Our Season
2023-2024 season Dates
ALL MEETINGS WILL BEGIN AT NOON AT EMERSON UNITARIAN CHURCH UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED
October 3, 2022
President’s Meet and Greet
at the home of Jean Phillips
October 17, 2023
Moonlighting Composers
Speaker: Matt Delevoryas
October 31, 2023
From Golem to Frankenstein to Artificial Intelligence: The New Bogeyman
Speaker: Deborah Moran, Former Violinist, Houston Symphony
November 14, 2023
The Caroling of the Bells
Speaker: Bill Nave, Retired Director, Houston Bronze Ensemble
December 5, 2023
Holiday Chopin
Speaker: Meryl Ettelson, Pianist and HTMC Member
December 12, 2023
HTMC Holiday Luncheon at 10:30 am
at The Heights Women’s Clubhouse
Perfomance by the Houston Tuesday Musical Club Chorus
January 16, 2024
Your TOTAL ECLIPSE Playlist
Deborah Moran, Former Violinist, Houston Symphone
January 30, 2024
TBA
John L. Cornelius, II, Composer and Pianist
February 13, 2024
Just the HTMC Performers, Please!
Performances by Various HTMC Members
February 27, 2024
Piano Tuning
Molly Mayfield, Clarinetist… and Piano Tuner
March 13, 2024 (Wednesday)
Musicale Special at Emerson Unitarian Church - NOON
Featuring American Soprano, Melissa Givens
March 26, 2023
Music and the Mind
Whitney Morelli, Board-Certified Music Therapist, Harmonic Health Music Therapy
April 16, 2024
The Death and Life of PDQ Bach
Speaker, Peter Schaaf, Pianist and Photographer
Performances following the talk will include the HTMC Chorus and others
April 30, 2024
Spring Luncheon
featuring the Winners of the Rochelle Liebling Kahan Competion and the Burr Competition
Houston Junior League, at 10:30 AM
2023-2024 Speaker Bios
Matthew Delevoryas
October 17, 2023 noon
Music and mathematics are two of the four subjects of the medieval quadrivium along with geometry and astronomy. On October 18th we will delve into how mathematics infuses every aspect of music from how we hear scales and harmonies to why an oboe sounds different from a violin to how you calculate how to play John Cage's "As Slowly as Possible" TRULY as slowly as possible.
Matthew Delevoryas graduated from Rice University with a degree in mathematics with his physics coursework coming in a strong second. He did get some musical experience also as a clarinetist in the Marching Owl Band (also known affectionately as the MOB). For most of his career he worked as a systems programmer on mainframe computers. After that his love of sport fencing took over and he trained to become one of the few Level I armorers in the U.S., the highest qualification to repair the electrical scoring equipment and weapons. He currently works for Salle Mauro, Houston Athletic Fencing Center, and Alliance Fencing of San Francisco in this capacity. He is also an avid classical music listener. In addition he is an accomplished amateur astronomer and enjoys bicycling and backpacking.
DEBORAH MORAN, Former VIOLINIST, Houston Symphony
OCTOBER 31, 2023, january 16, 2024 noon
Deborah Moran was a member of the Houston Symphony violin section for 27 years. She first started studying violin in Midland, TX but credits the extensive music education in Houston, TX after she moved here at the age of 12 for steering her in that direction for a career. In Houston she studied with Houston Symphony violinist Elizabeth Mosny and was concertmaster of the Texas All-State Orchestra in 1974. She studied with Stephen Clapp at the University of Texas for two years before moving on to Juilliard at his suggestion to finish her BM and MM under Ivan Galamian and Margaret Pardee. After a short period of freelancing in Houston she joined the Symphony in 1983 and remained until 2010. Currently she is co-programmer for the Houston Tuesday Musical Club along with pianist Gayle Martin.
Outside of music, she is an active amateur astronomer involved in outreach, a telescope operator at the George Observatory in Brazos Bend State Park and a light pollution activist with an educational website called www.softlighthouston.com. She also loves all things space and aviation and moonlighted as a NASA test subject for a number of years including participating in simulated zero-G flights.
Bill Nave, Retired director, houston bronze ensemble
NOVEMBER 14, 2023, noon
Bill Nave is a lifelong music educator whose experience ranges from directing high school marching bands to leading community and church handbell groups. He holds a Bachelor of Music Education and Master of Education degrees from Southwestern Oklahoma State University in Weatherford, OK. He earned a Master of Music from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, TX.
Before his retirement from teaching in the summer of 2019, Bill taught band, choir and general music at elementary, intermediate and high school levels. The last 21 years, he worked as a music specialist using the Orff approach at Briargrove Elementary. In addition to his public school experience, Bill has been active in church and community groups. At Houston Baptist University, he was an adjunct professor of music education and handbell pedagogy, and he directed the University Bells. He was handbell director for many years at South Main Baptist and St. Luke’s Methodist Church in Houston. He has presented workshops for bell choirs in the Houston area, The Greater Houston Handbell Association, Texas Choral Directors Association convention in San Antonio, TX and the Handbell Musicians of America, Area 9 workshop in Conroe, TX. In 2008, he co-founded Bayou City Bells, and for 8 years was the Artist Director for The Houston Bronze Ensemble.
He has been named “Teacher of the Year” twice at Briargrove Elementary in Houston and once at Decker Prairie Elementary School in Tomball, TX. He has twice served as President of the Texas Gulf Coast Orff Association and while teaching he was an active member of the American Orff-Schulwerk Association, Texas Music Educator’s Association and Handbell Musicians of America. In his spare time, Bill likes to garden, play the guitar and piano, compose music, listen to a variety of music and podcasts, travel, and go hiking in the mountains.
Meryl Ettelson
December 5, 2023, Noon
Meryl Ettelson made her debut as soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra at age thirteen. At fourteen she gave her first recital at the Philadelphia Conservatory, where she was a student of Annetta Lockhart. At the New School of Music, she studied chamber music with Jascha Brodsky, first violinist of the Curtis String Quartet. In her teens she commuted regularly to New York City to study with Eugene Helmer. At Indiana University, where Ettelson pursued her Bachelor, Master, and Doctoral degrees in piano performance, she was awarded the Performer's Certificate in recognition of her outstanding musical abilities. Her teacher there was Sidney Foster.
Ms. Ettelson has taught at the University of Delaware, Hiram College, the University of Akron (Ohio), and Del Mar College (Corpus Christi). Ms. Ettelson came to Houston to be on the faculty at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, where she remained for 9 years. From 2001-2004 she was a staff accompanist at the Moores School of Music. From 2004-2016 she was the pianist of the White Oak Trio, performing regularly in Texas and surrounding states. Ms. Ettelson lives in the Meyerland area. She has a studio in her home where she teaches private students.
John L. Cornelius, II, Composer & Pianist
January 30, 2024
Noon
A member of ASCAP, John Cornelius’ output includes musicals, operas, chamber works, orchestral works, and song cycles. Having been the music director/ arranger/composer for a number of theaters including the Ensemble Theater of Houston, Adventure Theater in Glen Echo Park, Main Street Theatre (Houston), Theater Under the Stars (Houston) and Theater Under the Stars’ Humphreys School of Musical Theater, he has also written, along with his collaborator, Michael J. Bobbitt, several works for the lyric theater including, The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars and Motor Kings, The Stephen Schwartz Project, Mirandy and Brother Wind, Say It Ain’t So!, The Yellow Rose of Texas and Going the Distance, a commission from the Smithsonian Institute, about the lives and careers of Wilma Rudolph and Jesse Owens. Mirandy and Brother Wind received a 2010 NEA grant, premiered in 2011 in Washington, DC and is published by New Plays for Young Audiences. His latest theatrical works, Three Little Birds, adapts the catalog of Bob Marley into a modern fairy tale and Garfield: The Musical With Cattitude. He has written a number of works exploring the legacy of the African-American spiritual: Lis’en to de Lam’s, a work for soprano duet and piano, Three Spirituals for Tenor and Strings, My Kinfolks Got Wings (woodwind quintet), Conversion, a cycle for Tenor and chamber ensemble and a host of choral settings. Of his chamber works, Charles Ward in the Houston Chronicle wrote, “The highlight … was a set of three spirituals arranged for tenor and string orchestra by composer John Cornelius. In O Fix Me, the juxtaposition of an elegant, long melody floating over a sharp, jazzy string riff was electric. “ His most recent works include Chansons Creoles, a song cycle whose text is by gens de colour of 19th-century Louisiana, Sonata of Attitudes for 2 Horns and Piano, The Kashmere Cycle, a song cycle commissioned by Houston Grand Opera’s HGOCo., Fulfilled, a Passion Week cantata, What Wings They Were, a commission from HGOCo, Magnificat, Mary’s Song of Joy for First Presbyterian Church of Kingwood, TX, Cowboy Songs for Tenor and Piano, Sweet Freedom’s Song for Bass, Violin and Piano, Colored Carnegie (dance suite) and Pax for Tenor, String Quartet and Spoken Word. Currently a Professor of Music at Prairie View A&M University, Dr. Cornelius is a native of Jackson, Mississippi and received his B. M. in Piano Performance from Jackson State University, a M. M. in Piano from Washington University in St. Louis and his M. M. and D. M. A. in Composition from Rice University.
Molly Mayfield, Clarinet
February 27, 2024
noon
Molly Mayfield, Registered Piano Technician, has been tuning pianos in the greater Houston area for the last 24 years. She received her Master’s Degree in both Piano Technology and Clarinet Performance from the Shepherd School at Rice University. She has tuned for Houston Grand Opera, the Houston Symphony, and the Houston Ballet, as well as HSPVA and many other performing arts organizations in Houston. She is also a freelance clarinetist and enjoys collecting folk instruments from around the world.
Musicale - melissa givens, american soprano
wednesday March 13, 2024 (NOte special day)
noon
American soprano Melissa Givens moves and excites audiences and critics alike with a rich, powerful tone, crystalline clarity, and intelligent musical interpretations. Especially noted for her expressiveness and elegance on the stage, she’s been hailed as a singer whose music making is “consistently rewarding” and “a pleasure to hear.” Givens is also an extremely versatile artist, regularly performing repertoire from the Baroque era through music of the 21st century.
Recent performances include the solo recital Out of the Shadows: Art Songs by Black Composers, as well as Unity: Songs of Invitation with Conspirare, the premiere of Dear Lieder, by frequent collaborator Tom Flaherty (with Pomona College faculty and guest artists), and the premiere of Eric Banks’s To Be a Stranger with Ensemble Diaspora. Upcoming events include the chamber music recital Love's Joys, Life's Shadows: Songs Among Friends, a duet recital with baritone Timothy Jones, and the release of her second solo recording, The Artist at Fifty, a recital of art songs from the composers’ fiftieth year.
A champion of collaborative musical endeavors, Givens performs with various chamber music groups, including Conspirare, the 2015 Grammy© winner for Best Choral Performance. Her solo appearances on their major label releases have received enthusiastic reviews. She can also be heard on her debut solo CD, let the rain kiss you.
Givens is an Assistant Professor of Voice and Head of Voice Studies at Pomona College. She earned a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the Moores School of Music at the University of Houston, a Master of Music from the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, and a Bachelor of Arts in Music from Davidson College. She is a native of Buffalo, New York.
Whitney Morelli,
Music Therapist & Educator
March 26, 2024
Noon
Whitney Morelli is the music therapist and music educator at The Parish School. She works with students of all levels in the classroom setting, as well as individual students in a short-term therapy setting. Whitney holds a bachelor’s degree in music from Virginia Commonwealth University and a master’s degree in music therapy from Illinois State University. She is a board-certified music therapist and has additional certification in Neurologic Music Therapy.
Whitney worked at The Parish School as a seasonal music therapist in 2019. Prior to joining the team full time in 2022, she worked as a clinician in both inpatient and outpatient settings, serving patients across the lifespan with a variety of cognitive, motor, and speech-language needs. Whitney is from Virginia and currently lives with her partner and three pets, which bring her immense amounts of joy and laughter. She is passionate about increasing access to music therapy treatment across the region via education and advocacy at the state and national levels.
Whitney continues to play music as a member of the bass section in the Texas Medical Center Orchestra.
Peter Schaaf, pianist & Photographer
April 16, 2024
noon
The great composer and humorist Peter Schickele, the brain(?) behind PDQ Bach passed away this year. HTMC member pianist and photographer Peter Schaaf will reminisce about his long association with Peter Schickele and how he made some of the most famous photographs used on PDQ Bach album covers and concert announcements. Then we will endure some of the most boneheaded performances of PDQ Bach's music, if you can call it that, and perhaps a bit of the far more talented Peter Schickele.
HTMC Annual Luncheon and concert featuring winners from the Burr and Kahan competitions
april 30, 2024
10:30 AM
houston junior league
Join us for our annual Spring Luncheon, where we will socialize, have lunch together and enjoy the music from the winners of the Kahan and Burr Competitions. Tickets available online or by contacting Kim Weill, Treasurer.