Moores School of Music will feature over 30 performances by students, faculty and staff in the Moores Opera House this year. | Nine Nguyen/The Daily Cougar
On a campus with more than 40,000 students, there is a wide variety of events and activities going on at all times. One of the major hubs for student activities is the Moores Opera House, which will be home to more than 30 concerts, recitals and other performances of the like in the coming year.
First on the docket is the 13th annual Collage concert, which is a preview of what the entire season holds in store for Moores School of Music.
“Collage features almost the whole school — students and faculty from the wind ensemble, marching band, choir, orchestra and jazz band will all be performing,” said Director of Moores School of Music David Ashley White.
“What the opera performs is a snippet of what will be in the first production, which will be a Verdi piece based on Shakespeare’s ‘The Merry Wives of Windsor.’”
The UH opera also has several other performances set to hit the stage this season, in which students from both the opera program and the band will collaborate. The most notable piece will be Hugo von Hoffmansthal’s “Der Rosenkavalier” in the spring.
“‘Der Rosenkavalier’ would normally only be done in a professional company like the Houston Grand Opera,” White said. “This piece was carefully selected and it’s a major opera that only two or three university operas in the country would even consider.”
Along with the 28th annual International Piano Festival, the Opera House will also be home to the Amadeus Project, which is the brainchild of faculty member Timothy Hester. He and a small orchestra will perform on a forte piano and other period instruments similar to those that Mozart would’ve used when composing his classic works.
Throughout the semester you can expect to see a number of concerts and recitals featuring our professors, students and several ensembles from Moores; one of these is the AURA Contemporary Ensemble, whose performances appeal to a more modern audience.
“AURA Contemporary Ensemble typically plays music composed in the last ten years or so,” Dr. White said.
With a range of performances as diverse as the student body, there’s ample opportunity to explore at the Moores School of Music.
“We hope to inspire, educate and provide entertainment to the UH community within the realms of what we do,” he said. “Whether they like jazz, choral music, orchestra, or the like, we have it here and we have it in abundance.”
