ROCO Revelry Gala Opens Season at ARTECHOUSE Houston

Houston's chamber orchestra ROCO is throwing open the doors of a 26,000-square-foot digital art museum in The Heights on September 26 for Revelry, a gala that doubles as the launch party for its 22nd season. The $350-a-ticket evening at ARTECHOUSE Houston, located at 600 W. 6th St., follows a 5 p.m. concert called Eyes on the Horizon and folds in two world premieres, three honorees, and a orchestra that's been quietly building one of the more prolific new-music track records in the country. The pairing of a 40-member chamber orchestra with a facility built for immersive projection art is not incidental. According to CultureMap Houston, Revelry takes place at ARTECHOUSE Houston and follows the Eyes on the Horizon concert, with Delyana Lazarova conducting ROCO's chamber orchestra for the evening. ARTECHOUSE Houston opened in June 2024 as the technology-driven organization's fourth flagship location nationwide, a permanent home for large-scale digital installations since the company's 2015 founding in Washington, D.C. The concert preceding the gala centers on a pair of world premieres, both from ROCO's roster of new commissions. Composer and saxophonist Alison Shearer's piece The Light Paintings projects abstract artworks created by her late father, LIFE photojournalist John Shearer, who was known for capturing civil rights moments in the 1960s, according to ROCO. The images were made during the final year of his life. The other premiere, composer Leanna Primiani's multimedia concerto VISIONS, carries national philanthropic weight behind it. It was co-commissioned through the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation Orchestral Commissions Program in partnership with the League of American Orchestras, a program that specifically backs new works by female composers, per the League of American Orchestras. Rounding out the Eyes on the Horizon program are Jonathan Peters' Sonus Colorum and film composer Nino Rota's rarely performed Symphony No. 3 in C Major, best known for his scores to The Godfather trilogy. Revelry celebrates three honorees pulled from different corners of Houston's cultural infrastructure, per CultureMap Houston: fashion designer Chloe Dao, law firm Munck Wilson Mandala, and outgoing ROCO managing director Amy Gibbs. Dao, who receives the Wildcatting in the Arts Award, gained national prominence after winning Season 2 of Bravo's Project Runway in 2006 and now runs her boutique design studio in Houston's M-K-T development in The Heights, according to her Wikipedia profile. Munck Wilson Mandala, an intellectual property and AI-focused law firm, receives the Corporate Pillar of the Arts award. Its Houston managing partner, John Cain, has served as a trusted advisor and board supporter for ROCO, the orchestra notes. Gibbs, meanwhile, served as ROCO's long-time managing director before stepping into a new role in June 2026 as Program Officer for Arts & Culture at the Houston Endowment, one of Texas's largest grantmaking foundations. ROCO, which describes itself as Houston's chamber orchestra, has commissioned more than 150 world premieres since its founding in 2005, making it one of the most prolific commissioners of new classical music in the United States. Revelry effectively launches the orchestra's 22nd season, titled ROCO Odyssey, which features seven world-premiere commissions staged across Houston venues including Miller Outdoor Theatre, Zilkha Hall, and the Ismaili Center. ROCO has already been rolling out that season's nomadic approach. Hoodline previously reported on the orchestra's free concerts at the Ismaili Center and on a Zilkha Hall program that let the audience help steer a live concerto by composer Austin Wintory. The orchestra also builds in family access on gala night: its ROCOrooters program, running alongside the 5 p.m. concert, offers up to five hours of certified childcare, music lessons, and a concert hall visit for children aged 2 months through fifth grade. Organizers note that, like any outdoor or large-scale gathering, the event is subject to change due to weather or other concerns. Tickets for Revelry are $350, with the full lineup and honoree details available through ROCO's own event listing.