NICOLAI RIMSKY-KORSAKOV– Capriccio Espagnol
ERIC EWAZEN– Oboe Concerto “Down a River of Time” - Brian Briones, Oboe
GUSTAV MAHLER– Symphony No. 1 “Titan”

Brian Briones will be enjoying his eighth season as co-principal oboe/English horn/saxophonist of the Texas Medical Center Orchestra. He is a graduate of Texas Woman’s University and currently works as a Leukemia research nurse at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.  

Brian has embraced a fun-filled journey as a freelance oboist, woodwind doubler, and music educator.  He holds a MM in Music Performance/History from the University of North Texas and a BM in Music Performance from the University of Houston.  Brian has studied oboe with Anne Leek, Charles Veazey, Robin Hough, and Julie Jacobs.  He is alumni of the Orford Centre D’Arts in Canada and the Texas Music Festival.  From 2003 - 2005, Brian was the double reed/flute player for the North American Tour of “Miss Saigon” and most recently, a multiple-woodwind player for the world premiere of Gershwin’s “An American in Paris: A Musical Comedy” in Spring 2008.  He has played numerous productions for Masquerade Theatre, Fort Bend Theatre, Alley Theatre, Country Playhouse, and many other venues.  As part of the renowned University of North Texas Wind Symphony, under the direction of Eugene Corporon, Brian has recorded many CDs under the GIA/KlavierWind Project label. Brian also plays second oboe in the Houston Heights Orchestra and has played with Houston Sinfonietta, Galveston Symphony, East Texas Symphony, Texas Wind Symphony, and Abilene Philharmonic.  

Over the last 15 years, Brian has taught in Alief, Cypress-Fairbanks, Fort Bend, Lewisville, and Spring Branch Independent School Districts.  He has the honor of teaching students who consistently place in TMEA All-district, All-region, All-area, and All-state band and orchestra.  Brian is a much sought after masterclass clinician and maintains a small private lesson studio in the Houston area.   

Brian would like to thank Libi Lebel and the musicians of the Texas Medical Center Orchestra for allowing him to fulfill his long-held dream of playing Eric Ewazen’s Down the RIver of Time.

NICOLAI RIMSKY-KORSAKOV– Capriccio Espagnol

RON NELSON– Savannah River Holiday
PAUL CRESTON– Fantasy for Trombone and Orchestra - Mark Davidson, Trombone
HOWARD HANSON– Symphony No. 2

Born in Houston and raised in Dallas, Texas, Mark Davidson began trombone at age eleven. He began his studies with James Wallace, and continued his studies at the University of North Texas, where he received his Bachelor’s of Music Education. While at UNT, Mark studied with Jan Kagarice and Tony Baker. After graduation, Mark went on to attend the Juilliard School and studied with Joseph Alessi, Principal Trombone of the New York Philharmonic.

Currently, Mark is the Assistant Principal/Second Trombonist of the San Antonio, a position he held previously from 2007-2009. During 2010-2011, Mark was the Acting Principal Trombonist of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, and for the 2009-2010 season, he was the Acting Second Trombonist of the Cincinnati Symphony. Mark has also performed with the Kansas City Symphony, the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, the San Antonio Opera, the San Antonio Brass Quintet, and the San Antonio Brass Choir. In 2011, Mark was on the faculty of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Academy, and also presented a masterclass and recital at the Peabody Institute of Music, in Baltimore, MD.

DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH– Festive Overture
PIOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY– Symphony No. 5
ROLLO A. DILLWORTH - The Dream Keeper (from Trilogy of Dreams)
PURPLE SONGS CAN FLY - Celebration of Hope
JOSEPH M. MARTIN - One Voice: I Will Not Be Silent (from Sing for the Cure)
JOHN RUTTER– Mass of the Children

The Texas Medical Center Orchestra (TMCO), Bayou City Performing Arts (BCPA), and KIPP SHARP Singers unite to present “Experience excitement … on our way to Carnegie Hall”, on Saturday, May 11, at 7:30 pm in the Wortham Center’s Lillie and Roy Cullen Theater. The evening of inspiring choral and orchestral music will preview the groups’ upcoming concert at Carnegie Hall. Tickets may be purchased at the box office or online at www.bayoucityperformingarts.org.

The program will feature Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5 and John Rutter’s “Mass of the Children” along with other uplifting choral and orchestral works under the direction of Maestra Libi Lebel, Artistic Director of TMCO, Maestro Linus Lerner, Artistic Director of BCPA, and Maestra Laura Taylor, Director of the KIPP SHARP Singers. A new work written by pediatric patients at the Texas Children’s Cancer and Hematology Centers “Purple Songs Can Fly” (PSCF) music therapy recording studio (www.purplesongscanfly.org) and orchestrated by J. Todd Frazier, Director of the Methodist Hospital Center for Performing Arts Medicine (www.methodisthealth.com/cpam) will be presented by PSCF founder and Director, Anita Kruse. Marrying music and medicine to bring a message of hope, the concert is a preview of the “Houston Proud: Celebration of Hope” concert to be performed at Carnegie Hall on May 24.

Tickets go on sale March 22nd! CLICK HERE for more information.

DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH– Festive Overture
PIOTR ILICH TCHAIKOVSKY– Symphony No. 5
ROLLO A. DILLWORTH - The Dream Keeper (from Trilogy of Dreams)
PURPLE SONGS CAN FLY - Celebration of Hope
JOSEPH M. MARTIN - One Voice: I Will Not Be Silent (from Sing for the Cure)
JOHN RUTTER– Mass of the Children

Photo Credit: Jeff Goldberg/ESTO,
courtesy of Carnegie Hall