Musiqa 2017–2018 season announced

Houston’s premier new music presenting organization Musiqa recently announced its exciting 2017–2018 season.

Bodies in Motion
September 23 | 7:30 pm
The Hobby Center for the Performing Arts Zilkha Hall,

Musiqa and Open Dance Project present a compelling evening of world premieres featuring KINETIC, the conductorless orchestra. Highlights of the program include two new pieces choreographed by Open Dance Project Artistic Director Annie Arnoult to riveting works for string orchestra by Musiqa composers Pierre Jalbert and Marcus Maroney. Plus guest artist Jane Weiner, founder and artistic director of Hope Stone Dance, choreographs Lonely Suite (Ballet for Lonely Violinist). Rounding out the program are Arnoult’s celebrated piece Stalemate with music by Andrew Bird, and Silent Moon, a duo for violin and cello, by composer Augusta Read Thomas.

Musical and Literary Ofrenda
November 2 | 5:30 pm
Lawndale Art Center

Musiqa celebrates the Mexican “Day of the Dead” with our annual five-way collaboration Musical and Literary Ofrenda at Lawndale Art Center. This free event is a collaboration with River Oaks Chamber Orchestra, Lawndale Arts Center, Inprint, and the Houston Hispanic Forum — all promoted by The Mexican Consulate. The five original musical “ofrendas” (offerings) — commissioned by ROCO from Musiqa composers — are woven amongst four original prose texts by Inprint authors, surrounded by the beautiful retablos (alterpieces) on display at Lawndale.

Looking Back in Time
January 13, 2018 | 7:30 pm
MATCH Box 4 / Midtown Arts and Theater Center Houston

Travel back time and to other worlds in this program featuring works by Musiqa composers for chamber orchestra. Journey to the dawn of man with Maternity, an oratorio by Musiqa Artistic Director Anthony Brandt with libretto by frequent collaborator David Eagleman; to the banks of the Sea of Galilee in Pierre Jalbert’s Transcendental Windows inspired by Tiffany stained glass; and the fanciful, otherworldly, Visions from Another World by Karim Al-Zand. The concert features a reading by Dr. Eagleman, bestselling author of “Sum” and “Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain.” Loop38 performs, with conductor Jerry Hou and soprano Karol Bennett.

The Moving Image
March 3, 2018 | 7:30 pm
MATCH Box 4 / Midtown Arts and Theater Center Houston

Experience modern cinema and music like never before. The program features cutting-edge films with live music including Anna Clyne’s Steelworks, a sonic tour de force that is edgy, individual and compelling inspired by visual artist Luke DuBois’ reimagining of the 1936 industrial film Steel: A Symphony of Industry. The evening also features Michael Gandolfi’s serene and jazzy meditation the history of the world in seven acts, a multimedia collaboration featuring the dancing animations of Jonathan Bachrach, plus short films with scores by Reena Esmail and Grawemeyer award-winning composer Michel van der Aa.

Playing Havoc
April 13, 2018 | 7:30 pm
MATCH Box 2 / Midtown Arts and Theater Center Houston

Musiqa presents Playing Havoc featuring Voices from the Killing Jar by Pulitzer Prize finalist, composer/performer Kate Soper. Part monodrama, part song-cycle, part opera, Voices from the Killing Jar crosses a volatile musical landscape populated by a series of female protagonists, among them housewives, teenagers, and mothers and daughters; innocents and tragic heroines; and femmes fatales. From Madame Bovary’s passionate whirlwind of delusion, to Lady Macduff’s terrified lullaby, to Clytemnestra’s hypnotic and deadly rage, each one is brought to vivid and unforgettable life as Soper’s mercurial voice traces a path through their stories.