Common to Join The Houston Symphony in Concert

Academy Award, Golden Globe, Emmy and three-time Grammy Award-winning actor, activist, and hip-hop artist Common joins conductor Steven Reineke and the Houston Symphony for an unforgettable one-night-only performance on September 4 at 7:30 p.m.

The multi-talented artist Common will perform selections from his latest albums, including the upcoming album "Let Love" due later this summer, as well as some of his most memorable hits. Since his 1992 album Can I Borrow a Dollar?, Common has remained one of hip-hop's and popular culture's most influential figures. In 2015, having starred in the film Selma, Common won the Academy Award?alongside John Legend?for "Best Original Song in a Motion Picture" for "Glory," which was featured in the film. His 11th studio album, "Black America Again" on the ARTium/Def Jam label, features a collaboration with Stevie Wonder on the title track, as well as the end-title track to Ava DuVernay's powerful Oscar-Nominated documentary 13TH, for which he also received the 2017 Emmy for "Best Music and Lyrics."

Common and Reineke, Houston Symphony Principal POPS Conductor, previously collaborated with symphony orchestras across the nation, beginning with the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C.?where Reineke also serves as Principal POPS Conductor?which created this program for Common. Other orchestras include the San Francisco Symphony and the Chicago Symphony-the artist's hometown Common said of performing with a symphony, "Hip-hop has a spontaneity to it and a freedom to it whereas orchestras and symphonies perform with written music, so you know what bar you're going to end. It makes me stay on my toes." (WBEZ Chicago)

Common performs with the Houston Symphony September 4 at 7:30 p.m. at Jones Hall for the Performing Arts, 615 Louisiana Street, in Houston's Theater District. Tickets are now on sale for Common with the Houston Symphony, as well as for most of the Symphony's 2019-20 performances via houstonsymphony.org and 713.224.7575. Tickets may also be purchased at the Houston Symphony Patron Services Center in Jones Hall (Monday-Saturday, 12-6 p.m.).

About the Houston Symphony

During the 2019-20 season, the Houston Symphony celebrates its sixth 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 hundreds of 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.

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