Houston Symphony Opens Their BBVA Family Series with Magical Program

The Houston Symphony opens their 2019-20 BBVA Family Series with the magical and spell-binding program, Wands & Wizards: Music from Harry Potter & More, at 10 and 11:30 a.m., on Saturday, Oct. 12. Plus, the first 100 children who arrive in costume are invited to join an on-stage costume parade.

Associate Conductor Robert Franz leads the orchestra in a program featuring music from Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Apprentice, made famous as a star vehicle for Mickey Mouse in the Disney animated classic film, Fantasia. Franz always dresses up for the occasion, and audiences are encouraged to do the same. Families can craft their own wands and enjoy other musical activities, like the Instrument Petting Zoo in the Jones Hall lobby. Lobby activities take place from 9 to 9:50 a.m. before the 10 a.m. concert and from 12:30 to 1 p.m. after the 11:30 a.m. concert.

Wands & Wizards: Music from Harry Potter & More, part of the BBVA Family Series, takes place at Jones Hall for the Performing Arts, 615 Louisiana Street, in Houston's Theater District. Additional support comes from Houston Methodist, the Symphony's Official Health Care Provider. For tickets and information, please call 713.224.7575 or visit houstonsymphony.org. Tickets may also be purchased at the Houston Symphony Patron Services Center in Jones Hall (Monday-Saturday, 12-6 p.m.). All programs and artists are subject to change.

During the 2019-20 season, the Houston Symphony celebrates its sixth 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, one of the oldest performing arts organizations in Texas, held its inaugural performance at The Majestic Theater in downtown Houston June 21, 1913. Today, with an annual operating budget of $35.2 million, the full-time ensemble of 88 professional musicians presents nearly 170 concerts annually, making it the largest performing arts organization in Houston. Additionally, musicians of the orchestra and the Symphony's four Community-Embedded Musicians offer over 1,000 community-based performances each year at various schools, community centers, hospitals, and churches reaching nearly 200,000 people in Greater Houston annually.

The Grammy Award-winning Houston Symphony has recorded under various prestigious labels, including Naxos, Koch International Classics, Telarc, RCA Red Seal, Virgin Classics and, most recently, Dutch recording label Pentatone. In 2017, the Houston Symphony was awarded an ECHO Klassik award for the live recording of Alban Berg's Wozzeck under the direction of former Music Director Hans Graf. The orchestra earned its first Grammy nomination and Grammy Award at the 60th annual ceremony for the same recording in the Best Opera Recording category.

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