The Measure of Our Success: 
History and Achievements

Leadership, education, opportunity, and teamwork drive the vision of the Virtuosi of Houston.  A 501 (c) 3 organization, Virtuosi was founded in 1996 to increase professional education and performance opportunities for Houston’s exceptionally gifted 11-18-year old musicians, and to bring an expanded repertoire of chamber works to Houston audiences.  The group being smaller than a typical youth orchestra or symphony, allows these exceptional musicians to experience increased confidence, leadership, responsibility, and skill through individual attention from two world-class conductors, Andrzej Grabiec and Franz Anton Krager.  Both conductors are professors at the University of Houston, Moores School of Music.

Virtuosi of Houston in the earlier years rehearsed in churches and schools, including Awty International School, but the board felt a need to find a studio home for these fine musicians.  In October 2002 Virtuosi moved into its own studio space through the generous donation of Mr. and Mrs. Yazdani, owners of Town and Country Center.  The sale of the Town and Country Mall and its consequential demolition has caused us to move to a new facility at Memorial City Mall.  Generously underwritten by MetroNational, owners and operators of the Mall, the new facility is larger with the ability to have an audience of 100-150 persons.  Rehearsals are open to the public.  This studio has been the cornerstone of our growth, and has created an excitement in our students never seen before. 

Milestones for Virtuosi of Houston

2008-2009 Season

The Inauguration Concert of the 2008-2009 Season
In Tribute To Children of War
December 07, 2008

Read about it

2007-2008 Season

The Inauguration Concert of the 2008-2009 Season
In Tribute To Children of War
December 08, 2007

Read about it | Watch a video of the performance

2006-2007 Season

Legends of the Fall - Celebrating Sports Legends

2005 - 2006 Season

• The Inauguration Concert of the Tenth Season Celebrating our Tenth Season of Excellence in Chamber Music Education and Performance, was held at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts, Zilkha Hall and the concert was a great success as the music was wonderful and the audience was at near capacity in the Hall.
• We are honored to have been asked by the Houston Symphony to join them for a concert on February 14, 2005 at the Jones Hall for the Performing Arts, “The Virtuosi of Houston side-by-side with the Houston Symphony”.
• The annual fund raising Gala this year “Legends of the Future IV: Under the Colors of Texas” featured a prominent Texas personality as the recipient of the Virtuoso Performing Artist Award.  Our resident composer Dr. Robert Nelson who is Professor of Composition at the Moores School of Music composed a special Texas Medley for the orchestra to perform.
• The concert of the Finale of our Tenth Season was at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts, Zilkha Hall and comprised some of the music the Virtuosi has performed in the past decade. There was also one piece of music performed by the Alumni of the Virtuosi of Houston.

2004 – 2005 Season

• The Virtuosi spring concert was a joint effort with Houston-Galveston-Stavanger Sister City Society. Featuring children from the Stavanger Cathedral Youth Choir, Stavanger, Norway, who sang alongside students from Alief Hastings High School Choral and James E Taylor High School Choir with Virtuosi playing, was a stellar performance.  
• The production of a DVD and a CD of the partnership performance between Stavanger and Houston, whose goal was to further the globalization and acceptance of different cultures in the world.  Cultural exchanges of this magnitude contribute towards an understanding of international lifestyles.
• The annual fund raising Gala was “Legends of the Future III: Under the Colors of Norway” and some of the music performed was by Edvard Grieg and we also commissioned a special piece of music that was composed by Dr. Nelson for the Virtuosi of Houston.

2003 – 2004 Season

• Three full chamber orchestra concerts. The first concert featured the children performing the Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 as it was originally written, with a harpsichord, and without a conductor, to a standing ovation.
• Concert attendance for the season doubled from the previous season.  Tickets are kept at affordable rates $30.00 general admission, $20.00 for parents and grandparents, $10.00 for all students and siblings. Complimentary tickets are given to senior citizens, volunteers and children’s homes.
• Quartet and small ensemble performances, some 15 for the year, brought classical music to old and young alike with performances at senior centers, malls, and private venues.
• The Virtuosi of Houston for the second year, at the finale of the season the Annual Gala Legends of the Future II: Under the Colors of France premiered a special piece of music commissioned by us and composed for a chamber orchestra by Dr. Nelson, comprised of Popular French Medleys played by the full chamber orchestra to a standing ovation.

Previous Seasons

• In 2002 the first Annual Gala, “Around the World in Eighty Minutes”, was held in response to the increased need for diversification and expansion of funding for Virtuosi.  It was followed by “Legends of the Future” in 2003 and Dr. Nelson composed our first commission of music for the Virtuosi of Houston “Lone Star Pageant”