DAY OF MUSIC Festival Celebrates Musical Diversity Today

Today, July 12, the Houston Symphony will present their 2nd annual free Day of Music festival at Jones Hall. Building off the excitement from last year's inaugural event which attracted 10,000 people, Day of Music will celebrate the great diversity within Houston's musical community with 25 performances on 6 stages in and around Jones Hall. The festival closes with the Houston Symphony Chronicle Concert at 8:00 pm, featuring the Houston Symphony performing music by Ravel, Weber, and Shostakovich, conducted by Fabien Gabel and featuring soloist Lin Ma, clarinetist and 2014 Ima Hogg Competition winner.

The 25 performances offer musical samplings of a wide variety of genres, including: Jazz, Rock, Blues, R&B, Acoustic Guitar, Drum Ensembles, Mariachi, Salsa, Zydeco and more. Various chamber music ensembles, student groups and community choirs will also perform an assortment of classical music throughout the day.

In addition to hearing great music, audiences can participate in harmonica clinics taught by the Houston Blues Museum at 2:15 pm and 4:00 pm in the Lower Lounge. Family activities include kid-friendly arts and crafts, face-painting and balloon artistry from 12:00 to 4:00 pm and the Houston Symphony Instrument Petting Zoo from 12:00 to 3:00 pm, where children of all ages can try out different orchestral instruments.

Also featured will be the winner of Backstage/OL's 'Kickstart Your Band' competition, where local groups submit performance footage leading up to the festival to be voted on by a panel of judges and via social media. More at www.backstageol.com/contest/kickstart-your-band-with-backstageol-and-the-houston-symphony/.

Houston's first salsa studio, Strictly Street Salsa, will offer an authentic Latin dance experience with free, 30-minute Salsa lessons on the Salsa Stage located on the balcony level at 2:00 pm, 3:30 pm, 5:00 pm and 6:30 pm.

Between performances, concertgoers can walk across Louisiana Street to Jones Plaza to sample some of Houston's finest food truck fare while listening to music performed on the patio in front of Jones Hall. Food trucks include Bernie's Burger Bus, Coreanos, The Waffle Bus, Happy Endings, Eatsie Boys, Monster PBJ, Oh My GOGI, Soul Cat Cuisine, Texas Blizzard and Chi'lantro BBQ. In the evening, free refreshments will be provided by St. Arnold's Brewing Company.

Check in out on YouTube at http://youtu.be/pusENm8ZBbE

HOUSTON SYMPHONY 2nd ANNUAL DAY OF MUSIC FESTIVAL

Saturday, July 12, 2014 12:00 pm - 10:00 pm

Jones Hall

615 Louisiana St.

Houston, TX 77002

More at www.houstonsymphony.org/dayofmusic2014/

Houston Symphony Chronicle Concert
Saturday, July 12, 2014 8:00 pm - FREE
Fabien Gabel, conductor
Lin Ma, clarinet
Ravel: Une barque sur l'océan from Miroirs
Weber: Clarinet Concerto No. 2 in E-flat major
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 9 in E-flat major
Ravel: La valse

Day of Music Group Listing by Genre*

ORCHESTRAL / CLASSICAL:

Houston Symphony

American Festival for the Arts Conservatory Orchestra

Classical Guitarists from Guitar Houston

String Quartet from Virtuosi of Houston

Ars Lyrica - Music from the Baroque

CONCERT AND BRASS BANDS:

Gulf Coast Concert Band

Houston Brass Ensemble

DRUMMING ENSEMBLES:

The Joy of Djembre Drumming

Aldine Blue Steel Drum Ensemble

VOCAL ENSEMBLES:

CityWide Grassroots Chorus

Houston Tidelanders Chorus

COUNTRY / TEXAS ROOTS MUSIC:

Miss Leslie

Grifters and Shills

JAZZ GROUPS:

Music Doing Good Jazz Quartet

Conrad Johnson Orchestra

New Orleans Hustlers Brass Band

ETHNIC/WORLD MUSIC GROUPS:

Mariachi 2000

MECA/Mariachi Autlán

North America Youth Chinese Orchestra

Strictly Street Salsa

ROCK/BLUES:

Backstage/OL 'Kickstart Your Band' winner

Keyun Dickson and the Zydeco Masters

Blues Vocalist Trudy Lynn and Steve Krause

SINGER/SONGWRITERS:

Purple Songs Can Fly

Music Doing Good Artists: Tricia Fox and Ray Younkin

*For a complete bio of each artist, visit www.houstonsymphony.org/dayofmusic2014/artist-bios

About the Houston Symphony

During the 2013-14 Season, the Houston Symphony celebrated its 100th year as one of America's leading orchestras with a full complement of concert, community, education, touring and recording activities. In the upcoming 2014-15 Season, the orchestra begins its next century under the direction of Music Director Andrés Orozco-Estrada, the organization's first Hispanic music director and 15th overall. 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 $30.7 million, the full-time ensemble of 87 professional musicians is the largest performing arts organization in Houston, presenting more than 286 performances for 300,000 people, including 82,000 children, annually. For tickets and more information, please visit www.houstonsymphony.org or call 713-224-7575.

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