High-resolution photos HERE
HOUSTON, TX (October 21, 2024) — The Houston Symphony presents a vibrant celebration of American music with the PNC Family Series concert Clap Your Hands, Say Yeah! The Great American Music Adventure! on Saturday, November 9. Featuring the charismatic conductor, singer and trumpeter Byron Stripling, this family-friendly concert promises a lively journey through some of America’s most beloved musical genres, from jazz and blues to gospel and patriotic tunes.
Byron Stripling, known for his infectious energy, brings timeless classics to life, creating an interactive experience that will have young and old alike singing, clapping, and dancing along. The concert includes a heartfelt rendition of “Amen” (also known as “This Little Light of Mine”), the beloved anthem “When the Saints Go Marching In,” and a stirring tribute to the nation with “America the Beautiful,” celebrating the patriotic spirit that unites all.
On select Saturday mornings throughout each season, the Houston Symphony presents its PNC Family Series, a popular Saturday morning destination designed for families and children of all ages. Family programs include free, interactive lobby activities, such as an Instrument Petting Zoo─which encourages children to try out orchestral instruments─theme-related music, and craft activities. These activities take place one-hour before the 10 a.m. concerts and one hour following the 11:30 a.m. concerts in Jones Hall. Concertgoers are also encouraged to dress in costumes that match the concert’s theme.
Visitors can anticipate music in the lobby to tie in with the theme of the programming, ranging from blues and jazz to gospel and patriotic music. For tickets and more information, call or text 713.224.7575, or visit houstonsymphony.org/greatamericanmusic.
HOUSTON SYMPHONY PRESENTS CLAP YOUR HANDS, SAY YEAH! THE GREAT
AMERICAN MUSIC ADVENTURE
Saturday, November 9, 2024 at 10 a.m. and 11:30 a.m.
Jones Hall for the Performing Arts
Byron Stripling, conductor, trumpet, and vocalist
About Byron Stripling
With a contagious smile and captivating charm, conductor, trumpet virtuoso, singer, and actor Byron Stripling ignites audiences worldwide. He was named principal pops conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra in 2020 and the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra in 2024. Stripling also serves as the artistic director and conductor of the acclaimed Columbus Jazz Orchestra. He has conducted numerous orchestras across the United States and Canada, including the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood and orchestras from San Diego to Sarasota.
Since his Carnegie Hall debut with Skitch Henderson and the New York Pops, Stripling has become a favorite among pops orchestras across the country, performing with more than 100 orchestras worldwide. He has frequently appeared as a soloist with the Boston Pops under the direction of Keith Lockhart and was the featured soloist on the PBS television special Evening at Pops, conducted by John Williams and Lockhart.
An accomplished actor and singer, Stripling starred in the lead role of the Broadway-bound musical Satchmo, made a cameo appearance in The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, and performed in the 42nd Street production of From Second Avenue to Broadway.
Television viewers have seen Stripling as a soloist on the worldwide broadcast of the Grammy Awards, as well as in commercials and theme songs. In addition to recording with his quintet and working with artists such as Tony Bennett and Whitney Houston, Stripling’s prolific career includes hundreds of albums with prominent pops, Broadway, soul, and jazz artists.
He earned his stripes as lead trumpeter and soloist with the Count Basie Orchestra and has performed with bands led by Dizzy Gillespie, Woody Herman, Dave Brubeck, Lionel Hampton, Clark Terry, Louis Bellson, Buck Clayton, the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, the Carnegie Hall Jazz Band, and the GRP All-Star Big Band.
A graduate of the Eastman School of Music and the Interlochen Arts Academy, Stripling finds great joy in returning to both as a guest lecturer.
Stripling resides in Ohio with his wife, Alexis, a former dancer, writer, and poet, and their daughters.
About Houston Symphony
Under Music Director Juraj Valčuha, the Houston Symphony continues its second century inspiring and engaging a large and diverse audience in Houston and beyond through exceptional musical performances, and creating enduring impact in the Houston community. 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 $40.7 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 Community-Embedded Musicians also offer nearly 600 community-based performances each year at various schools, community centers, hospitals, senior centers, and churches, annually reaching nearly 200,000 people in Greater Houston in addition to Jones Hall.
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 2024-25 Season to a broad audience in over forty-five countries and all 50 states, one of few American orchestras dedicated to transmitting live performances to a sizeable 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.
