The Kinder HSPVA Instrumental Music Department presented a full season of Band, Chamber Music, Jazz, Mariachi, Orchestra, and Piano performances.
The department’s partnership with AFA remains the national standard for high school chamber music education. DACAMERA continued their mentorship support in Music Entrepreneurship. Instrumental Music also partnered with Apollo Chamber Players, Mercury Chamber Orchestra, Houston Symphony, The Ponce Project, and pARTnerschools. Andrés González from Mercury Chamber Orchestra came to campus to coach HSPVA Strings’ performance of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, and Piano students performed at the Steinway Selection Center with mezzo-soprano Sarah Dyer as part of The Ponce Project’s 2025-2026 Concert Season.
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: SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW
The Sound Story Ensemble performs a musical reading of The Hungry Caterpillar with original music by Andrew Lesniewicz ’27.
HSPVA Early Music Ensemble, led by Maille Craig ’26, performs “Se il cor guerriero,” from Tito Manlio, by Antonio Vivaldi with vocal soloist Gabriel Magallón (Vocal ’26).
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 and Chloe de Souza
- Collaborative Piano with Katherine Shupe
- Global Grooves with Andrea Benabent, Arthur Gilligan, and Bensen Kwan
- Jazz Festival Guest Artists Andre Hayward ’89, Brandon Lee ’01, and Daleton Lee ’99
- Jazz Rhythm Section with David Caceres, David Craig, Art Fristoe, Eddie Lewis, Charlie Perez, Greg Petito, and Andrew Sneed ’12
- Jazz Workshops with Phineas Davenport ’19, Jesse McBride, Sasha Ripley ’19, and Marcos Varela ’03
- Latin Jazz with Charlie Perez
- Mariachi Strings with Angel Ayala and Adrian Longoria
- Mariachi Voice with Altagracia Vazquez and Fernando Vazquez
- Music Production with Kris Wood
- Percussion with Patrick Kelly
- Piano Workshops with Sophia Gilmson, Ben Laude, and Hayden Miller ’23
- Strings with Andres Gonzalez, Ellie Herrera, Emily Klein, Matt Lammers, Samantha St. John, and Sergein Yap
- Winds with Ema Armanious, Nicolas Bissen, and Noah Pujol
- Adjudicators for mock All-Region auditions and concerto competitions: Sonja Bruzauskas, Andres Gonzalez, Ellie Herrera, Ilonka Russ, Katrina Savitski, and Bob Walp
WATCH: UNHEARD VOICES
On February 6, HSPVA students brought one of the school’s Black History Month productions, Unheard Voices, to life. This collaboration between the Instrumental Music and Creative Writing Departments, with additional contributions from Vocal, Visual Arts, and Theatre students, celebrated underrepresented voices in music and storytelling. The performance featured bold reinterpretations of iconic works like a mariachi-style and spoken word cover of Stevie Wonder’s “Sir Duke.” The program also included “And Still We Cross” by Emmy-winning composer Daniel Bernard Roumain with poetry by Kenneth B. Morris Jr, a co-commission between Apollo Chamber Players and HSPVA Friends. Both composers were present to speak about their work.
YOUR GIFTS PROVIDED TECHNOLOGY, SUPPLIES, AND SPECIAL OPPORTUNITIES, INCLUDING:
- Annual subscriptions to music and sight reading software
- Professional concert recordings
- Music arrangements, composer commissions, and sheet music (A LOT of sheet music!)
- Instrument repair, maintenance, and tuning
- Specialized piano dehumidifier systems
- Music history books
- Accompanists for senior recitals
- Traje and uniform alterations
- Registration fees for state solo and ensemble competitions
- Tickets to Houston Symphony High School Night
WATCH: HSPVA STRINGS PERFORM THE FOUR SEASONS
WATCH: JAZZ COMBO 1 AT MUSICFEST 2025
CONGRATULATIONS, CLASS OF 2026
