ROCO recently announced its 21st season, driven by artistic collaborations, filled with world premieres and punctuated by performances in unique venues. Themed Season of the Senses, the upcoming year will present evocative new works and immersive soundscapes by the great composers of present day paired with reimagined classics.
“We have been told so many times that our concerts are a full body experience,” said Alecia Lawyer, ROCO’s founder and artistic director, referencing the group’s de facto motto of “you’ve never heard a feeling like this.” “We’ve heard people say that [phrase], and so we started leaning into that concept — you don’t just come and witness —so I think that’s part of what this [theme] means.”
This year’s lineup includes 14 commissioned world premieres and rescores, a composer-in-residence and another chapter in the ROCO’s ongoing story of showcasing the most fun an audience can have with classical music.
ROCO will have premiered 162 commissioned works by living composers by the end of this season, which is an accomplishment that Lawyer feels is central to the organization’s raison d’être.
“So many of the [commissions] just kind of snowballed in the best way,” she said. “I feel like the mission that we’re on of seeking out the Bachs, Beethovens and Bondses of our time and finding ways to find these composers that lean into the genre-defined world that I see for ourselves…I feel like contemporary composers now have [so many] opportunities.”
Mei-Ann Chen will return to the conductor’s podium this season with ROCO.
Photo by Violeta Alvarez
The season is telling stories that matter with people who matter, including composer-in-residence Kevin Lau.
The recipient of the prestigious 2025 Johanna Metcalf Performing Arts Prize, Lau has been commissioned by some of Canada’s most prominent artists and ensembles. A prolific composer of orchestral, chamber, ballet, opera and film music, he served as Affiliate Composer of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) from 2012 – 2015; to date, he has produced eight works for the TSO. He has composed three original ballets for companies including the National Ballet of Canada, National Arts Centre and Bravo Niagara!. His music can be found on 13 commercial recordings, and his seven string quartets have been championed globally by internationally renowned ensembles.
This is not ROCO’s first brush with Lau. He is the same composer for a ROCO-commissioned work that was adapted to a children’s book, “The Nightingale.” He will kick off the first concert with the world premiere of his clarinet concerto that details the arc of birth, life and death. Lau will also write an epic piece for the full orchestra inspired by C.S. Lewis’ fantasy novel series, “The Chronicles of Narnia.”
Other notable people involved in the season are conductors Delyana Lazarova and Mei-Ann Chen and three guest concertmasters: Margaret Batjer, Laura Frautschi and Tereza Stanislav.
As technology marches forward, so does ROCO by embracing the digital age. It is now enabling audiences anywhere, in person or livestreaming, to view the sheet music to scores and parts in the ROCO Mobile App during concerts.
“We encourage people to bring tablets. The app helps the audience to have another pathway to multiple layers of experiencing our concerts,” Lawyer said. “What if you played flute in high school and you want to follow along with that? You’re able to choose your instrument and almost choose your musical adventure.”
The 2025-26 season is as follows:
‘Feels Like Home’
7:30 p.m., September 26 at Miller Outdoor Theatre, 6000 Hermann Park
5 p.m., September 27at The Church of St. John the Divine, 2450 River Oaks
Season of the Senses Soirée
7:30 p.m., September 27 at Artechouse, 600 West 6th
Unchambered Series concert
5 p.m., October 11 at Julia Ideson Library, 550 McKinney
Celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Julia Ideson Library, with a ROCO-commissioned world premiere based on its WPA murals
‘Fragrant Memories’
5 p.m., November 1 at The Church of St. John the Divine, 2450 River Oaks
Classic films with live scores performed by ROCO
8 p.m., November 14 at The River Oaks Theatre, 2009 West Gray
Classic films with live scores performed by ROCO, including “The Immigrant” (Charlie Chaplin), “Liberty” (Laurel & Hardy), and Disney’s Silly Symphony “Music Land.”
‘Make a Joyful Noise’
6:30 p.m., December 4 at Padre’s Wine Bar, 3522 White Oak
Adult Instrument Zoo and Wine Night
‘Beer & Brass’
6:30 p.m., January 7, 2026 at Saint Arnold Brewing Company, 2000 Lyons
Featuring the ROCO Brass Quintet
Connections Series concert
5 p.m., January 24, 2026 at Holocaust Museum Houston, 5401 Caroline
Featuring and curated by Vijay Gupta, violin & Alexis Gerlach, cello
‘Do You Hear What I Hear?
5 p.m., February 7, 2026 at The Church of St. John the Divine, 2450 River Oaks
Unchambered Series concert
5 p.m., February 28, 2026 at St. Francis Episcopal Church, 345 Piney Point
Celebrating St. Francis’s 75th anniversary
Connections Series concert
5 p.m., March 28, 2026 at Asia Society Texas Center, 1370 Southmore
Celebrating Japan’s Expo 2025
‘Seeing Is Believing’
5 p.m., April 18, 2026 at The Church of St. John the Divine, 2450 River Oaks
Connections Series concert
5 p.m., May 2, 2026 at Artechouse, 600 W 6th
12 p.m., May 5, 2026 at MD Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe
As part of the center’s Music-in-Medicine Initiative, this neurofeedback collaboration includes the research of Rice University professor Anthony Brandt, featuring pianist Dr. Mei Rui.
ROCO’s 2025-26 season runs September 26 through May 5 at various locations.Tickets to ROCO concerts follow a pay-what-you-wish model. The ‘Season of the Senses Soirée’ takes place at 7 p.m. at Artechouse, 600 West 6th with single tickets for $300 and tables ranging from $2,500-$50,000. ‘Make a Joyful Noise’ takes place at 7 p.m. December 4 at Padre’s Wine Bar, 3522 White Oak with single tickets for $45.To purchase concert tickets or for more information, call 713-665-2700 or visit ROCO.org.