WEEK 1

SHARON LEY LIETZOW PIANO SERIES

HieYon Choi

Thursday, June 4 | 7:30 PM
Dudley Recital Hall

Pianist HieYon Choi, praised for performances of “extraordinary clarity and poetic imagination,” opens the Sharon Ley Lietzow Piano Series with a sweeping program that spans centuries of piano repertoire. The centerpiece is Schubert’s final piano sonata, the Sonata in B-flat major, D. 960, a vast and luminous masterpiece written in the final months of the composer’s life. Choi also explores the dazzling colors of Debussy’s Études and the virtuosic modern brilliance of South Korean composer Unsuk Chin’s Six Études. The recital launches the Texas Music Festival with a journey through the piano’s expressive universe.

CHAMBER MUSIC SERIES

Festival Faculty and Fellows

Friday, June 5 | 7:30 PM
Dudley Recital Hall

Festival faculty artists join a select group of Texas Music Festival’s exceptional young fellows for a playful and imaginative evening that offers audiences a first glimpse of the musical month ahead. At the center of the program is Till Eulenspiegel Einmal Anders!, Franz Hasenöhrl’s witty chamber reimagining of Richard Strauss’s beloved tone poem, which transforms the full orchestral showpiece into a delightfully mischievous work for five instruments. The concert also features Edward Elgar’s Piano Quintet, a sweeping and mysterious masterpiece that reveals the composer’s richly expressive chamber music voice. By turns humorous, dramatic, and virtuosic, this opening chamber concert introduces the festival’s faculty and fellows while setting the stage for the musical adventures of the weeks to come.

ORCHESTRAL SERIES

FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA OPENING CONCERT
Franz Anton Krager, Conductor
Wonkak Kim, Clarinet

Saturday, June 6 | 7:30 PM
Moores Opera House

The Texas Music Festival Orchestra launches the summer with a thrilling program led by conductor Franz Anton Krager. Clarinetist Wonkak Kim performs Dancing Light, a vibrant concerto by Houston composer Peter Lieuwen, alongside Richard Strauss’s mischievous tone poem Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks. The concert culminates in Stravinsky’s Petrushka, a tragi-comic, technicolored musical folktale about a puppet who falls in love with a ballerina—one of the revolutionary ballet scores that changed the course of twentieth-century music. Performed by TMF’s all-star orchestra of young professionals from around the world, the concert sets the stage for a month of transformative music-making.

SPECIAL EVENT: FREE

Cynthia Woods Mitchell / Ima Hogg Competition Finals

Sunday, June 7 | 2:00 PM
Dudley Recital Hall

One of the most exciting traditions of the Texas Music Festival, the Cynthia Woods Mitchell / Ima Hogg Competition Finals showcases the extraordinary talent of the festival’s young artists. Selected fellows compete for the opportunity to perform a concerto with orchestra at the festival finale. Audiences hear remarkable performances from musicians who represent the next generation of international soloists. The evening offers a thrilling glimpse into the future of classical music.

WEEK 3

Mozart Mini-Festival!
June 16 - 23, 2026

Want some joy? Want some elegance? Want some passion?
TMF gives you Mozart.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart composed many of history’s most beloved and enduring musical masterworks. Over four Mozart Mini-Festival programs, our fellows and faculty bring this extraordinary music to life. From a solo piano transcription of Mozart’s complete Requiem, to the radiant “Jupiter” Symphony, to the rarely heard Gran Partita (famously featured in the film Amadeus), the Mozart Mini-Festival showcases the artistry and collaboration of Texas Music Festival fellows alongside extraordinary guest artist mentors like piano virtuoso Vadym Kholodenko.

SHARON LEY LIETZOW PIANO SERIES

Vadym Kholodenko

Tuesday, June 16 | 7:30 PM
First Presbyterian Church, Galveston, Texas

The Texas Music Festival’s Mozart Mini-Festival opens with an extraordinary and rarely heard experience: Mozart’s Requiem performed on solo piano. In this virtuosic transcription by Karl Klindworth, the drama and spiritual intensity of Mozart’s final masterpiece emerge with startling intimacy. Pianist Vadym Kholodenko brings his celebrated artistry to this monumental work. The performance launches a week-long celebration of Mozart’s enduring genius. This performance will take place in one of Texas' most extraordinary architectural landmarks, the stunning sanctuary of the 1872 First Presbyterian Church in Galveston, Texas.

SHARON LEY LIETZOW PIANO SERIES

Vadym Kholodenko

Thursday, June 18 | 7:30 PM
Dudley Recital Hall

Gold Medalist of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, Vadym Kholodenko is celebrated worldwide for playing of fearless virtuosity and deep musical insight. His recital features one of the most astonishing feats in piano literature: Franz Liszt’s transcription of Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique, a Romantic orchestral blockbuster transformed for ten fingers. Kholodenko also performs Mozart’s Requiem in a rare and powerful solo piano transcription. Part of the festival’s Mozart Mini-Festival (June 16–23), this recital reveals the piano’s astonishing ability to evoke entire orchestral worlds.

CHAMBER MUSIC SERIES

Chamber Orchestra Concert

Saturday, June 20 | 7:30 PM
Moores Opera House

During the festival’s Mozart Mini-Festival, musicians perform in conductor-less chamber orchestras that highlight collaboration and virtuosity. Pianist Vadym Kholodenko joins the ensemble for Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21, one of the composer’s most beloved works, famous for its luminous lyricism. The program also features Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 4, led by acclaimed early music scholar and performer, Matthew Dirst, and culminates in Mozart’s triumphant “Jupiter” Symphony, whose dazzling contrapuntal finale crowns the composer’s symphonic achievements. The evening showcases the artistry and versatility of the festival’s extraordinary young musicians and faculty artists.

WEEK 4

CHAMBER MUSIC SERIES

Festival Faculty and Fellows

Tuesday, June 23 | 7:30 PM
Dudley Recital Hall

The chamber music series concludes with one of Mozart’s most beloved masterpieces, the Serenade in B-flat major, “Gran Partita.” Scored for an expanded wind ensemble, the work unfolds with operatic drama, radiant melodies, and the famous Adagio movement that has captivated audiences for centuries. Faculty artists perform alongside the festival’s outstanding fellows. The concert provides a luminous finale to the Mozart Mini-Festival.

SHARON LEY LIETZOW PIANO SERIES

Adam Golka

Thursday, June 25 | 7:30 PM
Dudley Recital Hall

Houston-born pianist Adam Golka, acclaimed for playing that blends intellectual depth with poetic sensitivity, returns home for the Sharon Ley Lietzow Piano Series. Golka has earned an international reputation for thoughtful interpretations and bold programming that illuminate both beloved masterpieces and hidden gems. His recital offers audiences the chance to hear one of Houston’s own artists on the international stage. The performance provides a reflective and virtuosic moment late in the festival season.

ORCHESTRAL SERIES

FESTIVAL FINALE
Rebecca Miller, Conductor

Saturday, June 27 | 7:30 PM
Moores Opera House

The Texas Music Festival concludes with a celebration of everything the festival’s young musicians have achieved during their month in Houston. Conductor Rebecca Miller leads the orchestra in Elgar’s Symphony No. 1, a sweeping work of noble themes and emotional grandeur that became an instant international triumph. The concert also features the winner of the Cynthia Woods Mitchell / Ima Hogg Competition, performing a concerto with orchestra. Music by Gabriela Lena Frank, the acclaimed composer with roots at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, adds vibrant contemporary color to this triumphant finale.