Preview: Brett Mitchell returns to the Houston Symphony for a special collaboration

Brett Mitchell will lead a collaboration between the Houston Symphony and the One O’Clock Lab Band in April 2023.

HOUSTON — The Houston Symphony has announced that Brett Mitchell will return for the second time in the 2022-23 season to lead a special collaboration in April 2023:

The University of North Texas’s world-famous One O’Clock Lab Band joins the Houston Symphony and renowned saxophonist Chris Potter for this one-night-only special event! Hear John Williams’s Escapades, a suite for alto saxophone and orchestra based on the popular soundtrack to Catch Me If You Can… To close, the worlds of jazz and classical music collide with a world-premiere work composed by One O’Clock Lab Band® director, Alan Baylock.

The Katy News has published a brief preview of this collaboration:

Committed to exploring and showcasing a wide array of musical genres, the Houston Symphony is combining forces with the University of North Texas’ renowned One O’Clock Lab Band for a unique and memorable evening of jazz and jazz-influenced music-making, Thursday, April 13, 2023 at 7:30 p.m. in Jones Hall.

Houston favorite Brett Mitchell, returning again this season after leading the Symphony in the score of Disney’s Fantasia Thanksgiving weekend, leads this special concert that culminates in a world premiere performance: a special work composed by famed jazz composer and One O’Clock Lab Band Director Alan Baylock for One O’Clock Lab Band, the Houston Symphony, and saxophone soloist Chris Potter to perform together.

Also on the program, the Houston Symphony performs John Williams’s Escapades for Alto Saxophone and Orchestra, composed for the Steven Spielberg film Catch Me If You Can, employing the progressive jazz style of the ‘60s in which the film was set.

To learn more and purchase tickets, please click here.