'Family' Produced by ROCO

Join ROCO as its 18th season kicks off with “Family,” part of the Albert and Margaret Alkek Foundation In Concert Series. (Photo: Ray Kuglar Blueprint Film Co.)

Join ROCO as its 18th season kicks off with “Family,” part of the Albert and Margaret Alkek Foundation In Concert Series, featuring the full 40-piece chamber orchestra led by Artistic Partner Mei-Ann Chen, in a program inspired by community, family, and hope, honoring Houston’s cultural diversity.

Juan Pablo Contreras’ Mariachitlán will take you to the colorful streets of the composer’s birthplace in Jalisco, Mexico, featuring a guest mariachi band, and the Vietnamese folk song Bèo dạt mây trôi by composer Hòa nhạc, tells the story of longing to be reunited with missing loved ones.

Grammy-nominated guitarist Mak Grgic features as soloist in the world premiere of a ROCO-commissioned guitar concerto written by Michael Abels (composer for the films GET OUT and US), echoing themes of strife and healing. Ludwig van Beethoven’s dramatic Symphony No. 5 (nicknamed the “Fate Symphony”) closes the evening, reminding us that fate is in our hands and encouraging us to write our own stories.

PROGRAM

Juan Pablo Contreras: Mariachitlán
Hòa nhạc: Bèo dạt mây trôi
Michael Abels:
[World Premiere ROCO Commission]
Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No. 5

ROCO is a dynamic and innovative professional music ensemble that flexes from 1 to 40 players from all over the US and Canada, with guest conductors from around the world. Performing intimate concerts in dozens of venues, ROCO’s musicians do not just give concerts — they challenge preconceptions, create extraordinary experiences and foster new relationships with audiences through the language of music.