Mercury kicks off Bayou Theater season with 'Music Among Friends

August 16, 2022 | UHCL Staff

When musicians get together to perform just for fun, something enchanting happens. The Bayou Theater at University of Houston-Clear Lake will open its 2022-23 season as it always does—with a magical performance by Mercury Chamber Orchestra, Friday. Sept. 2 at 7:30 p.m. 

The concert, aptly titled “Music Among Friends,” features many of Mercury’s favorite selections performed by a 15-piece string orchestra and a percussionist. 

“This program brings in the new season in a really gentle way, with a program based on romantic music from the ‘salon,’” said Mercury’s Artistic Director Antoine Plante. 

The salon, Plante explained, refers back to a time in Paris when there was no television or radio, and people had a dinner party and then afterwards, sat around the piano, pulled out the violins, and played together. 

“That’s the atmosphere of this concert,” he said. “That’s the idea of the title. We are gathering together to do beautiful live music.”

The selections begin with bits from the Gershwin opera, “Porgy and Bess,” a piece from Edward Elgar, and some waltzes by Shostakovich and Tchaikovsky. “We’ll also have a bit from Beethoven, the most famous melodies from ‘Fur Elise,’ and we’ll go with some French music from ‘Clair de Lune’ by Debussy,” Plante said. “Then we’ll add some tango and some gypsy music, too.”

The performance ends with a selection from film composer Ennio Morricone, who famously wrote over 400 scores for television and cinema. “That selection is a surprise, we will not mention it,” he said. “You must come to the show to find out what it is.”

For tickets, or for more information about events in the Bayou Theater, go online.