Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music marked its 50th anniversary with a gala concert and dinner Nov. 8 that showcased the school’s artistic excellence, deep sense of community and lasting legacy of generosity. The evening, chaired by Anne and Albert Chao and Isabel and Danny David with underwriter chairs Shawn Stephens and Jim Jordan, brought together alumni, faculty, students and supporters to celebrate five decades of musical achievement and philanthropy — raising $1.5 million to continue the work of the Shepherd School.
The celebration began in Stude Concert Hall where the Shepherd School Symphony Orchestra, led by Miguel Harth-Bedoya, delivered a program honoring the school’s past, present and future. The performance opened with Leonard Bernstein’s “Overture to Candide,” followed by composition professor Pierre Jalbert’s “Slumber My Darling” from “Another Starry Night” — one of seven works commissioned in honor of the Shepherd School’s 50th anniversary. The piece featured Grammy Award-winning mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke ’04.
The orchestra continued with Tchaikovsky’s “Capriccio Italien” and concluded with a surprise encore performance of John Williams’ triumphant “Raiders March,” a fitting finale to a program that celebrated the school’s enduring spirit of collaboration and excellence.
“For five decades, the Shepherd School has set the standard for musical training and performance,” Rice President Reginald DesRoches said. “Its students, faculty and alumni bring talent, discipline and artistry that inspire all of us — on this stage, across Houston and around the globe.”
DesRoches and Matthew Loden, the Lynette S. Autrey Dean of Music, both reflected on the school’s remarkable growth since its founding in 1975.
“From our earliest days when Sallie Shepherd Perkins so generously brought our school to life, we have been a place of dreams brought to reality by the leaders in our community,” Loden said. “Thank you for 50 years of dreams and for standing with us as we translate those dreams into the next 50 years of success for the Shepherd School of Music.”
The gala honored Anne Duncan, a champion of the Shepherd School whose service and philanthropy span more than four decades. Her leadership has strengthened every corner of the school from the creation of merit-based endowed scholarships to the establishment of the Anne and Charles Duncan Concertmaster Chair. Her generosity, alongside her late husband, has helped shape the university’s musical, academic and architectural landscape. Starting next academic year and in perpetuity, Loden shared that the first fall concert of the Shepherd School Symphony Orchestra will be named the “Anne Duncan Opening Concert.”
Loden also announced that the stage in Stude Hall will now bear the name Larry Rachleff Orchestra Stage, made possible by a generous gift from Dot and Rick Nelson. Rachleff, who led the Shepherd School Symphony and Chamber Orchestras for more than 30 years, was revered for his precision, passion and profound artistry. Known for inspiring students to exceed their own expectations, he helped elevate the Shepherd School into one of the nation’s foremost music conservatories. His influence continues to resonate through the generations of musicians he mentored, the colleagues he inspired and the legacy of musical excellence that remains central to the school’s identity.
“This is in honor of Larry’s unparalleled development of the Shepherd School’s orchestral program and in recognition of his life of service to music,” Loden said.
A video presentation traced the Shepherd School’s rise from humble beginnings to one of the nation’s most celebrated conservatories, highlighting the vision of faculty, donors and students who have shaped its 50-year history.
Following the concert, guests gathered for dinner on the Morrison Stage in Brockman Hall for Opera. Performances by Shepherd School students including a brass ensemble performing “A Parliament of Owls” by founding dean Samuel Jones, the Pavone Quartet and a jazz group that provided an elegant soundtrack for the evening as guests dined within the hall’s soaring acoustics.
As the Shepherd School looks toward its next 50 years, two anniversary commissions remain to debut this season: Karim Al-Zand’s “A Joint Interest” Feb. 1 and Arthur Gottschalk’s “Tombeaux: pour un création d'une rhapsodie” March 8. Together, these works continue a tradition of creativity and collaboration that defines the Shepherd School’s past and future.
Learn more about the Shepherd School’s history in the magazine here, produced especially for its 50th anniversary.
