The Houston Symphony Hosts Festive Family Concert

The Houston Symphony celebrates the holiday season with the festive, family-friendly program A Polar Express Christmas at 10 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 8, featuring two local high school choirs: The Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts Chorale and the Davis High School Choir, which makes its Houston Symphony debut.

Led by Associate Conductor Robert Franz, the program features images from the timeless storybook The Polar Express projected on the big screen and seasonal tunes, including a Suite from the film The Polar Express, "Frosty the Snowman" and "Let it Snow." The concert concludes with a festive, holiday sing-along.

Santa makes an appearance in this program, and is available in the lobby for pictures. An instrument petting zoo - in the lobby beginning one hour before the 10 a.m. concert and immediately following the 11:30 a.m. concert - allows children to hold and play orchestral instruments. Franz always dresses for the occasion in holiday garb, and audiences are encouraged to do the same.

A Polar Express Christmas presented by BBVA Compass 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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