Houston Symphony Previews October Lineup

With the 2015-16 season in full swing, the Houston Symphony will offer a wide range of concerts in October, including Classical, POPS, Family and Specials.

Kicking off the month will be Schumann's rarely-performed choral work The Pilgrimage of the Rose at Rice University's Stude Concert Hall on October 1, which will be the first "Musically Speaking with Andrés" concert of the season. Now in its second season, the series offers an intimate concert experience focused on a single work with commentary from Music Director Andrés Orozco-Estrada and Musical Ambassador Carlos Andrés Botero. Inspired by Moritz Horn's poem of the same name, The Pilgrimage of the Rose tells the story of a rose whose wish of becoming human is granted by a fairy princess so the rose may experience love. The same piece will be performed at Jones Hall concerts on October 3 and 4, along with Bartók's three-movement Divertimento for Strings.

Two weekends later, on October 16, 17 and 18, Orozco-Estrada will conduct Charles Ives' Symphony No. 2, part of the Houston Symphony's four-year cycle of this great composer's symphonies that began in the 2014-15 season. Ives' moving Symphony No. 2 contains many allusions to folk songs, which are woven together with classical works. After intermission, seven-time GRAMMY Award-winner Emanuel Ax will join the Houston Symphony for a majestic performance of Brahms' Piano Concerto No. 2.

Video gamers are especially encouraged to visit Jones Hall for "The Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses - Master Quest" concerts on October 21 and 22. Conducted by Amy Andersson, this stop on the global concert tour will include over 28 years of music from the video game franchise. Music from "Ocarina of Time," "The Wind Waker," "Twilight Princess," "A Link to the Past," and "A Link Between Worlds," will be featured, among others.

Pop icon Frank Sinatra would have been 100 years old this year, and the Houston Symphony will honor his legacy and music with "Sinatra's Centennial" on October 30, 31 and November 1. Conducted by Principal POPS Conductor Designate Steven Reineke and joined by guest vocalists Tony DeSare and Montego Glover, the program will include classics such as "Fly Me to the Moon," "My Way," and "The Lady is A Tramp."

Rounding out the month with a Halloween-themed family concert, "Ghosts and Ghostbusters" will be led by Associate Conductor Robert Franz on October 31. The program will include Michael Jackson's "Thriller," haunting violin solos and music from Ghostbusters. Costumes are encouraged!

All concerts will take place at Jones Hall for the Performing Arts, 615 Louisiana Street, in Houston's Theater District. For tickets and information, please call (713) 224-7575 or visit www.houstonsymphony.org. Tickets may also be purchased at the Houston Symphony Patron Services Center in Jones Hall (Monday-Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.). All programs and artists are subject to change.