A Deeper Look into ECHO’s ‘Rhapsody in Blue’ concertJoin ECHO Orchestra for its annual spring concert entitled “Rhapsody in Blue” featuring local Pianist Andrew Staupe, emerging as one of the distinctive voices of a new generation of pianists. The concert will also feature ECHO’s 2025 Young Artist Concerto Competition Winner, 2025 Youth Composition Competition Winner, and a World Premiere by Mark Bueller. The concert will take place at St. John Vianney Catholic Church. We are encouraging our guests to come dressed in their best shades of blue to enjoy the works that include: Hungarian Rhapsody, Rhapsody in Blue, Variations on “I Got Rhythm”, and the World Premier of new work by Mark Buller!

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Michael Fahey has been performing teaching and conducting in the Houston area since 1991. He has performed with the Theatre Under The Stars Orchestra, Houston Latin Philharmonic and many other orchestras and has conducted high school groups at Symphony Hall in Chicago as well Carnegie and Lincoln Center in New York. Fahey is the founding conductor and music director of ECHOrchestra.

The Conductor Presents with Michael Fahey

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Clarinetist Jennifer Dennison Daniels is celebrating her 20th year of private teaching in 2020! A native Houstonian, she is well-integrated into the rich culture of the Houston Arts scene, regularly performing with many local music and arts organizations including The Houston Heights Orchestra, where she was both Executive Director and Principal Clarinetist, ECHO (The Energy Corridor of Houston Orchestra), Scirocco Winds, and various other small ensembles throughout Southeast Texas. Though she has spent the bulk of her career in her hometown, she did manage to break away briefly from the Lone Star State, earning a Bachelor of Music degree in Performance from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Ohio in 2005. An avid Francophile, she then began a Master of Music degree from McGill University in Montréal, Québec. Though Canada was a welcoming and surprisingly hospitable territory, she eventually heeded the beckoning call of The Republic of Texas, and answered its cry for her to return with four resounding claps of her hand, as truly the stars at night ARE big and bright deep in the heart of Texas. Back in her hometown, she then earned her Master of Music degree at the University of Houston’s Moores School of Music in 2009, where she began her Doctor of Musical Arts degree. While at the Moores School, Mrs. Daniels had the opportunity to perform with AURA, The Moores School’s contemporary music performing ensemble, contemporary music being both a passion and a specialty of hers. In 2008, she won third prize in the Ruth Burr Competition for Houston musicians. She is quite at ease as a soloist, performing as such multiple times with the Houston Heights Orchestra, and has performed recitals on many different stages. Also an active teacher and clinician, Mrs. Daniels has a flourishing private studio and is faculty at Lone Star College-Montgomery in The Woodlands, TX.

The Clarinet Presents with Jennifer Dennison Daniels

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A graduate of the University of North Texas and Southern Methodist University, Charles Tittsworth has been a musician and music educator for 48 years. In addition to teaching all levels from elementary age to college, Mr.Tittsworth has conducted three community orchestras as well as several church choirs. He has also served as President of Texas Orchestra Directors Association and Orchestra Vice President of Texas Music Educators Association.

This Historian Presents with Charles Tittsworth

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Pianist Andrew Staupe is emerging as one of the distinctive voices of a new generation of pianists. Andrew has appeared as soloist with many of the top orchestras throughout the United States and in Europe, including the Baltimore Symphony, San Diego Symphony, Houston Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, Fort Worth Symphony, Indianapolis Symphony, the George Enescu Philharmonic in Romania, and many others. He has collaborated with distinguished conductors Osmo Vänskä, Cristian Macelaru, Jahja Ling, Gerard Schwarz, Andrew Litton, Lucas Richman, Josep-Caballe Domenech, and Philip Mann. Andrew has performed recitals across the United States and extensively in Europe, appearing in distinguished concert venues including the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Rachmaninov Hall in Moscow, the Schumann Haus in Leipzig, and the Salle Cortot in Paris. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@Lisztman1" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/@Lisztman1</a> Gershwin Rhapsody (mentioned in interview): <a href="https://youtu.be/VxNbAtTMZXc?si=KCFoXB0VvOr_S-IZ" rel="nofollow">Gershwin Plays Rhapsody in Blue (1924)</a>

The Soloist Presents with Andrew Staupe

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Mark Buller, a composer based in Houston, writes music which blends rich lyricism with bold gestures and striking rhythms. He has written a wide variety of pieces, from tiny miniatures for solo instruments to operas and works for large orchestra. His music has been heard in venues around the world, from Carnegie Hall and the Moscow Conservatory to offbeat locations such as the Australian Maritime Museum in Sydney and MOVIMENTO in Munich. His orchestral works have been performed by leading orchestras and conductors, and his music for vocal and choral forces have been presented around the world. He has been privileged to write for a number of world-class ensembles and organizations, including the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Houston Grand Opera, Houston Chamber Choir, ROCO (River Oaks Chamber Orchestra), and Apollo Chamber Players. His flexibility as a composer has led to some unique projects and commissions: four operas for Houston Grand Opera -- including a pastiche opera -- with libretti by Charles Anthony Silvestri and Euan Tait (together totaling over 180 performances since 2015); a series of poignant art songs and a major choral work also for HGO, setting words by veterans and by Leah Lax; and eighty very short pieces for various forces, entitled Quarantine Miniatures, written during the COVID-19 lockdown.<a href="https://www.youtube.com/@MBullerComposer" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/@MBullerComposer</a>

The Creator Presents Rhapsody in Blue with Mark Buller

A Deeper Look into ECHO’s ‘Rhapsody in Blue’ concert

A Deeper Look into ECHO’s ‘Rhapsody in Blue’ concert

Join ECHO Orchestra for its annual spring concert entitled “Rhapsody in Blue” featuring local Pianist Andrew Staupe, emerging as one of the distinctive voices of a new generation of pianists. The concert will also feature ECHO’s 2025 Young Artist Concerto Competition Winner, 2025 Youth Composition Competition Winner, and a World Premiere by Mark Bueller. The concert will take place at St. John Vianney Catholic Church. *We are encouraging our guests to come dressed in their best shades of blue to enjoy the w* orks that include: Hungarian Rhapsody, Rhapsody in Blue, Variations on “I Got Rhythm”, and the World Premier of new work by Mark Buller!