Music Director Designate Andrés Orozco-Estrada Returns to the Houston Symphony to Conduct JUPITER, 1/3-5

HOUSTON (December 19, 2013) - Music Director Designate Andrés Orozco-Estrada returns to the Houston Symphony during its Centennial Season on January 3, 4 and 5 to conduct Mozart's Symphony No. 41, Jupiter, the final and most complex symphony of the composer's prolific career. Though there are lighthearted moments, the piece has an inherently serious quality and is known for its grandeur and heightened energy. The program opens with Haydn's equally exciting Symphony No. 59, Fire. Then, Associate Concertmaster Eric Halen and Principal Second Violin Jennifer Owen perform Schnittke's whimsical Moz-Art à la Haydn, a parody of Mozart and Haydn, featuring a chamber ensemble.

HOUSTON SYMPHONY CLASSICAL SERIES

Jones Hall

615 Louisiana St.

Houston, TX 77002

Friday, January 3, 2014 at 8:00 p.m.

Saturday, January 4, 2014 at 8:00 p.m.

Sunday, January 5, 2014 at 2:30 p.m.

Mozart's Jupiter Symphony

Andrés Orozco-Estrada, conductor

Eric Halen, violin

Jennifer Owen, violin

Haydn: Symphony No. 59, Fire

Schnittke: Moz-Art á la Haydn - for two violins and chamber ensemble

Mozart: Symphony No. 41, Jupiter

Tickets: from $25

About Andrés Orozco-Estrada

Andrés Orozco-Estrada, born in Colombia and trained in Vienna, is one of the most sought-after conductors of his generation. Beginning in the 2014-15 season, he will take up the positions of Music Director of the Houston Symphony and Chief Conductor of the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra.

Orozco-Estrada first came to international attention in 2004 when he took over a concert with the Tonkünstler Orchestra and was celebrated by the Viennese press as a "wonder from Vienna." Engagements with many international orchestras followed, and since then he has developed a highly successful musical partnership with the Tonkünstler Orchestra, becoming its music director in 2009, an engagement that ends in 2015. From the 2009-10 through the 2012-13 seasons, Orozco-Estrada held the role of principal conductor at the Basque National Orchestra.

Following his debut with the Vienna Philharmonic in fall 2010, Orozco-Estrada was hailed as "a brilliant stand-in" (Wiener Zeitung) for Esa-Pekka Salonen and celebrated as an "eminent talent" (Die Presse). In November 2012, he stepped in once again at short notice to conduct the Vienna Philharmonic in the Musikverein for Riccardo Muti and proved to be a "stand-in worth his weight in gold" (Kurier) and "an inspired master of communication" (Standard).

Born in 1977 in Medellín, Andrés Orozco-Estrada began his musical studies on the violin and had his first conducting lessons at 15. In 1997, he moved to Vienna where he joined the conducting class of Uroš Lajovic, pupil of the legendary Hans Swarowsky, at the renowned Vienna Music Academy. He completed his degree, with distinction, by conducting the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra at the Musikverein. Orozco-Estrada currently lives in Vienna.

About Eric Halen

Recognized by the Houston Chronicle as a Houston favorite, Houston Symphony Associate Concertmaster Eric Halen's violin playing has been described by critics as "sterling" and "tenderly expressive and dramatic." A review in the Chicago Sun-Times said of a performance of Messiaen's Quartet for the End of Time, "...as the final, sustained tone of Eric Halen's violin faded to close... there was no doubt that the evening had offered the best kind of virtuosity."

Halen joined the Houston Symphony as assistant concertmaster in 1987. In 1997, he assumed the position of associate concertmaster and served as acting concertmaster for the 2005-06, 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons. He grew up in a family of violinists-his parents were both professionals, and his brother, David, is concertmaster of the St. Louis Symphony.

Halen has performed in solo and chamber music programs in the U.S. and abroad, including solo appearances with the St. Louis and Houston Symphonies.

He has made frequent guest appearances with Da Camera of Houston, Music in Context and performed at summer music festivals, including the Aspen Music Festival; the Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo, Japan; and Cascade Head Music Festival in Oregon. As a member of the Houston Symphony Chamber Players with Christoph Eschenbach, he has toured the U.S., Japan and Europe and recorded Messiaen's Quartet for the End of Time and Alban Berg's Adagio for Violin, Clarinet and Piano from the Chamber Concerto.

Halen has performed as soloist many times with the Houston Symphony on classical subscription concerts, including a performance of Prokofiev's Concerto in G minor with Christoph Eschenbach conducting, and the Mozart Duet Aria Non Temer Amato Bene with soprano Barbara Bonney and Hans Graf conducting at New York's Carnegie Hall.

In 2006, Halen was invited by the Nashville Symphony and Music Advisor Leonard Slatkin to serve as guest concertmaster to open the new symphony hall, the Schermerhorn Symphony Center. The concert was broadcast nationally on PBS and PBS HD, as a special titled One Symphony Place.

Eric Halen plays a violin made in 1616 by Antonio and Hieronymus Amati.

About Jennifer Owen

Originally from Australia, Jennifer Owen is now in her 15th season as principal second violin of the Houston Symphony. She also has held the position of principal first violin of the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra (Australia) and associate concertmaster of the Richardson Symphony Orchestra (Texas). She has performed as soloist with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, the New Amsterdam Symphony Orchestra (New York City) and the Houston Symphony.

As a chamber musician, Owen was a member of the Canberra String Quartet for five years, including two years as resident graduate quartet at the Hartt School, Connecticut, under the tutelage of the Emerson String Quartet. She performed throughout Tasmania with the Virtuosi Tasmania ensemble, and as a guest artist on faculty recitals at the Tasmanian Conservatorium of Music. Most recently, she has appeared as guest artist on many faculty recital programs at Rice University and the University of Houston. She also performs regularly with the St. Cecilia Chamber Music Society and with Da Camera of Houston.

About the Houston Symphony

During the 2013-14 Season, the Houston Symphony celebrates its 100th year as one of America's leading orchestras with a full complement of concert, community, education, touring and recording activities. The Houston Symphony is one of the oldest performing arts organizations in Texas whose inaugural performance was held at The Majestic Theater in downtown Houston on June 21, 1913. Today, with an annual operating budget of $30.4 million, the full-time ensemble of 87 professional musicians is the largest performing arts organization in Houston, presenting more than 280 concerts for 280,000 people, including 84,000 children, annually. For tickets and more information, please visit www.houstonsymphony.org or call 713-224-7575.