ROCO's Opens 19th Season With SEISMIC

ROCO kicks off its 19th season with an opening concert of enormous proportions. Audiences will hear the full, 40-piece chamber orchestra under Artistic Partner Mei-Ann Chen in an energy-laden program full of color and emotion, and as is tradition, the Friday evening concert at Miller Outdoor Theatre is free to the public!

Performances run September 29 and 30, 2023.

Not one, but two commissioned World Premieres lead the evening: Anthony DiLorenzo's Tectonal, and Kevin Lau's rescoring of his original 2018 ROCO commission, The Nightingale, for full orchestra.

 

Tectonal inspires one to rethink, rehear, and revisualize how one views the world. In describing the influencing force behind his work, Mr. DiLorenzo said, “Inspired by Lois Stark's acclaimed book 'The Telling Image], I wrote Tectonal to help visualize how we see the world from its genesis to beyond.”

 

Artist Cynthia Lee Wong said of the focus of her work in creating text-informed AI animation to accompany the piece, “I wanted to give Lois [Stark] a voice by including her text. I was intrigued by the challenge of bringing the visuals to life. Then, AI took off…through my journey, I discovered there's no limit to what we can do, with imagination and resources.”

 

“ROCO invented fresh ways to bind community, weave generations, integrate art forms, and open its reach to all continents,” observed the renowned documentary filmmaker Lois Stark. “My book, 'The Telling Image', traces history as a series of changing shapes, not as a story of kings and wars. ROCO had the imagination to commission a musical score and commission an animation based on the book, exploring the idea in three dimensions – text, music, and animation.”

 

The long-awaited, highly anticipated rescoring of ROCO's popular commission, The Nightingale by Kevin Lau, recently released by ROCO as their first-ever children's book, will allow the magic of his chamber work, based on Hans Cristian Anderson's fairytale, to be experienced again. "This new rendition, reconceived for full orchestra, is a lush cinematic journey that showcases ROCO in all its beauty and splendor,” said Mr. Lau.

 

Closing this not-to-be-forgotten evening is a worldwide favorite, the fascinating and compelling Scheherazade, based on the heroine of the fairytale The Arabian Nights.

 

Following the SEISMIC performance on the 30th, ROCO celebrates its dynamic spirit as a leader in revolutionizing and shaping the future of classical music at its annual ROCO Revelry Gala dinner, a delicious, seated event at the Houston Museum of Natural Science's Wiess Energy Hall. 

 

The 2023 Gala is chaired by Liliana Soltero, who heads a 41-strong Gala Committee. Media Sponsor is PaperCity Magazine. Being honored this year are the Coit Family for their example of multigenerational support and enthusiastic dedication to ROCO, Greenwood King for their corporate philanthropy, and author Lois Stark is celebrated with the Wildcatting in the Arts Award for being an avid ROCO supporter, acclaimed writer, and igniter of creativity.

 

This year's Gala Committee includes: Ann Bean • Susan Binney• Leslie and Jack Blanton • Dr. Gregory Brown • Ali and Frank Donnelly • Susanne and Randall Evans • Jeremy Fain • Cheri and Andy Fossler • Ellie Francisco • Heidi Ham • Drew Helmer • Tami Hiraoka • Clara Hough • Jane Johnson • Essa and Gloria Kawaha • Mimi Lloyd • Gabriela and Grant Martinez • Beth Muecke • Melissa Nance • Lana Rabinovich • Debra and Gary Reese • Fran Sampson Riepe • Rachel and John Rosson • Anika Sankar • Dr. Aaditya Satija • Leigh and Reggie Smith • George and DiAnn Sutherland • Ileana and Michael Treviño • Rebecca Upchurch.

 

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