Houston Symphony Upcoming Events & Tickets
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Houston Symphony 2025-26 Season Info
The Houston Symphony has unveiled its 2025-26 season under Music Director Juraj Valčuha, now in his fourth season leading the orchestra. The programming offers a full calendar of classical and POPS concerts, world premieres, superstar guests, vocal performances, family concerts, and special themed occasions. In keeping with the upcoming 250th anniversary of the United States in 2026, every classical and POPS concert in the calendar year features at least one American composer, work, or musical element.
The season opens at Miller Outdoor Theatre on September 12, 2025, where Valčuha will conduct a free concert featuring works by Ginastera, Revueltas, Ravel, and Bernstein. Shortly after, on September 19-21, the official opening concert takes place at Jones Hall, including the choral work Psalm 47 by Florent Schmitt, the world premiere of Liberty Bell by Julia Wolfe (a Houston Symphony co-commission), and Stravinsky’s The Firebird Suite.
Some highlights in the classical subscription series include Mozart & Bruckner led by Christoph Eschenbach in late September, piano programs with Jean-Yves Thibaudet and Hélène Grimaud in October, and a mini-festival in November called “Composer as Hero,” where Juraj Valčuha leads works by Britten, Shostakovich, and others.
In early 2026, the Symphony presents its “Doomed Lovers Festival,” a multi-weekend event exploring romantic tragedy in music. It includes Symphonie fantastique, Romeo and Juliet Overture Fantasy, and the dramatic Act II of Tristan und Isolde. Guest soloists and orchestra debuts are part of this festival, adding depth to the programming.
Beyond the classical series, the POPS concerts return with thematic evenings: music of Elvis in King for a Day, a holiday tradition with Very Merry POPS, jazz-influenced nostalgia in A Nat King Cole New Year, Piano Man: The Music of Billy Joel, and a family film-in-concert event with Disney’s Fantasia.
The family-friendly PNC Family Series includes concerts for younger audiences throughout the season. Among them: a Halloween concert, a holiday sing-along with Santa, a multimedia presentation called When Instruments Roamed the Earth, and Abracadabra! A Magical Musical Adventure. These are designed to introduce orchestral music in engaging, accessible ways.
With this season, the Houston Symphony aims to blend tradition with innovation — celebrating American musical heritage, introducing new works, spotlighting leading soloists, and providing musical experiences for people of all ages in and around Houston.
Houston Symphony 2025-26 Tickets Info
Tickets for Houston Symphony 2025-26 live performances are available now through EventsChaser, with NO hidden service fees. Prices generally range from $70 to $165 for most classical and pops concerts, depending on seat location, program, and performance day. Premier events featuring world-renowned soloists or large-scale works can reach $220 or more for top-tier seating, reflecting the scale and demand of those performances. Mid-range seats are often available between $85 and $135, offering strong acoustics and clear views inside Jones Hall.
Family concerts and thematic events typically fall on the lower end of the pricing scale, with a range of entry points designed to welcome audiences of all ages. Film concerts with live orchestration, holiday programs, and festival-style performances tend to command higher pricing tiers, consistent with production values and audience interest. Overall, the season provides a wide spectrum of ticket costs, ensuring opportunities for both dedicated concertgoers and first-time attendees to experience live symphonic music in Houston.
About Houston Symphony
The Houston Symphony is one of the oldest performing arts organizations in Texas, founded in 1913. Based at Jones Hall in downtown Houston, the orchestra has grown from a small regional ensemble into a nationally and internationally recognized institution. Over more than a century, it has performed a wide range of repertoire — from classical masterworks to contemporary premieres — while also collaborating with artists across genres including jazz, pop, and film. Its long history reflects Houston’s development as a cultural hub and the orchestra’s role as a cornerstone of the city’s arts community.
Education and community engagement are central to the Symphony’s mission. Through programs for students, neighborhood concerts, and initiatives aimed at underserved communities, the orchestra reaches tens of thousands of young people each year. These efforts are designed to foster lifelong appreciation for music, inspire the next generation of musicians, and make orchestral experiences accessible beyond the concert hall. The Symphony also embraces multimedia presentations and cross-disciplinary projects to connect with diverse audiences in fresh and engaging ways.
Artistically, the Houston Symphony has been shaped by a distinguished line of conductors, including Sir John Barbirolli, Leopold Stokowski, Christoph Eschenbach, Hans Graf, and Andrés Orozco-Estrada. Each has left a unique mark on the ensemble’s sound and direction, guiding it through international tours, recordings, and commissions of new works. Today, the orchestra is recognized not only for its polished performances of traditional repertoire but also for its commitment to innovation, ensuring that it remains both rooted in classical tradition and responsive to the evolving cultural landscape.
