Orchestra Ensemble

Franz Anton Krager
Director of Orchestra Ensemble
Professor of Conducting
fakrager@uh.edu
713-743-3189

The Moores School Symphony Orchestra is conducted by UH Director of Orchestras, Franz Anton Krager.  As a major ensemble with over 110 members, the orchestra performs is a leading ensemble in the area of new music as well as being an important repository for the standard literature, presenting works from all major orchestral genres including full orchestra, chamber orchestra, opera, oratorio and ballet.  The orchestra collaborates on a regular basis with the Moores Opera Center, MSM choirs and the Houston Ballet Academy.  The high level of its performances has been hailed by international artists and critics alike as a student ensemble of professional quality and versatility. 

Events

The orchestra appears regularly with world-class performing artists and has been featured at several Texas Music Educators Association conventions and at the Midwest Clinic in Chicago.  The orchestra collaborates on a regular basis with the Moores Opera Center, MSM choirs and the Houston Ballet Academy.   As an accompanying ensemble, the orchestra performs with soloists including school faculty, major guest artists and students selected through the Moores School Concerto Competition.  Many of the orchestra’s alumni have gone on win positions in major orchestras and become conductors, performers and leading music educators in the field.

Auditions

Symphony Orchestra
email: uhmsso@uh.edu

Membership in the orchestra is open by audition to all graduate and undergraduate students at the University of Houston. Moores School Symphony Orchestra string auditions take place in the fall according to the schedule available below. All string players must prepare according to the audition selections set each semester. All non-string players should refer to the percussion and band ensemble pages for audition dates and requirements

Schedule

August 21: Violins
August 22: Violas, Cellos and Basses

Audition Selections

Recordings

Percussion Division

We provide an intensive and comprehensive program of study built on a total percussion perspective. We boast one of the finest and most extensive collections of percussion instruments in the country.

Strings Division

Committed to excellence, our internationally renowned string faculty provides our students with an outstanding and personal educational experience. Global in scope, we pride ourselves on educating our students with the necessary skills to succeed in a diverse and modern musical landscape

Winds Division

Our nationally and internationally recognized woodwind and brass faculty provides a total musical learning environment through progressive curricula designed to support your career aspirations.

Moores Opera Center

Performed with the orchestra ensemble in our Moores Opera House the center holds four fully staged opera productions each season. Students learn their craft through four fully-staged productions with orchestra per season, including one opera written in the last twenty years. Auditions in April and August of each year are open to all students. Many of our Moores School of Music choral singers also participate on stage in opera productions during their time at UH.

“As a conductor, I am most grateful for the wonderful training that I received at Moores. Professor Krager was an outstanding mentor who provided me with the necessary tools and support to succeed in this very competitive profession. I will always be thankful to the program for the many opportunities that I was able to receive, particularly the opportunity to work with my talented colleagues. Serving as the assistant conductor of AURA and conducting the MSM Symphony and Chamber Orchestras are experiences that I will always cherish. Perhaps most importantly, I am thankful for the many friends I made and relationships, both personal and professional, that I cultivated during my time in Houston. I remain in close contact with many friends from these years and even met my wife through the program at Moores.” Roger Kalia, (MM ‘09) Music Director Designate - Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra Music Director - Symphony New Hampshire Music Director - Orchestra Santa Monica Associate Conductor - Pacific Symphony Music Director - Pacific Symphony Youth Orchestra Co-Founder & Music Director - Lake George Music Festival

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