Join the Galveston Symphony Orchestra (GSO) and the acclaimed Houston Brass Band (HBB) for Masterworks II: Brass & Bow, a stirring tribute celebrating the 200th anniversary of Norwegian immigration to the United States. This historic joint performance is also a nod to the 45-year sister city bond between Houston, Galveston, and Stavanger, Norway.

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A Historic Collaboration

This vibrant, wide-ranging program will unleash the full might of both ensembles united on stage. This concert marks a number of firsts:

• It is the Houston Brass Band's first collaboration with a full symphony orchestra.

• It will be the Houston Brass Band's debut performance at The Grand 1894 Opera House.

• The Galveston Symphony Orchestra will be conducted by

 

Trond Sæverud, who is the grandson of the famous Norwegian composer Harald Sæverud. Mr. Sæverud is the GSO's conductor and music director. The Houston Brass Band will be led by its Music Director, Dr. Rick Spitz.

 

Galveston, once known as the Ellis Island of the West and the second largest immigration hub after Ellis Island, is a natural location for this concert, as many Norwegian emigrants arrived here.​

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Program Highlights

The concert features Norwegian music and works dedicated to the 200-year anniversary of Norwegian emigration. Both groups will perform together to open the concert with Dmitri Shostakovich’s "Festive Overture" and close the evening with Halvorsen’s "Entry March of the Boyars" (Bojarernes Intogsmarsche).

 

The program also includes the world premiere of "The Crossings". Commissioned by the Bands Executive director of Youth Outreach Programs, Russell Gray, the Houston Brass Band will perform the world premiere of British composer Rodney Newton’s “The Crossings”. This piece celebrates the 200th anniversary of Norwegian emigration (1825).

 

"The Crossings" is intended as an anthem for all people of all nationalities who emigrated to America by crossing the Atlantic Ocean. It is a rewriting of an older piece by Rodney Newton called

“Long Ships,” which was originally commissioned in 2000 to celebrate the Viking explorers who made landfall in North America in the year 1000. "Long Ships" was never published.

 

Don't miss this powerful celebration of cultural ties and musical brilliance!