Rice University's Shepherd School Of Music Unveils 2025-26 Season

The Shepherd School of Music at Rice University will continue its multiyear 50th-anniversary celebration in the upcoming 2025-26 season. With orchestral, chamber, opera, and recital programs, the milestone season showcases the excellence of Shepherd's students and faculty, alongside appearances by distinguished guest artists.

Season highlights include:

A 50th-anniversary celebration gala on November 8, featuring the Shepherd School Symphony Orchestra and mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke (BM '04), led by Miguel Harth-Bedoya. Cooke performs the premiere of a movement from Another Starry Night, a song cycle by Shepherd's Chair of Composition and Theory, Pierre Jalbert, commissioned for the 50th anniversary; the full cycle will be premiered in the 2026-27 season. An elegant seated dinner on the Morrison Theater stage in the stunning Brockman Hall for Opera will take place following the concert for Gala event supporters. Anne Duncan is the Gala Honoree; Anne and Albert Chao and Isabel and Danny David Are the Gala Co-Chairs; and Shawn Stephens and Jim Jordan are the Underwriter Chairs.

Ten symphony and chamber orchestra performances, programmed by Miguel Harth-Bedoya in his first full season as Distinguished Resident Director of Orchestras. Throughout the season, both the Shepherd School Symphony Orchestra and Shepherd School Chamber Orchestra perform cornerstones of the classical repertoire - such as Ravel's Daphnis et Chloé Suite No. 2 and Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6, "Pathétique" - and works by living composers John Adams, Mason Bates, Pulitzer Prize winner Tania León, and Shepherd School Cooper Prize Winner Nicky Sohn.

Two concerts that showcase the breadth of Shepherd student talent, featuring Shepherd School Concerto Competition winners Szuyu Su and Sebastian Berofsky, Shepherd Master of Music in Orchestral Conducting students Kyle Haake and Ana Spasovska, and alumni composers Jiaying Li and Xingyi Chen.

A first-ever collaboration between the Shepherd School Chamber Orchestra and Chamber Players on the stage of Morrison Theater at Brockman Hall for Opera, featuring Concerto Competition winner Jackson Bernal. New faculty member David Chan, concertmaster of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, prepares the ensemble and conducts one piece on the program.

The continuation of the Shepherd School's 50th anniversary commissioning initiative, begun in the 2024-25 season, with five additional premieres by Shepherd composition faculty taking place over the season, including Anthony Brandt's Chamber Concerto for Cello and Orchestra, featuring Professor of Cello and Chair of Chamber Music Norman Fischer; Kurt Stallmann and Joseph Campana's multimedia collaborative work The Fruit and the Work; Pierre Jalbert's Another Starry Night; Karim Al-Zand's A Joint Interest; and Arthur Gottschalk's Tombeaux: pour un creation d'une rhapsodie for piano and chamber orchestra, featuring pianist Milton Rubén Laufer (Shepherd MM '98, DMA '03).

Fully staged performances of Mozart's The Magic Flute (Louis Lohraseb, conductor; R.B. Schlather, director) and Verdi's Falstaff (Miguel Harth-Bedoya, conductor; Matt Hune, director, as part of an all-Houston creative team) presented by Shepherd School Opera, helmed by Director of Opera Studies Joshua Winograde, with the Shepherd School Chamber Orchestra. Opera students also perform on Modern American Opera Scenes, which includes the world premiere of faculty composer Al-Zand's A Joint Interest with the Shepherd School Chamber Players conducted by Harth-Bedoya, as well as scenes from other contemporary American operas led by Aleko Endowed Artist Paul Curran.

Two chamber music festivals, each featuring three days of captivating chamber music of various configurations, which involve all Shepherd instrumental students and provide crucial opportunities for ensemble-building.

Contemporary ensemble Latitude 49, which blends the finesse of a classical ensemble with the drive and precision of a fine-tuned rock band, works with Shepherd composition students and gives a public concert during a three-day residency. Other guests include Molly Carr (violist of The Juilliard String Quartet), Jean Bernard Cerin (baritone), Chelsea Chen (organ), and Jason Hardink (piano).

Free livestreams of most Shepherd School performances, including orchestra, chamber music, and faculty and student recitals.

Family-friendly programming, including a holiday Spirit of the Season performance in December and a Family Concert performance of Britten's The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra by the Shepherd School Symphony Orchestra in February.

Eight new faculty members: Miguel Harth-Bedoya, Distinguished Resident Director of Orchestras and Professor of Conducting; David Chan, Professor of Violin; Elizabeth Freimuth (Shepherd MM '98), Professor of Horn; Erin Hannigan, Professor of Oboe; Allegra Lilly, Associate Professor of Harp; Cristian Macelaru (Shepherd MM '06, '08), Distinguished Visiting Artist; Nick Platoff, Associate Professor of Trombone; and Valentin Radutiu, Professor of Cello. There will also be faculty recitals throughout the season and Sharing the Spotlight performances, which provide Shepherd students a unique opportunity to share the stage with their faculty mentors.

The return of the orchestral conducting graduate program led by Miguel Harth-Bedoya. Graduate students assist Shepherd orchestra activities and are associate conductors of Rice University's Campanile Orchestra. The addition of an undergraduate orchestral conducting degree, the first of its kind in the nation, with the initial cohort commencing classes in Fall 2026.

New seating and flooring in Stude Concert Hall and Duncan Recital Hall, updated for the first time since Alice Pratt Brown Hall's opening in 1991, providing a more comfortable and enhanced listening experience for patrons and students alike.

Ticketing Information:

With more than 400 events each season, many of which are free or at minimal cost, the Shepherd School offers a variety of programming options. The Shepherd School events calendar includes the latest schedule updates and which performances require tickets.

Tickets for the fall semester will be available on the following dates: orchestra performances on sale August 22; Mozart's The Magic Flute and Spirit of the Season on Friday, September 5; and concert-only gala tickets on September 19. Tickets for spring semester performances will go on sale in the new year. Shepherd School annual fund donors at the Ambassador level ($250) and above get presale ticket access.