The Woodlands Pavilion to feature orchestral masterminds

THE WOODLANDS, Texas – The Texas Musical Festival Orchestra will take the stage for a free concert at The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion Friday with guest soloist Matthew Lee, winner of the 2017 Cynthia Woods Mitchell Young Artist Competition.

The Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation has played an integral role in the Immanuel and Helen Olshan Texas Music Festival since its inception in 1990. The winner of the Festival’s Young Artist Competition winner always plays a free concert as a soloist with the Texas Music Festival Orchestra at the Pavilion.

Lee will be playing Dmitri Shostakovich: Violin Concerto No. 1 in A Minor, Op. 99 on a Francesco Gofriller, 1724 violin on loan from Florian Leonhard Fine Violins of London and NY.

Lee graduated last month from the University of Wisconsin - Madison with a Bachelor of Science in music performance and biology. He played in the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras in grade school, serving as concertmaster for Youth Orchestra from 2011-12, and won their 2013 Concerto Competition. At UW-Madison Matthew studied with Eugene Purdue for two years, then with Soh-Hyun Park Altino for his last two. In 2016 Matthew was a winner of the UW Concerto Competition, and performed with the UW Symphony Orchestra this February.

This fall, he will move to Texas to attend UT-Austin for his M.M. degree with Sandy Yamamoto.

Additionally, Brett Mitchell will be making his TMF conducting debut. He is no stranger to Houston, having conducted more than 100 Houston Symphony performances as its assistant conductor from 2007-11 and music director of the UH Moores Opera House from 2010-13.

Want to go?

What: TMF Orchestra Series

When: 8 p.m. Friday June 23

Where: Woodlands Pavilion

Tickets: Not required, free event

Program:

“Orchestral Variations”

• Brett Mitchell, conductor
• Cynthia Woods Mitchell Young Artist Competition Winner Violinist Matthew Lee
• Soloist Esa-Pekka Salonen: L.A. Variations
• Dmitri Shostakovich: Violin Concerto No. 1 in A Minor, Op. 99 - Solo with Cynthia Woods Mitchell Young Artist Competition winner Matthew Lee
• Edward Elgar: Variations on an original theme, “Enigma” - an accessible, soaring, romantic and show off piece

For more information: Visit the Texas Music Festival on Facebook to see videos of some of the perfomers.

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