MUSIC

The Houston Symphony presents Opening Night: A Vienna Soiree.

No passport is needed as you escape to an evening in Vienna. Find yourself transported by Strauss' Blue Danube Waltz and his deliciously charming Overture to Die Fledermaus. Be captivated by the sounds of Vienna as you hear the Houston Symphony kick off a new season with our newly-appointed concertmaster, Frank Huang, and principal viola, Wayne Brooks, playing Mozart's Sinfonia concertante.

First Prize Winner of the 2003 Walter W. Naumburg Foundation's Violin Competition and the 2000 Hannover International Violin Competition, Frank Huang has established a major career as a violin virtuoso. At the age of eleven, he performed with the Houston Symphony in a nationally broadcast concert and has since performed with orchestras throughout the world, including the Cleveland Orchestra, LA Philharmonic, Saint-Paul Chamber Orchestra, Indianapolis Symphony, NDR-Radio Philharmonic Orchestra of Hannover, Amadeus Chamber Orchestra and the Genoa Orchestra. He has performed on NPR's Performance Today, Good Morning America and CNN's American Morning with Paula Zahn. Mr. Huang's first commercial recording, comprised of Fantasies by Schubert, Ernst, Schoenberg and Waxman, was released on Naxos in the fall of 2003.

Most recently, Mr. Huang held the position of first violinist of the Grammy® Award winning Ying quartet and was a member of the faculty at the Eastman School of Music. Mr. Huang is the concertmaster and leader of the Sejong Soloists, a conductor-less chamber orchestra based in New York. Recent performances with Sejong include a tour of Taiwan, China, and South Korea with Cho-Liang Lin and a tour in the US and Asia with Gil Shaham.

He has had great success in competitions since the age of fifteen with top prize awards in the Premio Paganini International Violin Competition and the Indianapolis International Violin Competition. He received Gold Medal Awards in the Kingsville International Competition, the Irving M. Klein International Competition and the D'Angelo International Competition.

Recent concerts include debuts in Wigmore Hall, (London) Salle Cortot, (Paris) Kennedy Center, (Washington) Herbst Theatre, (San Francisco) and also his second recital in Alice Tully Hall (New York), which featured the world premiere of Donald Martino's Sonata for Solo Violin.

In addition to his solo career, Mr. Huang is deeply committed to chamber music. He has attended the Marlboro Music Festival, Ravinia's Steans Institute, The Seattle Chamber Music festival, and the Caramoor Festival, and frequently participates in Musicians from Marlboro tours. He was also selected by the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center to be a member of the prestigious Chamber Music II program. Frank is also part of a trio with Thomas Kaines and Reiko Uchida.

Mr. Huang studied with Robert Mann at The Juilliard School, Donald Weilerstein at the Cleveland Institute of Music, and with Fredell Lack in Houston.

Please note: A gala ticket includes your concert ticket for the Opening Night Performance, in priority seating. Call (713) 337-8526 to make your reservations.

Scheduled Program:

J. Strauss Jr.: Overture to Die Fledermaus
Mozart: Sinfonia concertante for Violin, Viola and Orchestra
J. Strauss Jr.: Annen Polka
J. Strauss Jr.: On the Beautiful Blue Danube

Artists:

Hans Graf, conductor
Frank Huang, violin
Wayne Brooks, viola

Houston Symphony 2010 Opening Night Gala
Following the concert, the festivities will continue at the Bank of America lobby where party goers will enjoy dinner and dancing. Our celebration will include dining on a sumptuous feast by the incomparable Jackson and Company and dancing to the sounds of Toast and Jam.

Vienna Soirée supports our nationally recognized Music Matters! education and community engagement program which annually touches the lives of tens of thousands of Houstonians of all ages.