It was in 1995 when Robert Simpson's idea of a Houston Chamber Choir became a reality. Tihs weekend the ensemble choir will be featured at Miller Outdoor Theatre in concert with the theme, "This Land Is Your Land.
Jon Meacham and Tim McGraw remind us in their book, Songs of America, that the history of the United States— its struggles, politics, and 
successes —is embedded in our nation's folksongs. From Pre-Revolutionary calls for independence, to spirituals, and songs of the 1960’s the Houston Chamber Choir will bring the voice of American life to the stage of Miller Outdoor Theatre.
Winner of Best Choral Performance at the 62nd Annual Grammy® Awards, winner of Chorus America's 2018 Margaret Hillis Award for Choral Excellence, the Houston Chamber Choir has established itself as one of the premier professional choirs in the United States, serving Houston through concerts and educational initiatives that enlighten, entertain, and educate people of all ages.
Led by Artistic Director Robert Simpson, the Houston Chamber Choir has been described by The Tallis Scholars founder Peter Phillips as “one of 
this country’s leading ensembles." The Choir is comprised of 25 professional singers, most of whom have studied at the top music schools and conservatories in the United States including Juilliard, New England Conservatory, University of Houston, and University of Texas. These musicians are selected through rigorous auditions from the finest singers in our region and are compensated for all rehearsals and performances.
The ensemble's vocal training and talent allows it to perform a wide range of music with equal skill. It has brought Houston its first period instrument performance of Bach’s immortal Mass in B minor (a performance Moores School of Music Director, David Ashley White, credits with “setting a new standard in terms of how choral/orchestral music from the Baroque era should be performed in Houston”). The Choir has also presented the regional premieres of Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610 with Ars Lyrica and Vivaldi’s lost treasure, Dixit Dominus, which it performed with guest commentator Bill McGlaughlin, host of public radio’s “St. Paul Sunday” and “Exploring Music.” Following his guest appearance with the Chamber Choir in 2008, Joseph Flummerfelt, Musical America’s 2004 Conductor of the Year, wrote, “Robert Simpson’s Houston Chamber Choir is an ensemble of consummate artistry and it was a joy for me to have the opportunity to make music with them.” Performances with Dave Brubeck, Bill McGlaughlin, Peter Schickele, Jamie Bernstein, and rarely heard pieces like Vivaldi’s recently discovered Dixit Dominus and Giovanni Colonna’s Vespers from 1694 are occasions that enriched our city and have not been duplicated by others. In 2015, the Houston Chamber Choir received the American Prize for Choral Performance and Robert Simpson received the Prize in the Choral Conducting category.
(From All Music.com-William Ruhlmann) Formed in 1984 by high-school friends Sammy Llanas and Kurt Neumann, the BoDeans mixed Midwestern roots rock with elements of adult contemporary pop, fashioning a sound that earned critical acclaim during the '80s and 
commercial recognition during the following decade. Llanas and Neumann fronted the group by sharing vocal and guitar duties, while bassist Bob Griffin and drummer Guy Hoffman populated the rhythm section. Although based in Waukesha, Wisconsin, the BoDeans began building an audience 20 miles east in Milwaukee, and their success in that town helped gain them a contract with Slash Records, with manufacturing and distribution handled by Warner Bros.
(From Chris Trapper.com )Trapper's talent as a singer and storyteller stems from what some might call an eclectic apprenticeship. A native of Buffalo, New York, by grade 9 Chris had found his voice, and his older brother's guitar.
"I'm a stutterer," he says, "and I used to get picked on a lot in school. One day, after I'd been called on to answer a question and just couldn't spit it out at all, and the whole class was laughing at me, I went home and picked up my brother's guitar and started writing this kind of whiny song about how everyone picked on me. It wasn't a very good song, but I'd found this incredible outlet to express how I felt. So that's how it began, just a couple of chords and a bad day."
(From All Music.com-Joslyn Layne) The instrumental multimedia Montreal group Godspeed You! Black Emperor create extended, repetition-oriented chamber rock. The minimal and patient crescendo building of the band's compositions results in a meditative and hypnotic listen that becomes narrative-like when combined with found-sound splices and the films of their visual 
collaborators. First appearing during the late 1990s, the group's breakthrough came with 2000's majestic double-album Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven, which received widespread praise and has endured as an underground classic. After a lengthy hiatus, during which the group's members concentrated on numerous other projects, GY!BE returned with 2012's 'Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend! and continued releasing funereal yet optimistic full-lengths like 2021's G_d's Pee at State's End!
Raphael returns to the stage to present his acclaimed ‘Raphael 6.0’ tour thi s weekend at LiveNation's 713 Music Hall in downtown POST Houston. Raphael celebrates sixty years performing to audiences.
(From AllMusic.com-Drago Bonacich) Spanish pop star Rafael Martos (born Miguel Rafael Martos Sánchez and globally as "Raphael") is one of Spain's best-known singers. His wide, multi-octave range and flamboyant stage persona have entertained and engaged people worldwide since 1959. He is also a widely recognized movie and television actor. Raphael adopted a particular live performance style from the beginning -- he acts out 
each song to high dramatic effect, sometimes wearing themed costumes, and engages in folk dances or emulates the moves of flamenco dancers, athletes, or bull fighters on-stage. His record company, Hispavox, awarded him with the world's one and only "uranium disc" for his 1982 compilation album Ayer, Hoy y Siempre due to the impossibility of presenting him with more than 350 gold and 50 platinum discs -- it sold more than 50 million copies. His catalog contains more than 60 albums, all of which charted in Spain. 1989's Maravilloso Corazon not only registered platinum sales and topped the charts in Spain, but went Top 20 in America, too, as did 2014's De Amor & Desamor. In 2018, Raphael issued the globally charting Resinfonico. Produced and arranged by Lucal Vidal, the singer performed his hits with a classical orchestra and modern electronics. In 2020 Raphael celebrated 60 years in music with Raphael 6.0, a collection of previously unrecorded classic songs recorded in duet with major artists from across the Latin world, including Manuel Carrasco, Pablo Alborán, Mon Laferte, Luis Fonsi, Alejandro Fernández, and Natalia Lafourcade among others.
Established in 2020, Art Museum TX is a not-for-profit institution in Fort Bend County, 
Texas, dedicated to presenting the region's contemporary art to the public. Art Museum TX provides an interchange for visual arts of the present and recent past, presents new directions in art, strives to engage the public, and encourages a greater understanding of contemporary art through education programs.
