ROCO In Concert:
A Time For Hope

ROCO’s In Concert series, which showcases the full 40-piece orchestra, kicks off September 27 at Miller Outdoor Theatre with “Time for Hope”, a concert built around a world premiere by Lisa Bielawa entitled “Centuries in the Hours”, sung by mezzo-soprano Laurie Rubin. The text for the work comes from a collection of personal writings by American women of the 18th-20th centuries whose life circumstances rendered them historically invisible.

This concert also highlights ROCO’s first-ever Artistic Partner, conductor Mei-Ann Chen, who will be returning each season for spirited collaborations. Chen will also lead the orchestra in works by local Houston composer Alejandro Basulto, as well as Franz Joseph Haydn and Judith Shatin, whose piece will be accompanied by photos by Libbie Masterson.

The evening promises other musical delights by an orchestra of extraordinary musicians deeply committed to each other and to shaping the future of classical music.

Mei-Ann Chen is a Taiwanese American conductor, appointed Music Director of the MacArthur Award-winning Chicago Sinfonietta in 2011 and Artist Director and Conductor for the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra Summer Festival since 2016.

Laurie Rubin is a renowned, blind mezzo-soprano, a supremely gifted concert opera and musical theater singer, and an expert in non-visual methods of collaboration. LiveNote app will be incorporated into the evening.

ROCO is a dynamic and innovative professional music ensemble that flexes from 1 to 40 players from all over the US and Canada, with guest artists from around the world. Performing intimate concerts in dozens of venues, ROCO’s musicians don’t just give concerts – they challenge preconceptions, create extraordinary experiences, and foster new relationships with audiences through the language of music.

All performances at Miller Outdoor Theatre are free!

This is a ticketed event for the covered seating area. Free tickets are available (4 per person over age 16 while they last) at the Miller Outdoor Theatre box office the day of the performance between the hours of 10:30 AM-1:00 PM. If tickets remain at 1:00 PM, the box office will re-open one hour before show time to distribute the remaining tickets. As always, open seating on the hill.

The show goes on rain or shine.

Produced by River Oaks Chamber Orchestra