Moores School of Music

Home

In this section:
	Mission Statement About us Upscale Weekly Moores Society Preparatory and Continuing Studies Audio clip gallery Photo gallery Art Collections City of Houston Join our mailing list Contact us

Get Adobe Acrobat Reader

Upcoming Events

When	What	Where
8/24 7:30 PM	Cynthia Clayton, Hector Vasquez, Katherine Ciscon	Moores Opera House
8/29 2:30 PM	Rita Porfiris, Anton Miller, Timothy Hester	Moores Opera House
8/31 7:30 PM	Anne Leek, Greenbriar Consortium	Moores Opera House
9/7 7:30 PM	Dan Gelok, Wenli Zhou	Moores Opera House
9/12 2:30 PM	Faculty Recital	Moores Opera House
9/16 7:30 PM	COLLAGE	Moores Opera House
9/21 7:30 PM	MONSTROSITY	Moores Opera House
9/26 2:30 PM	Tali Morgulis, piano	Moores Opera House

Moores Opera House Policy Change
To ensure the best listening experience to our audiences and because all performances are recorded for archival purposes, the Moores Opera House policy has changed. Children five (5) years of age and younger will no longer be admitted to any performances, unless otherwise advertised.

News

Edythe Bates Old/Moores Opera Center Announces 2010-2011 Season

The Edythe Bates/Old Moores Opera Center announces its 2010-2011 season, which includes Jacques Offenbach’s La Vie Parisienne, Mozart’s The Magic Flute, Benjamin Britten’s Albert Herring, and the second installment of the Daniel Catán Project, his opera Il Postino, based on Antonio Skarmeta’s novel-turned-Oscar-winning film.

The Moores Center’s production of Il Postino will be the first performance following the work’s world premiere at the Los Angeles Opera this September, and the European premiere in Vienna next year. The work focuses on the relationship between an Italian postman attempting to romance a beautiful woman, and internationally acclaimed Chilean poet Pablo Neruda.

The Daniel Catán Project features a production of the artist’s work every two years, in collaboration with Catán. The Project began in 2009, with the production of his Florencia en el Amazones, at the time only the second university performance of the opera. Catán became the first Mexican composer to have work produced in the U.S. with the San Diego Opera’s 1994 world premiere of Rappaccini’s Daughter; this opera, as well as Salsipuedes, are to be included in future Catán Project presentations.

The Moores Opera Center, now entering its 25th year, provides the Houston area with professional, affordable, quality opera, ranging from classics to contemporary, and has featured many Houston and world premieres throughout its repertoire.

Moores School of Music hosts the 2010 Immanuel & Helen Olshan Texas Music Festival

The 2010 Immanuel and Helen Olshan Texas Music Festival is in full swing and making headlines.

Fox 26 Houston: Music Festival Gives opportunities for Young Musicians

Chron.com: Radio Host Trading Mic for Conductor's Baton

NBC 2 KPRC-TV: Texas Music Festival started as 'band camp'

Visit the TMF site for all the latest festival news.

Smart Car Awarded to one of the MSM’s Top GPAs for 2010!

Julie Richards was one lucky student at the Moores School of Music’s annual Graduation Celebration on Thursday, May 13th, as she drove away in her very own Smart Car!

This all came about because John J. Moores, the school’s namesake and a major donor to the University of Houston, purchased the Smart Car at the Moores Society’s I Got Rhythm Dinner Concert live auction and promptly asked that it be donated to a music student.

School administrators decided the car should be awarded to one of the three students earning the highest GPAs at the doctoral, master’s and undergraduate levels. Based on that criteria, Julie Richards, Elisabeth Hope and Aimee Bretzke were all candidates, but it was doctoral student Julie Richards who ultimately won the “luck of the draw”!

The awarding of the Smart Car was the grand finale of the school’s annual graduation event. Director David Ashley White and Eleanor Connan, chair of the I Got Rhythm Dinner Concert, were on stage as the three candidates each selected a gift bag, one of which held the key to the car. As a stunned and delighted Ms. Richards pulled the key to the Smart Car from her gift bag, the audience cheered!

Congratulations to Ms. Richards and to all of the 2010 graduates of the Moores School of Music!

Doctoral Student Wins at Young Artist Competition

Geraldine Ong, doctoral student from the studio of Nancy Weems, won third prize in the national finals of the Music Teachers National Association Young Artist Competition in Albuquerque, New Mexico on March 22, 2010. Ms. Ong was one of seven piano finalists in the nation after winning first prize in both the Texas and the South Central Division competitions earlier this year.

The purposes of the Music Teachers National Association Performance competitions are to provide educational experiences for students and teachers and to recognize exceptionally talented young artists and their teachers in their pursuit of musical excellence. The state competitions are considered the primary educational level with the division and national levels showcasing outstanding performance and honoring significant pedagogical achievement.

27th annual International Piano Festival

The Moores School of Music presented its 27th annual International Piano Festival (IPF) February 12-14, 2010. “This year’s event was sterling.” (Houston Chronicle) Founded in 1984 by University of Houston Cullen Professor Abbey Simon, one of the most recorded classical artists of all time, the IPF is the city of Houston’s main celebration of the piano.

Each festival features Simon and two guest artists in solo recitals, master classes with students chosen by audition, and an informal Artists Conversations Luncheon, a full weekend of performance, instruction and interaction.

The 2010 IPF presented British pianist Stephen Hough, one of today’s most highly sought-after performers and Swiss born pianist and recent Avery Fisher Career grant recipient, Gilles Vonsattel.

In acknowledgement of the 200th anniversary of the birth of Robert Schumann and Frédéric Chopin, Simon’s recital featured two landmark works in performances that “stressed personal thoughts, sometimes of the moment, and a technique of elegant weight and beauty.” (Chronicle)

Stephen Hough’s program presented a circular musical journey from Bach to Franck, connecting the dots through the music of Fauré; the second half of the recital focused on Chopin. “Hough played all with élan.” (Chronicle)

Discovery Series artist Gilles Vonsattel proved to be a real find, presenting an all-French program with an “utter ease, fluidity and calm amid the most technically challenging music…mesmerized for minutes on end.” (Chronicle)

Next year’s International Piano Festival will take place February 4-6, 2011.

Visit the IPF website to learn more about the 2010 IPF guest artists and to hear Simon speak of his experiences in the industry in "A Conversation with Abby Simon".

Graduate Jazz Student Releases CD

Moores School of Music graduate student Henry Darragh has released his debut CD.

Darragh released Tell Her For Me in September. 2009, and it continues to receive positive reviews from local music critics. The disc features six original songs and five cover tunes with Darragh singing, playing piano and assisting on trombone.

Darragh was feature on the University of Houston website for his achievement. Read the full press release covering his success.

Welcome

Welcome to the University of Houston's Rebecca and John J. Moores School of Music, proudly a part of one of the leading urban state-supported universities in the nation. Whatever your focus, we are an exciting place to further your musical training in the new millennium. The Moores School boasts an extraordinary faculty of internationally recognized artist/teachers, composers, music educators, and music historians and theorists. We offer a variety of strong programs leading to the Bachelor and Master of Music degrees, as well as the Doctor of Musical Arts.

In Houston, you can gain exposure to the great artists and performers of the world in a city that boasts a major orchestra, opera company, ballet and theater organizations, as well as many other flourishing arts groups. Equally impressive is our record of student success. Our former students can be found on the rosters of groups that perform on nearly every stage in the world. Many of our students have gone on to become great teachers and educators at every level. You are invited to explore on our web site the many offerings and opportunities available. You'll be glad you did!

With best wishes,
David Ashley White, Director

Mission Statement

To provide an outstanding comprehensive music education on the undergraduate and graduate levels, overseen by a faculty and staff second-to-none; to continue to develop recognition of the school at the local, national, and international levels in order to attract students of the highest caliber; and to provide the university community and the city with the highest quality performances that will both educate and entertain.

Show/hide more »

Goals

To develop and maintain a major center of music learning and performance with an international reputation for quality and artistic achievement;

To offer baccalaureate, master's, and doctoral degree programs that prepare performers, composers, conductors, music educators, and scholars to meet the highest professional standards and to produce graduates who are able to meet the musical needs of our community and country;

To increase students' knowledge of music history, ethnomusicology, theory, pedagogy, and performance practice and to provide a thorough education using varied technologies, materials, and methodologies in developing their various skills;

To provide an opportunity for the study and performance of music by non-music major UH students. This includes a strong music component to meet various CORE requirements of University of Houston curricula;

To present faculty and student programs on campus, in the community, throughout the region, and across the nation, creating opportunities for exposure to and performance of diverse repertories;

To encourage creativity, innovation, and experimentation in the composition, performance, and teaching of music;

To maintain and further develop high-level performance ensembles that meet our students' needs, expand their horizons, and offer support to the university as a whole, including ensembles that support the university's intercollegiate athletic activities and that serve as role models for our music education students;

To recruit and retain a first-class faculty based on expectations of strong teaching ability, collegiality, and the highest level of professional achievement including performance and scholarly research;

To establish programs of cooperation among Houston's professional performing arts organizations, public schools, community colleges and other segments of the professional music community; and, inspired by the newly established Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts, seek additional campus opportunities for interdisciplinary programs;

To provide broadly based educational opportunities in music for non-university students, from early childhood through adulthood, through our Music Preparatory and Continuing Studies Program;

To support the School's artistic and programmatic goals through steady increase of the School's endowment.

About us

The Moores School of Music's commitment to academic excellence and the highest performance standards has made the institution a vital resource in the educational and cultural life of this city. With its 80-member faculty and more than 600 music majors, the Moores School of Music's thriving programs place it in the forefront of music schools today. With the addition of its beautiful, new, state-of-the-art Rebecca and John J. Moores School of Music building, the school is uniquely poised to be a vanguard institution for the twenty-first century.

Although the primary mission of the Moores School is to educate and train professional performers and teachers, the school also serves the community at large with its public concerts and class offerings. The Moores School division of Preparatory and Continuing Studies is a multi-faceted program which provides private and classroom instruction to all ages.

Undergraduate and graduate degrees through the doctoral level are offered in theory, performance, composition, music history, pedagogy, conducting, and music education. Through the excellence of its curriculum, the distinction of its faculty, the success of its graduates, and its alliances with the city's esteemed arts organizations - the Houston Symphony, Houston Grand Opera, Society for the Performing Arts, and others - the school enjoys a reputation which brings students to Houston from throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe, Mexico, South and Central America, and the Far East.

As 80 percent of the university's music graduates remain in this area, it is readily apparent that the Moores School of Music provides a major infusion of superbly trained musicians into professional performance organizations, churches, public and private schools, and studios—indeed, into every aspect of the city's musical life. The Moores School of Music is an accredited member of the National Association of Schools of Music and the Texas Association of Music Schools.

Upscale Weekly The weekly newsletter of the Moores School of Music

The Moores Society Moores School of Music development

Preparatory and
Continuing Studies Our non-credit, non-degree-granting program serving students of all ages.

Audio clip gallery Audio clips of Moores School ensemble, faculty, and student performances

Art Collections Information on work of Frank Stella, Ary Stillman, and others housed in the Moores Opera House

City of Houston Links to Houston-related information, including dining, entertainment, traffic, weather, and sports.

Join our mailing list

Click here to join the Moores School of Music mailing list.

When you sign up to be added to the Moores School of Music mailing list, you will receive our comprehensive Fall and Spring concert calendars, as well as announcements of special concerts and events. We also send occasional reminders or notices of special opportunities via email.

Moores School of Music and University of Houston offices, phone numbers, email addresses, and web sites

Map Map/Directions at Google Maps

Moores School of Music web design and maintenance:
Timothy Koozin and Andrew Davis
Last updated 7 July, 2010
http://www.music.uh.edu