The Kinder HSPVA Instrumental Music Department presented a full season of Band, Chamber Music, Jazz, Mariachi, Orchestra, and Piano performances. In addition to concerts on campus, every ensemble performed in the community—from Houston Public Library to Discovery Green, the Bayou City Art Festival, and City Hall.
The department’s partnership with AFA remains the national standard for high school chamber music education. DACAMERA continued their mentorship support in Music Entrepreneurship and provided an exciting performance opportunity for Jazz and Vocal Music students with HSPVA alumnus Jason Moran ’93, one of the most acclaimed jazz artists in the country. Instrumental Music also partnered with Houston Methodist’s Crain Garden Series, Houston Youth Symphony, Jazz Houston Youth Orchestra, Mercury Chamber Orchestra, pARTnerschools, Performing Arts Houston, and UH Downtown.
These partnerships and experiences ensure that wherever students pursue music after HSPVA, they will have a solid foundation of skills and knowledge of music styles, genres, and career paths.
The Instrumental Music Department’s course offerings and repertoire continue to evolve because of your gifts to HSPVA Friends. You fund the adjunct faculty and instrument specialists, master classes, instrument repair and maintenance, and concert logistics that keep Kinder HSPVA musicians at the top of their field.
WATCH: ORCHESTRA PERFORMS TCHAIKOVSKY’S SYMPHONY NO. 5, MOVEMENT 1
YOUR GIFTS PROVIDED THE FOLLOWING COURSES, MASTER CLASSES, AND CONCENTRATED INSTRUMENT INSTRUCTION:
- Brass with Nicholas Bissen, David Caceres, and Eddie Lewis
- Chamber Music with professional teaching artists from AFA
- Class Piano for Jazz, Orchestra, Mariachi, and Band students with John Amar ’09
- Global Grooves with Andrea Benabent, Arthur Gilligan, and Bensen Kwan
- Jazz Festival Guest Artist Mike Moreno ’97
- Jazz Rhythm Section with David Caceres, David Craig, Art Fristoe, Eddie Lewis, Charlie Perez, Greg Petito, and Andrew Sneed ’12
- Jazz Workshops with Darrell Green, Wallace Stelzer ’11, Matt Stevens, Camille Thurman, and Marcos Varela ’03
- Latin Jazz with Charlie Perez
- Mariachi Strings with Pedro Garcia and Adrian Longoria
- Mariachi Voice with Altagracia Vazquez and Fernando Vazquez
- Music Production with Kris Wood
- Percussion with Patrick Kelly
- Piano Workshops with Stephanie Cheng, Brendan Kinsella, Yaron Kohlberg, and James Palmer
- Strings with David Dietz, Elinor Frey, Ellie Herrera, Naomi Hoffmeyer, Emily Klein, Matt Lammers, Sharon Montes, and Sergein Yap
- Winds with Linda Gilbert and Noah Pujol
- Adjudicators for mock All-Region auditions and concerto competitions: Katherine Butler, Tyler Ehrlich, Jose Falcon, Natalie Gaynor, Ben Grube, Ellie Herrera, Garrett Hudson, Sharon Montes, Tali Morgulis, Ilonka Russ, Wendy Smith-Butler, and Jonathan Villela
WATCH: JAZZ PERFORMS WITH JASON MORAN ’93
HSPVA Jazz and Vocal Music students performed with Jason Moran ’93 at his concert Duke Ellington: My Heart Sings, presented by DACAMERA at the Wortham Theater Center in March. Check out photos and videos of the performance and Jason’s rehearsals with the students at school.
YOUR GIFTS PROVIDED TECHNOLOGY, SUPPLIES, AND SPECIAL OPPORTUNITIES, INCLUDING:
- Annual subscriptions to music and sight reading software
- Music arrangements and sheet music (A LOT of sheet music!)
- Instrument repair and maintenance
- Professional concert recordings
- Accompanists for senior recitals
- Traje and uniform alterations
- Registration fees for state solo and ensemble competitions
- Tickets to Houston Symphony concerts
- Music history books
- Registration to the Texas Orchestra Directors Association Student Leadership Day
WATCH: BOWEN MA ’25 AND STEVEN HARRIS ’26 PERFORM BIZET’S CARMEN FANTASY
CONGRATULATIONS TO MARIACHI LOS PASAJEROS!
Mariachi Los Pasajeros received first division sweepstakes at UIL Regional and State for the first time ever, and the violin section and guitarron player received outstanding distinguished medals for their fabulous performances!
WATCH: JAZZ, MARIACHI, BAND, AND ORCHESTRA AT MUSICFEST 2024
