about the festival
Mission Statement
The mission of the Texas Music Festival is to prepare college aged and young professional musicians for careers in music through a four-week intensive summer orchestral training program. The Texas Music Festival serves communities in the greater Houston area, College Station, and throughout the Southeastern Texas regions with a diverse array of orchestral and chamber music performances by student participants, faculty, and guest artists.
Introduction
The Immanuel and Helen Olshan Texas Music Festival was founded in 1990 to provide young professional musicians with a challenging musical environment in which to develop skills in orchestral, chamber music, and solo performance. The four-week orchestral fellowship program on the University of Houston campus is guided by distinguished artists from the Moores School of music faculty, members of the Houston Symphony, and internationally recognized guests. Many TMF faculty members perform as soloists with the festival orchestra and as part of the Distinguished Artist Series (TMF’s faculty chamber music series).
- Intensive four-week orchestral training program
- For college, graduate, and young professional players (Ages 18-30; younger participants will be considered on a case by case basis)
- Full tuition fellowships for all students
- International musical community
- Faculty from the Moores School of Music, the Houston Symphony, and guest artists
- Master classes with guest artists
- Cynthia Woods Mitchell Young Artists Competition
- Weekly private lesson instruction
- Chamber music coaching
- Faculty artist chamber music series (Distinguished Artist Series)
Performance Opportunities
- Four weekly orchestra programs
- Student chamber music concerts
- Master classes with faculty and guests
- Performances at:
- Moores Opera House, University of Houston
- Rudder Auditorium, Texas A&M University
- Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, The Woodlands
Cynthia Woods Mitchell Young Artist Competition
- Open to all TMF participants
- All finalists receive cash prizes. First place winner appears as soloist with both the TMF Orchestra and with the Akademisches Orchester, Leipzig in famed Gewandhaus.
- Audition requirements: One movement of standard concerto or solo piece (15 minute maximum length)
Festival representatives
- Alan Austin, General Director
- Adria McDonald, Assistant Director
- David Tomatz, Director Emeritus
Brought to you by
This organization is funded by grants from the City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance.
- Moores School of Music at the University of Houston
- Immanuel and Helen Olshan Foundation
- Texas A&M University's Summer Performance Series
- Houston Arts Alliance
Festival site
TMF is housed in the Moores School of Music at the University of Houston’s central campus. University of Houston, Texas' premier urban research university, is located on a beautiful park-like campus in the country's fourth largest city. The Rebecca and John J. Moores School of Music Building is a spacious 144,000 square foot facility, located on the north side of campus. The Moores Opera House is an 800-seat hall praised for its acoustical excellence and celebrated mural by Frank Stella.
