The Immanuel and Helen Olshan Texas Music Festivalat the University of Houston’s Moores School of Music announces its 2026 season, running June 4–27. The Festival will include public performances alongside its intensive Orchestral and Piano Institute for emerging professional musicians, plus Institutes for pre-college music students.
The season features the Sharon Ley Lietzow Piano Series on June 4, 16, 18 and 25; Festival Orchestra concerts on June 6, 13, 20, and 27; and the Cynthia Woods Mitchell–Ima Hogg Young Artist Competition Finals on June 7. Chamber Music concerts on June 5, 11, 12, 20, and 23. Guest artists include HieYon Choi, Vadym Kholodenko, Adam Golka, the Formosa Quartet, Wonkak Kim and David Chan.
Festival Orchestra programs include the world premiere of Peter Lieuwen’s Dancing Light with clarinetist Wonkak Kim on June 6; Berg’s Violin Concerto with David Chan and Brahms’s Symphony No. 4 on June 13; and a June 27 finale conducted by Rebecca Miller featuring Elgar’s Symphony No. 1, music by Gabriela Lena Frank and a concerto performed by the Cynthia Woods Mitchell–Ima Hogg Young Artist Competition winner.
Other Season highlights include guest artist recitals: HieYon Choi performing Schubert’s Sonata in B‑flat Major, D. 960, Debussy’s Études and Unsuk Chin’s Six Études on June 4; the Formosa Quartet in two programs on June 11 and 12; and Houston-born piano virtuoso Adma Golka’s “Piano Tales” performance on June 25.
This summer the Festival also presents a four concert Mozart Mini‑Festival, with Festival fellows and faculty performing Mozart’s “Jupiter” Jupiter Symphony and Gran Partita on June 20 and 23, and solo recitals by Van Kliburn competition winner, Vadym Kholodenko, featuring an unusual solo transcription of Mozart’s Requiem.
Additional events include performances by the College and Pre-College Piano Institute and the High School and Middle School Jazz Institute ensembles.
The Texas Music Festival brings together young artists from across the country for advanced orchestral training led by faculty from the Moores School of Music, members of Houston’s major performing arts organizations and internationally recognized guest artists.
TEXAS MUSIC FESTIVAL 2026 SUMMER CONCERT SEASON
Sharon Ley Lietzow Piano Series
HieYon Choi Recital – June 4, 7:30 p.m. at Dudley Recital Hall
Schubert: Piano Sonata in B‑flat Major, D. 960; Debussy: Études; Unsuk Chin: Six Études
Chamber Music: Festival Faculty and Fellows – June 5, 7:30 p.m. at Dudley Recital Hall
Strauss/Hasenöhrl: Till Eulenspiegel Einmal Anders!; Elgar: Piano Quintet
Festival Orchestra Opening Concert – June 6, 7:30 p.m. at Moores Opera House
Franz Anton Krager, conductor; Wonkak Kim, clarinet
Lieuwen: Dancing Light; Strauss: Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks; Stravinsky: Petrushka
Cynthia Woods Mitchell Ima Hogg Competition Finals – June 7, 2 p.m. at Dudley Recital Hall – FREE
Formosa Quartet – June 11, 7:30 p.m. at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church
Marsalis: At the Octoroon Balls; Washington: Selected works
Formosa Quartet with Faculty and Fellows – June 12, 7:30 p.m. at Dudley Recital Hall
Brahms: String Sextet No. 2; Schoenberg: Verklärte Nacht; Washington: Additional works
Festival Orchestra II – June 13, 7:30 p.m. at Moores Opera House
Hans Graf, conductor; David Chan, violin
Berg: Violin Concerto; Brahms: Symphony No. 4
Sharon Ley Lietzow Piano Series
Vadym Kholodenko – Mozart Requiem (solo piano) – June 16, 7 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church, Galveston
Mozart (Klindworth): Requiem, solo piano transcription
Sharon Ley Lietzow Piano Series
Vadym Kholodenko Recital – June 18, 7:30 p.m. at Dudley Recital Hall
Liszt: Symphonie fantastique (transcription); Mozart (Klindworth): Requiem, solo piano
transcription
Chamber Orchestra Concert – June 20, 7:30 p.m. at Moores Opera House
Festival Chamber Orchestra; Vadym Kholodenko, piano
Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 4; Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 21; Mozart: Symphony
No. 41 (“Jupiter”)
Gran Partita – Chamber Music Series – June 23, 7:30 p.m. at Dudley Recital Hall
Festival Faculty and Fellows
Mozart: Serenade in B‑flat Major (“Gran Partita”)
Sharon Ley Lietzow Piano Series
“Piano Tales” -- Adam Golka Recital – June 25, 7:30 p.m. at Dudley Recital Hall
Clara Schumann: Ballade in D Minor op. 6 #4; Johannes Brahms: Four Ballades, op. 10;
Frédéric Chopin: Ballade No. 2 in F Major, op. 38; Frederic Rzewski: North American
Ballad No. 4, "Winnsboro Cotton Mill Blues"
Festival Finale – June 27, 7:30 p.m. at Moores Opera House
Rebecca Miller, conductor; Ima Hogg Competition Winner, soloist
Elgar: Symphony No. 1; Gabriela Lena Frank: Selected works; Concerto performed by
competition winner
TICKETS
Individual Tickets:
$20 General Admission
$18 Alumni/Senior (65+)
$16 Student
Full Festival Package: Includes all ticketed Moores Opera House & Dudley Recital Hall Concerts
$200 General Admission
$125 Student/Senior (65+)
Purchase tickets online or call the Kathrine G. McGovern College of the Arts Box Office at 713-743-3388
PERFORMANCE LOCATIONS
Moores Opera House: 3333 Cullen Blvd, Houston, TX 77004
Dudley Recital Hall: 4188 Elgin St, Houston, TX 77004