Matthew Dirst News

Ars Minerva has announced that it will present the modern world premiere of Domenico Freschi's 1682 opera OLIMPIA VENDICATA this fall.

Ars Lyrica Houston and Express Children's Theatre will present 'Maria's Magical Music Adventure,' a delightful musical play designed to captivate young audiences and inspire their love for classical music.

The Grammy-nominated early music ensemble Ars Lyrica Houston has announced 20 Years of Magic, a 2023/24 season celebrating two decades of music-making. This 20th anniversary season comprises six subscription programs, including a fully staged Handel opera, and features world-class soloists alongside a core period-instrument ensemble.

Grammy-nominated ensemble Ars Lyrica Houston closes out their 22/23 season with a celebratory concert on Saturday, May 13th at 7:30 pm in Zilkha Hall at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts. Songs of Zion features six stellar singers alongside Baroque orchestra and highlights music from the rich legacy of psalm settings of the Jewish and Christian traditions.

On Sunday, March 12th at 6 pm CT, Ars Lyrica Houston will present The Well-Tempered Clavier 300th Anniversary Celebration: Panel Discussion. This live Zoom panel is free with registration and features three internationally recognized music experts discussing J.S. Bach's legacy. Ars Lyrica Artistic Director Matthew Dirst, a leading scholar of Bach's keyboard music, will be joined by harpsichord builder John Phillips (Berkeley, California) and scholar David Yearsley (Cornell University).

Grammy-nominated music organization Ars Lyrica Houston welcomes three young opera stars to perform Handel's Clori, Tirsi, e Fileno with full Baroque orchestra on Sunday, March 26th at 4 pm in Zilkha Hall. This concert will also be available to watch digitally through high-quality livestream.

On February 4th, Baroque music organization Ars Lyrica Houston welcomed guests to the Houston Museum of Natural Science for their 2023 Gala benefiting Ars Lyrica Opera Circle and their 20th anniversary season opera, Handel's Amadigi di Gaula. This spectacular evening honoring Connie Kwan-Wong, Zoe Wong, and Elly Wong, featured a progressive experience culminating with an opera performance among the dinosaurs!

On Sunday, January 29th at 4 pm and 5:30 pm, Ars Lyrica Houston will present a concert of musical chinoiseries from the 17th and 18th centuries at Rienzi, the Museum of Fine Arts House Museum for European decorative arts.

Ars Lyrica Houston's 2023 gala Gems, Charms, and Treasures will take place on Saturday, February 4th at 6:30 pm at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. This black tie event benefits Ars Lyrica Houston Opera Circle and its Baroque opera productions, and will raise vital support for Handel's opera Amadigi di Gaula, slated for May 2024. 

On Tuesday, December 13th at 7:30 pm, Ars Lyrica Houston – an ensemble specializing in music of the 17th and 18th centuries – presents a special holiday concert titled A Marian Feast in the beautiful and resonant St. Philip Presbyterian Church.

Grammy-nominated early music ensemble Ars Lyrica Houston presents Red Priest of Venice on Saturday, November 12th in Zilkha Hall, at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts, a concert dedicated to the music of one of the greatest Baroque composers and famous redhead Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741).

On Friday, September 23 at 7:30 pm, Grammy-nominated early music ensemble Ars Lyrica Houston begins its 2022-23 season with an exultant concert in Zilkha Hall featuring eight solo singers and a colorful Baroque orchestra.

On June 21st, Grammy-nominated early music ensemble Ars Lyrica Houston, in collaboration with the Rothko Chapel, will present a reflective program of medieval music, entitled Contemplation in Light, in observance of the Summer Solstice. Two mainstage Ars Lyrica musicians, mezzo-soprano Cecilia Duarte and percussionist Jesús Pacheco, have carefully curated an hour-long immersive experience in the Rothko Chapel with solo voice and percussion instruments.

The Grammy-nominated ensemble Ars Lyrica Houston has announced its 19th season, “Sounding Legacies.”

 Ars Lyrica Houston concludes its 2021-22 season with a fully staged production of Henry Purcell’s beloved opera “Dido and Aeneas,” with performances on Saturday, May 21st at 7:30 pm and Sunday, May 22nd at 2:30 pm in Zilkha Hall, Hobby Center for the Performing Arts.

Ars Lyrica Houston, the Grammy-nominated early music ensemble, continues their innovative Turning Points season with their first in-person performance of 2022, An Uncommon Chevalier, on March 27th.

Ars Lyrica Houston, the Grammy-nominated early music ensemble,  will celebrate 300 years of the Well-Tempered Clavier by Johann Sebastian Bach with an online video series, Biweekly Bach, and third concert of a series of intimate in-person performances highlighting the iconic collection.

Ars Lyrica Houston, the Grammy-nominated early music ensemble, mounts the first of two staged operas this season on a program entitled Eternity and the Underworld.

Ars Lyrica Houston, the Grammy-nominated early music ensemble, celebrates 300 years of The Well-Tempered Clavier by Johann Sebastian Bach with a series of intimate performances at Rienzi, the MFAH house museum for European decorative arts.

Featuring contrasting interpretations of the Herculean myth by both Bach and Handel, the concert marks the homecoming for the ensemble to the Hobby Center on Friday, September 24, 2021 at 7:30 p.m. Headlining the program is a pantheon of remarkable singers including countertenor Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen, mezzo-soprano Leia Lensing, tenor Steven Brennfleck, baritone Jason Zacher, and soprano Nola Richardson, who is making her debut with Ars Lyrica.