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HOUSTON, TX (June 7, 2024) — Get ready to dance the night away! On June 15, the Houston Symphony joins forces with world-renowned a cappella sensation Rajaton and guest conductor Lucas Waldin for a symphonic celebration of legendary Swedish pop supergroup ABBA. Live from Sarofim Hall at the Hobby Center, this special performance promises a fresh and exciting twist to the timeless hits that have captivated audiences across the globe for decades, including “Dancing Queen,” “SOS,” “Fernando,” “Mamma Mia,” and “Take a Chance On Me.” Together with Rajaton’s incredible vocal harmonies, the Symphony brings fan favorites to life in an unforgettable evening of music and nostalgia.
Rajaton, a Finnish six-voice a cappella ensemble, has garnered international acclaim and won the hearts of audiences from around the globe with their harmonious and dynamic vocal style. The ensemble, whose name means “boundless” in Finnish, consists of six members: Aili Ikonen (soprano), Essi Wuorela (soprano), Soila Sariola (alto), Antti Annola (tenor), Ahti Paunu (baritone), and Jussi Chydenius (bass). Throughout their illustrious 27-year career, Rajaton has performed in over 25 countries, showcasing songs across a myriad of musical genres from classical to pop and collaborating with renowned a cappella groups like The King’s Singers and The Real Group. In their native Finland, Rajaton is a bona fide pop phenomenon, successfully bridging the gap that often exists between classical and mainstream convention.
Keep the party going after the Saturday evening concert at the Dancing Queen Disco After-party in the Hobby Center lobby. The party will be hosted by Dessie Love-Blake, the Drag artist crowned 2024 Miss Gay America. Guests can dance the night away while sipping specialty cocktails and mingling with Houston Symphony musicians. Lucky participants may receive door prizes and giveaways throughout the night. Specialty cocktails will also be available at the Hobby Center lobby, including the Daiquiri Queen, the Mamma Mai Tai, and the Water-melon-loo. For tickets and more information, call or text 713.224.7575, or visit houstonsymphony.org/musicofabba.
HOUSTON SYMPHONY PRESENTS THE MUSIC OF ABBA
Saturday, June 15, 2024 at 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
Sarofim Hall at The Hobby Center for the Performing Arts
Lucas Waldin, conductor
Rajaton, ensemble
Aili Ikonen, soprano
Essi Wuorela, soprano
Soila Sariola, alto
Antti Annola, tenor
Ahti Paunu, baritone
Jussi Chydenius, bass
About Rajaton
The Finnish word Rajaton translates as “boundless”–a word that so accurately describes the way this six-voice a cappella ensemble approaches music. Regularly performing around a hundred concerts each year, Rajaton exposes their audiences to the kind of diversity of repertoire, singing style and stage presentation that has made them a phenomenon on the world stage.
Performing at concert halls, jazz, and choral festivals, this distinct group of musicians approaches all styles of music with the same level of commitment and integrity, making it difficult to imagine an audience that they could not inspire, or a type of music they could not make their own. In their native Finland, Rajaton is a bona fide pop phenomenon, successfully bridging the gap that often exists between classical and mainstream convention.
In 2024, Rajaton celebrates 27 years of music-making with one double platinum, three platinum, and eight gold records in Finland under their belt. Ever seeking new artistic challenges, the group has grown immeasurably through collaborations with other artists. But it is perhaps their deep passion for choral art, their generosity of spirit and their sheer enjoyment of singing that has won the hearts and acclaim of audiences and critics everywhere.
About Houston Symphony
Under Music Director Juraj Valčuha, the Houston Symphony continues its second century as one of America’s leading orchestras with a full complement of concert, community, education, touring, and recording activities. One of the oldest performing arts organizations in Texas, the Symphony held its inaugural performance at The Majestic Theater in downtown Houston on June 21, 1913. Today, with an operating budget of $37.8 million, the full-time ensemble of professional musicians presents more than 130 concerts annually, making it the largest performing arts organization in Houston. Traditionally, musicians of the orchestra and the Symphony’s three Community-Embedded Musicians also offer over 1,000 community-based performances each year at various schools, community centers, hospitals, and churches reaching more than 200,000 people in Greater Houston annually.
After suspending concert activities in March 2020, the Symphony successfully completed a full 2020–21 season with in-person audiences and weekly livestreams of each performance, making it one of the only orchestras in the world to do so. The Houston Symphony remains committed to livestreaming its 2023–24 Season to a broad audience in over forty-five countries and all fifty states, one of few American orchestras dedicated to transmitting live performances to a size-able audience outside its home city through this technology.
The Grammy Award-winning Houston Symphony has recorded under various prestigious labels, including Koch International Classics, Naxos, RCA Red Seal, Telarc, Virgin Classics, and, most recently, Dutch recording label Pentatone. In 2017, the Houston Symphony was awarded an ECHO Klassik award for the live recording of Alban Berg’s Wozzeck under the direction of former Music Director Hans Graf. The orchestra earned its first Grammy nomination and Grammy Award at the 60th annual ceremony for the same recording in the Best Opera Recording category. The Symphony’s most recent recordings include a Pentatone release in January 2022 of its world premiere performances of Jimmy López Bellido’s Aurora and Ad Astra, and a Naxos release in July 2023 of its world premiere performance of Jennifer Higdon’s Duo Duel.