Two upcoming concerts at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music offer Houston audiences an opportunity to engage with the works of two modern composers while providing students the rare chance to collaborate with these musical innovators. The performances Oct. 17 and Oct. 25 will feature compositions by GRAMMY®-nominated Christopher Theofanidis and Houston Grand Opera composer-in-residence Joel Thompson.
“The beauty of working with living composers is that you get to talk with them,” said Jerry Hou ’04, Shepherd School alumnus and artist teacher of orchestras and ensembles, who is conducting both concerts. “I’m also thrilled that the students will have a chance to work and speak with these composers.”
On Oct. 17, the contemporary ensemble will perform a program featuring the works of Theofanidis, who will be serving as the Shepherd School’s composer-in-residence. In this role, Theofanidis will collaborate closely with Shepherd School composition students, offering them a rare opportunity to engage with his creative process firsthand. His mentorship will provide students with invaluable insights into the craft of composition, fostering a deeper understanding of both the technical and artistic aspects of their own work.
“As a native Houstonian, the music made at the Shepherd School has always loomed large in my imagination. I’ve seen so many wonderful performances there, and I have many dear friends on the faculty,” Theofanidis said. “It is particularly meaningful to me then that I have been invited for this residency, will have three pieces spanning three decades played by the phenomenal students of the contemporary ensemble and will work with some of the best and brightest young composers around.”
Known for his widely performed orchestral piece “Rainbow Body,” Theofanidis has earned numerous accolades throughout his career, including the International Masterprize and the Rome Prize. His influence spans continents with works regularly performed by leading orchestras such as the New York Philharmonic and the London Symphony Orchestra.
The program, which also includes a piece by Jacob Druckman, will feature three of Theofanidis’s compositions, including “O Vis Aeternitatis” and “Flow, My Tears.” Each work showcases Theofanidis’s distinctive blend of lyrical expression and complex harmonic textures.
The symphony orchestra will take the stage for “Orchestral Fireworks” Oct. 25, a performance featuring Thompson’s “To See the Sky,” which was commissioned by the New York Philharmonic, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Bravo! Vail and the Aspen Music Festival and School. It will be the first time the piece will be performed outside of those commissioning partners.
“Jerry Hou is one of the most intuitive and brilliant conductors with whom I’ve had the privilege of collaborating, and I have no doubt that his interpretation of ‘To See the Sky’ will be a definitive one,” Thompson said, adding that he’s looking forward to the opportunity to work with the Shepherd School’s students. “As a former high school teacher and college educator, I’m always excited to hear preprofessional musicians play my work. There is a certain indefatigable energy and vulnerability that will lend itself to a sincere performance of this very personal piece.”
The Oct. 25 program also includes Sibelius’s Symphony No. 7, an emotionally charged 20-minute masterpiece that unfolds an infinite universe of musical power, and Lutosławski’s Concerto for Orchestra, a tour de force written in the early 1950s that will showcase the virtuosity and talents of the symphony orchestra.
For more details about the concerts and to claim free tickets, click here.