Andrés Orozco-Estrada Leads Rare Performance Of Dvorak's Choral Masterpiece Stabat Mater

Music Director Andrés Orozco-Estrada, an all-star cast of vocalists, the Houston Symphony and the Houston Symphony Chorus all join to afford Houston the chance to hear Dvo?ák's seldom-heard, grand choral masterwork Stabat Mater at 8 p.m., Sept. 27 and 29, and 2:30 p.m., Sept. 30 in Jones Hall.

Returning guest vocalists Sasha Cooke (mezzo-soprano) and Toby Spence (tenor) are joined by Lucy Crowe (soprano) and Dashon Burton (baritone) in their Houston Symphony debuts. They join the orchestra and the Houston Symphony Chorus under the direction of chorus director Betsy Cooke Weber in performing Dvo?ák's luminous and deeply moving masterpiece.

Inspired by the Latin poem Stabat Mater dolorosa, Dvo?ák's towering choral piece meditates on the Virgin Mary's grief at the death of her son, Jesus. Orozco-Estrada and the combined forces onstage take listeners through an emotional journey of grief, leading to spiritual healing and redemption in Dvo?ák's masterpiece.

Dvo?ák's Stabat Mater sponsored by Rand Group takes 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.

About the Houston Symphony

During the 2018-19 season, the Houston Symphony celebrates its fifth season with Music Director Andrés Orozco- Estrada and continues its second century as one of America's leading orchestras with a full complement of concert, community, education, touring and recording activities. The Houston Symphony, one of the oldest performing arts organizations in Texas, held its inaugural performance at The Majestic Theater in downtown Houston June 21, 1913. Today, with an annual operating budget of $33.9 million, the full-time ensemble of 88 professional musicians presents nearly 170 concerts annually, making it the largest performing arts organization in Houston. Additionally, musicians of the orchestra and the Symphony's four Community-Embedded Musicians offer over 900 community-based performances each year, reaching thousands of people in Greater Houston.

The Grammy Award-winning Houston Symphony has recorded under various prestigious labels, including Naxos, Koch International Classics, Telarc, RCA Red Seal, Virgin Classics and, most recently, Dutch recording label PENTATONE. In 2017, the Houston Symphony was awarded an ECHO Klassik award for the live recording of Alban Berg's Wozzeck under the direction of former Music Director Hans Graf. The orchestra earned its first Grammy nomination and Grammy Award at the 60th annual ceremony for the same recording in the Best Opera Recording category.