Marvel Studios’ BLACK PANTHER Black Panther/T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) Ph: Film Frame ©Marvel Studios 2018
The Houston Symphony presents Marvel Studios’ Black Panther in Concert at Jones Hall on Saturday, April 2 and Sunday, April 3, 2022. Audiences can experience the Marvel film that became a global sensation on the big screen as the Houston Symphony, led by Principal POPS Conductor Steven Reineke, performs Ludwig Göransson’s Oscar-winning score live. In-person tickets for all shows are now available at houstonsymphony.org/blackpanther.
Black Panther in Concert marks the latest in the Houston Symphony’s series of film screenings with live orchestra, featuring high-definition films on a 35-foot screen accompanied by the full complement of a major symphony orchestra. Audiences can relive the excitement of the film in full force as the Houston Symphony accompanies the full movie, live.
Composer Ludwig Göransson traveled to Africa to research traditional African music, which he combined with the classical orchestra to create the sound world of Black Panther’s score. African percussionist Massamba Diop is one of the most revered masters of the tama, the Senegalese talking drum renowned for its ability to mimic human speech. Diop was called upon to perform for Black Panther’s original soundtrack, and he makes his Houston Symphony debut performing the Black Panther score live with the orchestra in April.
Released in 2018, Marvel Studios’ Black Panther quickly became a cultural phenomenon, representing a new standard for superhero films. T’Challa, heir to the hidden but advanced kingdom of Wakanda, must step forward to lead his people into a new future and confront Killmonger, a challenger from his country’s past who seeks to begin a global revolution.
Audiences are encouraged to come dressed as their favorite character, as T’Challa, Killmonger and more from the film roam the lobby for photo opportunities, and adults in the audience can enjoy a special Black Panther-themed cocktail, dubbed the “Wakanda Forever.”
Marvel’s Black Panther in Concert takes place at Jones Hall for the Performing Arts, 615 Louisiana Street, in Houston’s Theater District. For tickets and more information, please call 713.224.7575 or visit houstonsymphony.org. Socially distanced seats are available in some portions of the auditorium. All programs and artists are subject to change.
MARVEL’S BLACK PANTHER IN CONCERT
Saturday, April 2, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, April 3, 2:30 p.m.
Steven Reineke, conductor
Massamba Diop, talking drum
About Steven Reineke, Principal POPS Conductor
Steven Reineke has established himself as one of North America’s leading conductors of popular music. Now in his sixth season as Principal POPS Conductor of the Houston Symphony, he recently signed a contract extension that keeps him in Houston through the 2026–2027 season. This season, he celebrates his 10th anniversary as music director of The New York Pops at Carnegie Hall.
Additionally, he is principal pops conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.
Steven is a frequent guest conductor with The Philadelphia Orchestra and his extensive North American conducting appearances include Atlanta, Cincinnati, Edmonton, San Francisco, and Sarasota.
On stage, he has created programs and collaborated with a range of leading artists from the worlds of hip hop, Broadway, television, and rock, including Common, Kendrick Lamar, Nas, Sutton Foster, Megan Hilty, Cheyenne Jackson, Wayne Brady, Peter Frampton, and Ben Folds, among others. In 2017, he was featured on NPR’s All Things Considered leading the National Symphony Orchestra, in a first for the show’s 45-year history, performing live music excerpts between news segments. In 2018, Steven led the same orchestra and hip hop legend Nas performing his seminal album, Illmatic, on PBS’s Great Performances.
As the creator of more than 100 orchestral arrangements for the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, Steven’s work has been performed worldwide, and can be heard on numerous Cincinnati Pops Orchestra recordings on the Telarc label. His symphonic works Celebration Fanfare, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Casey at the Bat are performed frequently in North America, including performances by the New York Philharmonic and Los Angeles Philharmonic. His Sun Valley Festival Fanfare commemorated the Sun Valley Summer Symphony’s pavilion, and his Festival Te Deum and Swan’s Island Sojourn were debuted by the Cincinnati Symphony and Cincinnati Pops Orchestras. His numerous wind ensemble compositions are published by the C.L. Barnhouse Company and are performed by concert bands worldwide.
A native of Ohio, Steven is a graduate of Miami University of Ohio, where he earned Bachelor of Music degrees with honors in both trumpet performance and music composition. He lives in New York City with his husband, Eric Gabbard.
