Houston’s Resident Performing Arts Companies

By Don Looser, PhD

Houston is one of only five cities in the United States that enjoys professional resident companies in all the major performing arts disciplines—orchestra, opera, ballet, and theater..

Houston Symphony Orchestra

assets/uploads/Jones_Hall.jpgWhat do Sir Thomas Beecham, Leopold Stokowski, Andre Previn, Lawrence Foster, Sir John Barbirolli, and Christoph Eschenbach have in common? All have served as conductor of the world renowned Houston Symphony Orchestra. Founded over a century ago, the HSO has recently celebrated its 100th anniversary with the publication of a commemorative book of symphony history and a season of spectacular concerts in Jones Hall in the Theater District. A major touring symphony, the HSO has enjoyed critical acclaim throughout the United States and in Europe. The orchestra suffered an enormous financial and historical blow in 2001 when Tropical Storm Allison destroyed the symphony’s music library, a considerable number of music instruments, and the historical archives of the organization. Currently, the orchestra is under the baton of maestro Andrés Orozco-Estrada who became the fifteenth music director of the Houston Symphony in 2014. Summer 2016 concerts may be enjoyed in the Hermann Park Miller Amphitheater and at ten free neighborhood concerts throughout the city.

The Alley Theatre

The Alley Theatre has just completed a $45 million rebuilding of its original Ulrich Franzen structure and will be featuring a production of the comedy “Born Yesterday” during the AGO convention. A recipient of the Special Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre, the Alley has brought productions to Broadway; to 40 American cities including New York’s Lincoln Center; and internationally to Berlin, Paris, and St. Petersburg throughout its 69-year history.


Houston Ballet

The Houston Ballet sprang from roots in the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo in 

1955 to become one of America’s largest resident ballet companies. With performances housed in the Wortham Center, the Houston Ballet also occupies a $95 million Center for Dance containing rehearsal facilities, a student dormitory, and administrative and support space for the Ballet. The internationally acclaimed ballet company is now America’s fifth largest with an academy which supplies over 60 percent of the company's dancers. The New York Times has hailed Houston Ballet as "one of the nation’s best ballet companies." The company is comprised of 55 dancers, including artists who have won medals at major international ballet competitions.

Houston Grand Opera

Founded in 1955, the Houston Grand Opera has risen from humble beginning to the ranks of world class status in its proud history. Under the leadership of David Gockley, the $95 million Wortham Theater Center was built in 1987 to provide home to opera production. The company has staged 43 world and six American premiers and has received a Tony Award, two Grammy Awards, and two Emmy awards—the only opera company to have won all three honors. A partner training and performance company founded by Houston-based composer Carlisle Floyd, the Houston Grand Opera’s Studio provides career development for young artists in both opera and music theater and performance opportunity in its productions. The HGO stands today as one of the top five opera companies in the nation.

Houston's Performing Arts District

Houston’s Theater District is an impressive cultural and entertainment complex in the heart of the city featuring performance venues for nine permanent arts organizations in four venues—Jones Hall for the Performing Arts, Wortham Theater Center, Alley Theatre, and the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts. Housed within these spaces are the performances of the Alley Theatre, Houston Ballet, Da Camera, Houston Grand Opera, Houston Symphony, Society for the Performing Arts, Theater Under the Stars (TUTS), Houston Gilbert and Sullivan Society, Broadway at the Hobby Center, and Uniquely Houston at the Hobby Center. A host of other performing organizations also occupy these facilities as a part of their annual calendar of events.

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