Violinist Eduardo Rios to Kick Off Summer Symphony Nights at Miller Outdoor Theatre, 6/18

The Houston Symphony's 2015 ExxonMobil Summer Symphony Nights series at Miller Outdoor Theatre will kick off on June 18 as the Symphony welcomes violinist Eduardo Rios and guest conductor Gergely Madaras to the Miller stage for the first time.

Music director of the Dijon Orchestra in Burgundy and chief conductor of the Savaria Symphony Orchestra, Madaras will begin the evening's performance by conducting the Houston Symphony in one of Zoltán Kodály's best known works, Variations on a Hungarian Folk Song. The piece, which was written for the 50th anniversary of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam in 1939, includes sixteen short variations and a finale. Its melody is based on one of the oldest Hungarian traditional songs, "Felszállott a Páva," which means "peacock."

Following the Variations, 19-year old Rios will make his Houston Symphony debut as the guest soloist in Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E minor. Originally from Lima, Peru, and winner of the 2015 Sphinx Competition, the young violinist came to the United States at age 15 with the cultural exchange program Traveling Notes. He has shared his talents worldwide at festivals including Brazil's Santa Catarina Music Festival and has participated in an Armenian educational outreach alongside American and Armenian musicians.

Rios is currently a Bachelor of Music candidate at the Colburn School Conservatory of Music in Los Angeles where he studies with renowned violin teacher Robert Lipsett. He is concertmaster of the American Youth Symphony and co-concertmaster of the Colburn Orchestra. Additionally, the committed chamber musician is first violinist of the Alma String Quartet.

Closing out the evening's performance will be Dvorák's cheerful Symphony No. 8 in G Major performed by the Houston Symphony and led by Madaras.

PROGRAM:

EXXONMOBIL SUMMER SYMPHONY NIGHTS SERIES

Miller Outdoor Theatre

6000 Hermann Park Drive

Houston, TX 77030

Thursday, June 18, 2015, 8:30 p.m.
Gergely Madaras, Conductor
Eduardo Rios, Violin
Kodaly: Variations on a Hungarian Folk Song
Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto in E minor, Opus 64
Dvorak: Symphony No. 8 in G Major, Opus 88

FREE ADMISSION

Admission is free for these concerts, but tickets are required for the covered seated area. Tickets are available at the Miller Theatre Box Office the day of the performance between 10:30 AM - 1:00 PM. Any remaining tickets are released one hour before the performance time. Visit www.milleroutdoortheatre.com for more information.