Houston Symphony Parties Down '80s-Style

You don't need a Walkman or a mixtape to relive your favorite '80s tunes. You can hear them live performed by your Houston Symphony under the direction of Columbus Symphony Pops Conductor Stuart Chafetz with special guests Nicole Parker and Aaron Finley in the Pops Series program Totally '80s Jan. 11-12 at 8 p.m. and Jan. 13 at 7:30 p.m.

Show-stopping vocalist and Mad TV actress Nicole Parker, best-known as Elphaba in Broadway's Wicked, returns to perform some of the greatest and most recognizable songs to hit the airwaves in the '80s. Known for Broadway's Rock of Age and Kinky Boots, Aaron Finley makes his Houston Symphony debut as he joins Parker and Chafetz in '80s chart-toppers from Michael Jackson, Phil Collins, George Michael and Billy Joel.

Audience members will also relive treasured '80s film scores as the orchestra performs selections from blockbuster movies like Chariots of Fire, Back to the Future and Ghostbusters.

Totally '80s takes place at Jones Hall for the Performing Arts, 615 Louisiana Street, in Houston's Theater District. For tickets and information, please call (713) 224-7575 or visit www.houstonsymphony.org. Tickets may also be purchased at the Houston Symphony Patron Services Center in Jones Hall (Monday-Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.). All programs and artists are subject to change.

About the Houston Symphony

During the 2018-19 season, the Houston Symphony celebrates its fifth 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 $33.9 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 900 community-based performances each year, reaching thousands of people in Greater Houston.

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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