Local festival presents a new way to experience classical music – Houston Public Media

We learn about the first-ever Houston Music Festival.

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For many classical musicians, performances consist of reading permanent, notated music by long-dead composers. It’s a tradition that’s lasted for many centuries at this point.

But for local musicians Chelsea de Souza and David Dietz, they want to alter the context for this traditional music and present it in a new way—one that involves improvisation and even a little bit of spoken-word poetry.

The upcoming Houston Music Festival will feature two events that present traditional chamber music in this new light, with special participation by former Houston Poet Laureate Outspoken Bean and the festival’s composer-in-residence Nicky Sohn. They’ll also feature some other music originating from Houston outside the classical genre.

In the audio above, Houston Matters producer Joshua Zinn talks with de Souza and Dietz about the origins of the festival and how they’re doing things a little differently than usual.

The festival’s first concert, “Fables,” takes place at Alta Arts on Friday, November 1st at 6:30 PM.

The second concert, “Sounds of H Town,” takes place at the Orange Show on Sunday, November 3rd at 3:00 PM. (It’s free!)