Michael Cavanaugh and Houston Symphony to Showcase Elton John and More, 4/19-21

Celebrating the 1970s, the Houston Symphony and Michael Cavanaugh will entertain audiences in concerts of classic rock favorites on April 19, 20 and 21. Under the direction of Associate Conductor Robert Franz, the Symphony will accompany Cavanaugh on hits from Elton John and bands such as Journey, Chicago, the Eagles and Styx.

A Tony and Grammy award nominee, Cavanaugh starred in Broadway's Movin' Out and is known for his ability to blow away audiences with his powerful renditions of pop and rock favorites. Cavanuagh will pay homage to Sir Elton John by playing piano and singing hits such "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road," "Tiny Dancer" and "Crocodile Rock." Adding to the evening, the orchestra and Cavanaugh will also perform other popular 1970s hits like "Hotel California" and "American Pie." In the second half of the concert, Cavanaugh will open the stage to audience requests making each night unique and highly entertaining for all who attend.

Houston Symphony Cynthia Woods Mitchell POPS at Jones Hall Series takes place at 615 Louisiana St., Houston, TX. Performances will play Friday, April 19, 2013, 8:00pm, Saturday, April 20, 2013, 8:00pm, and Sunday, April 21, 2013, 7:30pm. Tickets from $29.

Since beginning as Associate Conductor of the Houston Symphony, Robert Franz has led the orchestra with vibrant, athletic and entertaining direction in a broad range of creative educational family concerts.

As Music Director of the Boise Philharmonic, Music Director Designate of the Windsor Symphony Orchestra, Associate Conductor of the Houston Symphony and Music Director of the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival Opera and Orchestra, Franz's appeal as a first-rate conductor and enthusiastic award-winning educator is acclaimed by critics, composers and audiences of all ages.

In increasing demand as a guest conductor, his recent and upcoming guest conducting highlights include debuts with the Baltimore Symphony, St. Louis Symphony and The Cleveland Orchestra.

As Associate Conductor of the Houston Symphony, Robert Franz leads the Symphony in a broad range of creative, educational and family concerts, and has established a continuing relationship with Radio Disney. His concerts have reached over 72,000 audience members of all ages as he travels to various venues throughout the State of Texas.

ASCAP has recognized Franz on two occasions for his advocacy in arts education. Under his direction, both the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra in 2008, and the Louisville Orchestra in 2001 were awarded the Leonard Bernstein Award for Educational Programming. He has addressed the Idaho Legislature on the importance of music in education, and authored his first children's book with a CD entitled Stella's Magical Musical Tour of America.

In addition to his current posts, Franz served as the Music Director of the Mansfield Symphony in Ohio from 2003 to 2010, Resident Conductor of the Buffalo Philharmonic from 2005 to 2009 and Associate Conductor of the Louisville Orchestra from 1997 to 2006. He has also led the Winston-Salem Piedmont Triad Symphony, the Louisville Youth Orchestra and the Winston-Salem Youth Symphony. He continues to serve as Music Director Emeritus of the Carolina Chamber Symphony, an orchestra he founded, and provides educational programming workshops at the National Repertory Orchestra during the summer.

Franz received his Master of Music degree in conducting and his Bachelor of Music degree in oboe performance from the North Carolina School of the Arts.

Michael Cavanaugh is the new voice of the American rock and roll songbook. A charismatic performer, musician and actor, he is famous for his piano and lead vocal role in the Broadway musical Movin' Out.

Cavanaugh was handpicked by Billy Joel to star in title role and evokes a style rivaling the Piano Man. Michael appeared in the show for 3 years with over 1,200 performances and received accolade after accolade, which culminated with both Grammy and Tony award nominations in 2003.

Cavanaugh began playing piano at age 7 when his parents bought their first piano. Encouraged by family and friends, and inspired by his hero Billy Joel, he formed his first band at age 10. In January 1999, Cavanaugh received an offer that would unknowingly change his life, with an opportunity to play in Las Vegas at the famed New York, New York Hotel and Casino. It was there that Billy Joel spotted Cavanaugh and joined him on stage one fateful night of February 2001. Soon after, Cavanaugh moved to New York City to work alongside Billy Joel and Twyla Tharp, who worked together to shape the Broadway Musical that would be called Movin' Out.

With the close of Movin' Out at the end of 2005, he began touring in his own right, creating a show that reinterprets the modern pop and rock songbook. He continues to perform worldwide for company and charity events as well as sporting events including PGA tour events, the US Open and the Indy 500. It wasn't long before symphony orchestras discovered his talents and audience appeal. He accepted his first orchestral booking, "Michael Cavanaugh - The Songs of Billy Joel and more" which debuted in April of 2008 with the Indianapolis Symphony and continues to tour. In June of 2010, Cavanaugh debuted his second symphony show in the "Generations of Rock" series entitled "Michael Cavanaugh: The Songs of Elton John and more", and then debuted his third symphony show "Singers and Songwriters: the music of Paul Simon, Neil Diamond and James Taylor" in 2012. He continues to tour with all three symphony productions.

During the 2013-14 Season, the Houston Symphony will be in 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 $28.7 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.

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