Andres Orozco-Estrada Returns to Conduct Mozart's Final Symphony with Houston Symphony, Now thru 1/5

Music Director Designate Andrés Orozco-Estrada returns to the Houston Symphony during its Centennial Season this weekend, 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.

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.

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, visit www.houstonsymphony.org or call 713-224-7575.