Mercury Chamber Orchestra Announces 2021-2022 Season

Mercury Chamber Orchestra has unveiled its 2021-2022 Season. Artistic Director Antoine Plante has created an inviting array of concerts with engaging musical highlights from the Baroque to the Romantic that will be performed for live audiences as well as streamed to at-home audiences. Each concert-performed on period instruments- is a dynamic and fresh experience, revealing new ways for audiences to engage with the arts.

"We have had an incredible response from our subscribers and supporters this past year as everyone has been navigating the pandemic. We are grateful to those who have come to our in-person concerts at the Wortham Center and those who have streamed concerts from the comfort of their homes," says Executive Director Brian Ritter.

As with last season, all concerts will be broadcast live online and available for streaming for one week after each premiere, increasing arts accessibility for listeners everywhere. "We are thrilled that people from Houston and across the world have now been able to hear our wonderful musicians," says Artistic Director Antoine Plante. "We are eager to gather together again in the Cullen Theater and to be back with our Mercury family and extended group of friends for this exciting new series of concerts."

Mercury kicks off the new season with the annual Free Community Concert at Miller Outdoor Theatre in September. Experienced by thousands of people each year at Houston's premier outdoor concert venue in Hermann Park, this season's concert, "Vivaldi's Four Seasons," will be a multi-media jubilee of one of the classical world's most popular pieces and a perennial Mercury audience favorite. This concert is made possible in part by the Miller Outdoor Theatre Advisory Board.

Mercury's Downtown Series, at the Wortham Center's Cullen Theater, is comprised of seven distinctive concerts running from October through May. Mercury opens the series with a concert of Bach & Telemann concertos in October, followed in November with music of Mozart & Brahms including the latter's lush string sextet arranged for small ensemble.

In December, Mercury presents the music of Sibelius, Grieg and Pärt in a concert of Nordic melodies. In January's concert, Haydn & Mozart, principal cellist Beiliang Zhu performs Haydn's splendid Cello Concerto in C major. In February, a mix of sacred and secular works by Handel & Vivaldi is featured including Vivaldi's motet, "O qui coeli terraeque serenitas," and Handel's cantata "Delirio Amosoro."

Moving to the Romantic in March, the ensemble performs Beethoven's expressive String Quartet 130 and Ravel's colorful String Quartet, arranged for string orchestra. Mercury concludes the season with vocal works from Bach & Vivaldi including Bach's cantata "Ich habe genug" and Vivaldi's Magnificat.

Now in its tenth year, Mercury's Neighborhood Series offers intimate, hour-long concerts in four exceptional locations across Houston - Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church, Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Midtown's MATCH, and the Dosey Doe Big Barn in The Woodlands. Designed to inspire and energize all who attend, these concerts are highly accessible and intimate. These concerts, kicking off in January 2022, range from the Baroque music of Purcell and Couperin to the tango music of Argentinean composer Astor Piazzolla.

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