. As a concert soloist, Blas has performed Carmina Burana with both the Victoria Symphony, TX, and the Sinfónica Nacional de Colombia at the 100th anniversary of the Conservatory of Tolima. Originally from Medellín, Colombia, he has also performed Dvo?ák's Te Deum with the Caldas Symphony of Manizales, Colombia, commemorating the city's 150th anniversary. Blas is currently completing his doctoral studies in vocal performance and pedagogy at the University of Houston Moores School of Music.

Lunada is a ticketed event for the covered seating area. Free tickets are available (4 per person over age 16 while they last) at the Miller Outdoor Theatre box office the day of the performance between the hours of 10:30am-1pm. If tickets remain at 1pm, the box office will re-open one hour before the concert time to distribute the remaining tickets. As always, there is open seating on the hill. For more information, please visit www.houstonsymphony.org or www.milleroutdoortheatre.com.