Now is your chance to find out! Héctor Agüero, Jr., Music Director for the Fort Bend Symphony Orchestra, has agreed to let one of his conducting batons go to the highest bidder at the group’s upcoming concert and fundraising event on June 7, 2009 at the Stafford Centre. Mayor Leonard Scarcella of Stafford will be the celebrity guest auctioneer.
In addition to taking home the prized baton, the winner will receive a conducting mentoring lesson from Maestro Agüero. This lesson will help prepare the fledgling conductor for their debut as they conduct the “Star Spangled Banner” at the 2009-2010 Fort Bend Symphony Orchestra season opening concert.
Besides the conductor’s baton, there will be many other silent auction items including the chance to sit with Mayor Leonard Scarcella of Stafford in his box for a concert; a signed and game used jersey and bat from Carlos Lee of the Houston Astros; a guided bay and gulf fishing trip for four; and much more! For a complete listing of auction items, visit fbsoauction.blogspot.com
After the frenzy of bidding, sit back and enjoy the music of this country as Maestro Agüero and the Orchestra bring you works from some of the greatest American composers. Featured works will include “Rhapsody in Blue” by George Gershwin, “Fanfare for the Common Man” and “Simple Gifts” from “Appalachian Spring” by Aaron Copland, “First Essay for Orchestra” by Samuel Barber, and “Variations on a Southern Gospel Tune” by Monte Keene Pishny-Floyd.
Ticket prices range from $5 – $25 and may be purchased on the Symphony website or at the Stafford Centre box office on the day of the performance. The Stafford Centre is located at 10505 Cash Road in Stafford. For more information, visit www.fbso.org or call 281.276.9642.
HOUSTON (March 14, 2009) – The Fort Bend Symphony Orchestra, under the musical direction of Héctor Agüero, Jr., will be presenting a concert entitled “A Night in Vienna” on Saturday, March 28, 2009 at 7:00 p.m. This concert is made possible by generous support from TIAA-CREF/Four Oaks Place.
Escape with the Orchestra as they take you on a musical journey to the beautiful city of Vienna. This program of waltzes, polkas, and Austrian songs is sure to have you feeling carefree in no time at all!
The program will include the Tritsch Tratsch Polka and The Blue Danube by Johann Strauss, Jr., and the Radetzky March by Johann Strauss, Sr. Also featured is Laura Agüero, soprano, singing selections from Des Knaben Wunderhorn and Songs to Poems by Rueckert by Gustav Mahler.
Also featured will be the winners of the Houston Music Teachers Association/Houston Young Artist Concert Concerto Competition. Jesse Lozano, Senior Division Winner, will be the soloist for the first movement of Piano Concerto in G Major by Maurice Ravel, while Winston Wu, Junior Division Winner, will be the soloist for the first movement of Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat minor by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
The concert is scheduled for Saturday, March 28, 2009 at 7:00 p.m. at First United Methodist Church, located at the corner of FM 1092 and Lexington Boulevard in Missouri City. Ticket prices are $15 for adults; $10 for seniors/students; and children 12 and under are free. For more information or to purchase tickets, please visit www.fbso.org or call (281) 276-9642.
Biographies of Soloists:
Laura Agüero is an emerging young soprano from Texas.
Laura Agüero is an emerging young soprano from Texas. She received her Master’s degree in vocal performance from Texas Tech University in Lubbock. She has performed the role of Norina with the Pine Mountain Music Festival in a production of Donizetti’s Don Pasquale. Mrs. Agüero has also been featured as Marenka in The Bartered Bride, Zerlina in Don Giovanni, First Lady in Die Zauberflöte, and Miss Titmouse in Too Many Sopranos. She has performed with the Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre as Annina in La Traviata.
In addition to her work on the operatic stage, Mrs. Agüero is an active recitalist. She has participated in several recitals throughout the northern United States. Her other oratorio and symphonic engagements have included Mozart’s Exsultate Jubilate, Brahms’ Neue Liebeslieder, Bach’s St. John Passion, and as a soloist with the Midland-Odessa Symphony and Chorale and the Woodlands Symphony Orchestra.
Young musician Jesse Lozano will take the stage with the Fort Bend Symphony Orchestra later this month.
Jesse Lozano has been studying piano since 2nd grade. For eight years he studied with Sandy Toews, and for the last two years he has studied with Dr. Dariusz Pawlas in the Rice University Preparatory Program. Jesse is in the 11th grade at Cypress Springs High School. He plays trombone and is drum major, but his favorite instrument is the piano because, as Jesse says, on the piano he can play a whole symphony with his hands.
Jesse is also a composer. He composed his first piece in 5th grade, and since has won many state and national competitions for his original compositions. One of his first full-length piano pieces, “Circus Rag,” composed at the age of 12, was published when he was just 13 years old.
This past summer, Jesse was one of 10 young composers selected from over 50 countries to be admitted to Interlochen Arts Camp in northern Michigan. He recently decided to attend the Interlochen Arts Academy for his final year of high school, after which he hopes to study piano and musical composition at a music conservatory.
Winston Wu will be a featured performer with the Fort Bend Symphony Orchestra later this month.
Winston Wu is a 15-year-old sophomore at Friendswood High School. He started playing piano at the age of five, and he is currently studying with Mr. William Chaisson. Winston has won numerous awards at piano competitions in the Houston area. Last year, he won in the Junior Division of the Clear Lake Symphony concerto competition and had the opportunity to perform Lizst’s Totentanz with the Clear Lake Symphony. He enjoys piano composition and teaching piano to younger children. Winston is also a percussionist in the Friendswood High School Wind Ensemble, where he plays the marimba.
In school, he likes computer science and computer applications. He has won several awards at computer competitions at the local and state level, and is a member of the school’s UIL Computer Applications team. He enjoys spelling and won the school spelling bee twice. As a member of the UIL Spelling team, he has won awards at local invitationals. He enjoys Latin, and is an active member of the Latin Club. In addition to his other achievements, Winston is a member of the National Honor Society.
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