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River Oaks Chamber Orchestra is pleased to be a new member of Fresh Arts Coalition!
Fresh Arts Coalition, a collaboration of the most original and thought-provoking arts groups in Houston, includes 25 dance, theatre, literary, musical, visual and cultural arts organizations that have joined together to collectively raise awareness of the size and diversity of the arts in Houston. |
by Kilby Hoskins
Part of the mission of River Oaks Chamber Orchestra is to personalize the orchestral experience by inviting the audience into the musician’s world through interactive concerts. We are proud to collaborate with Houston area non-profit organizations to put our mission into action in the community through the orchestra’s personal and approachable style.
We are especially delighted to collaborate with St. John the Divine Episcopal Church, who generously has donated our home concert venue since our inception and continues to nurture us through our exponential growth. Our ROCOrooters music education/childcare program is housed in another part of the St. John’s facility, providing innumerable meaningful moments for kids while adults enjoy the concert. We are grateful to St. John’s for their continued dedication to our mission.
A new concert venue for ROCO is the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston’s Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens. Bayou Bend has graciously donated their beautiful lawn and many other services for our final concert of the season, and we have enjoyed collaborating to present a multi-faceted cultural experience for concert-goers. By joining forces to provide a venue for music, art, decorative arts, and gardens, we are able to offer a unique experience with ROCO’s personal style.
In April, ROCO musicians teamed up with the MFAH in another new collaboration by playing in the galleries as part of the museum’s Target Free First Sunday, whose theme for the day was “Music and Art.” Families
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| gathered around the players, and kids sat right at their feet for a truly up-close experience. Musicians talked about their instruments, and Founder and Principal Oboist Alecia Lawyer discussed how music and art can be described using similar elements (such as color and texture) through observations of a 17th-century still life that included musical instruments. |
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Also this spring, ROCO worked in partnership with West University Place’s Parks and Recreation Department. ROCO’s Brass Quintet headlined the free “Music Under the Stars” family concert series, which takes place in Colonial Park. The audience ranged from young babies to young-at-heart seniors, and all enjoyed an old-fashioned good time with the Quintet playing in the gazebo during an enchanting springtime sunset. Kids danced and played to the music, families delighted in picnic fare, and the musicians talked to the audience in a casual, friendly style about their music. |
ROCO is proud to reach out and provide cultural opportunities for several smaller community groups. For example, Brownie Troop 21127 attended our February “Conductorless” concert. Each girl earned a badge, and troop leaders took the opportunity to discuss with them how cultural events such as classical music concerts can enrich our lives.
We consider all of these happenings to be true “mission moments.” Through community collaborations, ROCO continues to creatively bring people into the musician’s world through art, music, and quality family time. We look forward to developing and cultivating more meaningful partnerships in the future. |
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