Shepherd School of Music Unveils 2026–27 Season Programming

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Dean Matthew Loden and conductor Miguel Harth-Bedoya lead orchestral and opera programming in Houston.

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The Shepherd School of Music at Rice University has announced orchestral, chamber, opera, and faculty recital programming for its 2026-27 season. Following the landmark 2025-26 50th anniversary season, the Shepherd School puts its extraordinary students and faculty on full display in the 2026-27 season, which also includes a Texas Premiere and multiple World Premieres.

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'For this 2026-27 season, the Shepherd School has curated programming that will be invigorating both for our talented student performers and audiences alike,' said Shepherd School Dean Matthew Loden. 'With multiple premieres, stellar guest artists, and exciting collaborations across campus, this season positions Shepherd as a cultural leader in Houston's thriving arts scene.'

'The orchestral repertoire this season features works that I consider essential for launching our students into the professional orchestra world, but it is also world-class music that audiences anywhere would be lucky to hear,' said Distinguished Resident Director of Orchestras Miguel Harth-Bedoya. 'I am particularly excited to have some of my colleagues on the Shepherd faculty perform as soloists with the Shepherd School Orchestras, and to explore works from Mahler to Strauss, Tchaikovsky and new premieres. Our students will have the opportunity to work directly with performing faculty and living composers.'

'The two mainstage operas this season, while very different on the surface, both feature complex female protagonists, roles that are vocally and dramatically stimulating, and a compelling blend of tragedy and comedy that will be irresistible to audiences,' said Director of Opera Studies Joshua Winograde. 'Every year, we select operas tailored to the strengths of our incoming students, and I know that they are more than up for the challenge.'

Ten symphony and chamber orchestra concerts, all but one of which are conducted by Miguel Harth-Bedoya, featuring a balanced diet of repertoire spanning major works by Beach, Beethoven, Berlioz, Martinů, Mussorgsky, Tchaikovsky, and more. The Shepherd School Symphony Orchestra will perform Mahler's Symphony No. 1, 'Titan,' which marks the beginning of a planned multi-year journey through Mahler's symphonic output.

Shepherd faculty Jon Kimura Parker (Professor of Piano) and Erin Hannigan (Professor of Oboe) perform as soloists with the Shepherd School Orchestras, and guest conductor Michelle Di Russo (Music Director, Delaware Symphony) leads one Shepherd School Symphony Orchestra program.

Fully staged productions of Strauss's Ariadne auf Naxos (Christian Reif, conductor; Paul Curran , director) and the Texas premiere - and first-ever university performance - of Matthew Aucoin's Eurydice (Lina González-Granados, conductor; Matt Hune , director), presented by the Shepherd School Opera, helmed by Director of Opera Studies Joshua Winograde. Aucoin will come to Houston to work with students and give an Inside Opera pre-show talk. Opera students also perform on the Bel Canto Opera Scenes with the Shepherd School Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Miguel Harth-Bedoya.

Multiple concerts that highlight the extraordinary achievements of Shepherd students across disciplines. This season's offerings feature Shepherd School Concerto Competition winners Diego Jaquez (tuba), Max Milian (piano), Samantha Washecka (violin), and Marina Ziegler (violin), as well as Shepherd Master of Music in Orchestral Conducting students Kyle Haake, Clayton Hinton, and Ana Spasovska; World Premieres by alumni composers Jake Berran (winner of the 2026 Cooper Prize), Ethan Resnik, Gavin Sol Goodrich, and Yu-Shiuan Mei; and opera students.

World Premieres of Another Starry Night by Professor of Composition Pierre Jalbert (a Shepherd School 50th anniversary commission), with mezzo-soprano and Shepherd alumna Sasha Cooke joining the Shepherd School Symphony Orchestra, and Soft as the Massacre of Suns by Jeremy Gill, commissioned by Shepherd for oboe soloist Erin Hannigan with the Shepherd School Chamber Orchestra.

Visits by distinguished guest artists, who will share their expertise with Shepherd students and give public concerts, including Aleko Endowed Artist Julia Bullock , who will curate a special recital which she will perform alongside select Shepherd Opera students, and composer/vocalist Kate Soper (Shepherd BM '03), who will work with composition students over a three-day residency and perform with her New York Times Best Classical Music Ensemble, Wet Ink Ensemble.

Two Shepherd School Chamber Players concerts with repertoire ranging from J.S. Bach to Jennifer Higdon, plus two chamber music festivals that involve all Shepherd instrumental students and multiple programs of chamber music featuring winds, brass, and percussion.

Faculty recitals throughout the season and Sharing the Spotlight performances, in which Shepherd students share the stage with their faculty mentors.

The Adventurous Electric Guitar Festival, which explores contemporary electric guitar and electroacoustic performance through concerts, workshops, artist presentations, seminars, and community engagement events, presented in collaboration with Rice Electroacoustic Music Labs (REMLABS).

Family-friendly programming, including a holiday Spirit of the Season concert in December and a Family Concert by the Shepherd School Symphony Orchestra in February, featuring selections from Carlos Simon's Four Black American Dances and Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique.

The first year of a brand-new orchestral conducting undergraduate degree program, the only one of its kind in the nation, with two undergraduate students studying with Miguel Harth-Bedoya.

Free livestreams of most Shepherd School performances, including orchestra, chamber music, and faculty and student recitals.

The Shepherd School of Music provides a one-of-a-kind experience to its students: a world-class conservatory training with the opportunities and resources of a leading research university, pairing artistic mastery with academic rigor and curiosity. In just over half a century, Shepherd has become one of America's premier music schools, particularly renowned for its focus on ensemble building. With a student body capped at just 285, Shepherd students also reap the benefits of individualized attention from the school's stellar faculty, which comprises tremendously successful performing artists who have made a commitment to sharing their knowledge with the next generation.

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_Originally reported by [BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/houston/article/Rice-Universitys-Shepherd-School-Of-Music-Reveals-202627-Season-20260618)._