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HOUSTON, TX (May 3, 2024) — Travel to galaxies far, far away as the Houston Symphony performs iconic music from George Lucas’s legendary space saga, Star Wars. Led by Principal POPS Conductor Steven Reineke, the orchestra celebrates composer John Williams’s timeless music live at Jones Hall May 17, 18, and 19, with selections from all nine films of the Skywalker saga in chronological order, including “Rey’s Theme,” “Yoda’s Theme,” and “The Imperial March,” plus selections from Rogue One and Solo. Guests can tune in to a livestream performance on Saturday, May 18 at 8 p.m. Kids ages 6-12 save $25 on tickets in price levels 3 and 4 with the purchase of at least one adult ticket.
Hailed as one of the most prolific and influential film composers in history, John Williams has collaborated with legendary directors including Chris Columbus, Steven Spielberg and, of course, George Lucas. Renowned for his neoromantic style characterized by evocative leitmotifs and stirring melodies, Williams has left an indelible mark on cinema. His iconic compositions span blockbuster hits like Star Wars, Home Alone, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Schindler’s List. With a staggering 54 Academy Award nominations, he holds the record as the most Oscar-nominated person alive, solidifying his status as a titan of film music.
For tickets and more information, call or text 713.224.7575, or visit houstonsymphony.org/musicofstarwars.
HOUSTON SYMPHONY PRESENTS THE MUSIC OF STAR WARS
Friday, May 17, 2024 at 8 p.m.
Saturday, May 18, 2024 at 2:30 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Livestream performance available on Saturday, May 18, 2024 at 8 p.m.
Sunday, May 19, 2024 at 2:30 p.m.
Jones Hall for the Performing Arts
Steven Reineke, conductor
About Steven Reineke
Steven Reineke is one of North America’s leading conductors of popular music and is in his second decade 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 Principal Pops Conductor of the Houston and Toronto Symphony Orchestras.
Reineke is a frequent guest conductor and can be seen on the podium with the Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas and Detroit Symphony Orchestras.
On stage, Mr. Reineke creates and collaborates with a range of leading artists from the worlds hip-hop, R & B, Broadway, television and rock including: Maxwell, Common, Kendrick Lamar, Nas, Ne-Yo, Bob Weir, Trey Anastasio, Barry Manilow, Cynthia Erivo, Ben Rector, Cody Fry, Sutton Foster, Amos Lee, Dispatch, Jason Mraz, and Ben Folds, amongst others. In 2024 he led the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) on PBS’s Next at the Kennedy Center featuring Ben Folds DECLASSIFIED®: Ben Folds Presents with Jacob Collier, Laufey and dodie. He was previously seen with the NSO on PBS on Great Performances with hip-hop legend Nas performing his seminal album “Illmatic.”
In 2017 he was featured on National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered” leading the National Symphony Orchestra—in a first for the show’s 45-year history—performing live music excerpts in between news segments.
As the creator of hundreds orchestral arrangements, Reineke’s work is performed worldwide and can be heard on numerous Cincinnati Pops Orchestra recordings. His symphonic works Celebration Fanfare, 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 was used to commemorate 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 perennially.
A native of Ohio, Mr. Reineke is a graduate of Miami University of Ohio (2020 Alumnus Distinguished Achievement Medal), where he earned Bachelor of Music degrees with honors in both trumpet performance and music composition. He currently resides in New York City with his husband Eric Gabbard.
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.