Special Projects and Collabs
Inspired by the recent life experience of Houston Ballet dancer Karina Gonzalez, Precious Gift is a multi-disciplinary project that intertwines dance, music, and film to showcase the transformative emotional journey of a woman during pregnancy. Original compositions by violist Tonya Burton paired with new choreography by Gonzalez, will be immersed in an environment created by film maker David Rivera.
Precious Gift
Mix-MATCH 2025
In honor of Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day, this program offers a small glimpse into the complex world of MBC patients through music that highlights life's complexity, solace in nature, and the necessity of community. Cynthia, a commission by Nicky Sohn inspired by Cynthia's "angels" (her cancer support group friends), will be featured alongside works by other living composers, including Alice Hong, Jennifer Higdon, and Anna Clyne.
This concert is funded in part by the City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance, and is dedicated in loving memory of Cynthia Ann Burton. Please click here learn more or support MBC research.
“One of the best performances I have ever seen."
— Houston Matters / Houston Public Media
“Thoughtful, incisive programming… visually arresting… brilliantly executed...” — Arts+Culture Texas
Artist-Led; Artist Curated
Now in its ninth concert season, Houston-based KINETIC is gaining increasing recognition for its dynamic, collaboratively driven performances and masterfully curated musical programs. An artist-led ensemble of young professional string players founded in 2015, KINETIC is committed to showcasing diverse, under represented, and newly composed classical music through flexible chamber and orchestral ensemble formats. Its 2019-2020 season brings collaborations with Musiqa, NobleMotion Dance, Archway Gallery, Flatland Gallery Hoppa Project, Sam Houston State University, Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston Center for Contemporary Craft—and more.
Accessible Artistry
Monarch Chamber Players is a collective of Houston-based professional musicians committed to taking classical chamber music out of the concert hall and into accessible community spaces.
Founded in October 2020 as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Monarch presents over 80 concerts annually. The ensemble has brought classical music to over 25 Houston neighborhoods, performing at a variety of venues including parks, churches, farms, traditional indoor venues, and front porches.
"Incredibly, a new chamber music collective has exploded onto the Houston performing arts scene despite the inhospitable pandemic environment... the ensemble has performed over 60 outdoor concerts since last October, taking music directly to the people, popping up in neighborhood parks, cul-de-sacs, and church lots, and just as often on people’s front yards, porches, and driveways." -- Arts +Culture Texas
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Tonya Burton and Natalie Groom began collaborating in 2019. Brought together by their passion to advocate for greater gender diversity in classical music programming, they started with iconic works by English composer Rebecca Clarke and American composer Jenni Brandon.