The Houston Symphony Chorus, the official choral unit of the Houston Symphony, is led by Dr. Charles Hausmann. It is a chorus of volunteer singer-musicians who are committed to rehearsing and performing the choral-orchestral repertory at the highest level of choral artistry. In addition to presenting an annual schedule of concerts in Jones Hall with the Houston Symphony, the Chorus has toured Europe several times and performs regularly in Mexico City with the Orquesta Sinfónica de Mineriá.
The group, originally known as the Houston Chorale, was founded in 1946 by Alfred Urbach, then principal cellist of the Houston Symphony. The Chorale made its debut with the Houston Symphony in 1949 with a performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. This inaugurated what was to be a lasting relationship, one that has produced hundreds of memorable performances of the great choral masterworks led by some of the world's leading conductors. In 1986, the Chorale was renamed the Houston Symphony Chorus.
Our director: Dr. Charles S. Hausmann
Dr. Hausmann - HSC's director - has prepared and conducted the Chorus
for more than 500 concerts. Since he became director of the Chorus in 1986, he
has collaborated with many of the world’s great conductors, including Hans Graf,
Christoph Eschenbach, Claus Peter Flor and Robert Shaw. His extensive repertoire
list includes most of the major choral/orchestral masterworks.
As Director of Graduate Choral Studies and Professor of Conducting at the University of Houston’s Moores School of Music, Dr. Hausmann directs the masters and doctoral programs in choral conducting, conducts the Moores School Choral Artists (a graduate chamber choir), and oversees the activities of the department. Choirs under his direction have performed for conventions of the Music Educator’s National Conference and the American Choral Director’s Association. He also serves as Director of Choral Music at Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church.
He has conducted numerous concert tours throughout the United States, Europe and Mexico. In 2007 Dr. Hausmann led the chorus on its fourth European tour where he appeared as guest conductor on the Prague Spring Festival and with the Budapest Concert Orchestra and the Symphonie-Orchester der Wiener Volksoper. He and the Chorus also share a 20-year collaboration with Mexico City’s Orquesta Sinfónica de Minería. He frequently appears as a guest conductor, lecturer, and clinician.
Our assistant director: Kevin M. Klotz
Texas-born conductor Kevin M. Klotz received his Bachelor of
Music degree in Piano Performance from Houston Baptist University and his
Master of Music degree in Choral Conducting from the Moores School of Music at
the University of Houston. In the fall of 2009, he began coursework in
the Doctor of Musical Arts program in Choral Conducting at the Moores School of
Music, under the direction of Dr. Charles Hausmann. Mr. Klotz is the recipient of both music and
academic scholarships, including a teaching assistantship that allows him to
serve as the assistant director of the Houston Symphony Chorus.
In addition to his doctoral study, Mr. Klotz is in his
thirteenth year as a full-time music minister at St. Laurence Catholic Church
in Sugar Land, where he directs and leads three choral ensembles for Sunday
masses and provides music for major liturgies and other activities at the
parish. In 2002, he founded the St.
Laurence Chamber Singers, an auditioned choral ensemble dedicated to the
performance of sacred classical music. As
music director and conductor of this ensemble, Mr. Klotz has presented in
performance numerous choral-orchestral works including Vivaldi’s Gloria and
Magnificat, Handel’s Messiah, Schubert’s Mass No. 2, and Requiem Masses by
Mozart, Cherubini, Fauré, and Duruflé.
In 2011, the St. Laurence Chamber Singers were honored to be a
participating ensemble in a massed choir performance of Haydn’s Lord Nelson
Mass at Carnegie Hall.
In 2008, Mr. Klotz was invited to serve as the principal
conductor for the dedication Mass of the new Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart
in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston where he directed the 150-member
festival chorus and orchestra. This
monumental event was televised live on ABC Channel 13 Houston.
Mr. Klotz has served as the conductor of the Sugar Land
Choral Society since its first concert in 2009.
In addition to performing at various venues throughout the city, this
ensemble served as the resident chorus at the Imperial Theater in the Sugar
Land Town Square. In 2010, Mr. Klotz was invited to be the guest conductor of
the Alief School District Fall Choral Concert, leading nearly 200 high school
choral and orchestral students in a performance of Mozart’s Requiem.
Additionally, Mr. Klotz has served on the faculty at Wharton County Junior
College where he taught courses in musicology and assisted with the choral
ensembles.
Mr. Klotz has attended choral conducting workshops at Westminster Choir College and the René Clausen Choral School. He is an active and participating member of American Choral Directors Association, Texas Choral Directors Association, and National Pastoral Musicians.