MUSIC

The Houston Symphony presents Handel's Messiah in Candlelight Friday-Saturday, December 16-17 at 8:00PM and Sunday, December 18 at 2:30PM  in Jones Hall.

"Rejoice Greatly" as this Houston tradition continues! The holidays wouldn’t be the same without Houston’s own performance of Handel’s Messiah with your Houston Symphony, Chorus, conductor Christian Knapp and guest soloists.

One of today’s foremost young conductors, Christian Knapp is known for his dynamic stage presence and energy on the podium. He has performed in festivals and concerts throughout the world, conducting the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, the New World Symphony, the Indianapolis Symphony, the Western Australia Symphony Orchestra and the Chicago Civic Orchestra, among many others, and has collaborated with such renowned artists as Mstislav Rostropovich, Itzhak Perlman, Alexander Toradze, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, Garrick Ohlsson, Vinson Cole and Pepe Romero.

Born in the United States, Mr. Knapp received bachelor's degrees in piano performance from the New England Conservatory and in philosophy from Tufts University. He studied conducting at the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena under Yuri Temirkanov and Myung-Whun Chung; he then earned a post-graduate diploma in conducting from the St. Petersburg State Conservatory in Russia, where he studied with the renowned pedagogue, Ilya Musin. He has assisted Michael Tilson Thomas at the London Symphony Orchestra and Leonid Korchmar at the Kirov Opera.

ARTISTS
Christian Knapp, conductor
Charles Hausmann, Houston Symphony Chorus director