The Houston Symphony has announced that it will perform its scheduled concerts this weekend, with no disruption to its 2024 Summer Symphony Nights at Miller Outdoor Theatre.
“Thanks to the tireless work of Houston First and the staff of Miller Outdoor Theatre in the wake of Hurricane Beryl, the Houston Symphony’s free performances at its Summer home, Miller Outdoor Theatre, this weekend and next will go on as planned,” stated the organization in a press release.
According to its Facebook page, Miller Outdoor Theatre did not experience any damage from Hurricane Beryl, “except for a few downed trees,” and the orchestra was able to rehearse at the venue this past Wednesday.
Now in its 83rd year, the Summer Symphony Nights at Miller Outdoor Theatre series is a local tradition of free family-friendly concerts, often introducing audiences to acclaimed, rising conductors and soloists making their Houston Symphony debuts.
This summer, the series kicked off on July 4th with Houston Symphony’s annual Star-Spangled Salute concert. On July 8th, Hurricane Beryl made landfall along the Texas coast, impacting the Greater Houston region and leaving more than 2.2 million Houston-area residents without power at its peak outage. As of Friday morning, roughly 870,000 CenterPoint Energy customers are still without electricity.
The Houston Symphony’s remaining summer concerts will continue as scheduled on Friday, July 12 (American Masterworks), Saturday, July 13 (Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5), Friday, July 19 (Enigma Variations), and Saturday, July 20 (Haydn & Dvorak).
These free performances begin at 8:30pm at Miller Outdoor Theatre, with open seating available on the hill and reserved, covered seats available under the pavilion. Free tickets for covered seats can be reserved online and are also released an hour before the performance at the box office.
Miller Outdoor Theatre stated that it hopes that these free concerts will offer Houstonians some relief from a difficult week: “We’ve all been through a lot in the last few days … So, no matter your situation, know that you are more than welcome for some incredible respite here at Miller – for FREE!”
Jones Hall, the orchestra’s home during its regular season, also did not sustain any major damage during the hurricane, according to Houston First, the corporation that manages more than 10 city-owned facilities. Houston First further confirmed that none of its venues, including those in the Theatre District, experienced any significant impact from the storm.
Houston Arts Journal 