Rice University's Shepherd School of Music releases 2023-24 schedule

The Shepherd School of Music at Rice University announced a comprehensive listing of key performances for the 2023-24 season. With more than 400 performances slated, it’s the first time the Shepherd School released the schedule at the same time it unveiled a new season brochure and redesigned events website, according to an Aug. 31 news release. 

“With Rice University enjoying its most selective admission year ever for incoming students, the Shepherd School continues to be a destination for some of the finest musical talent in the world,” Shepherd School Dean Matthew Loden said in the release. 

Six world-renowned conductors will helm the Shepherd School Symphony and Chamber Orchestras and new Shepherd School director of opera studies Joshua Winograde will oversee the fall production of “Eugene Onegin” and a pair of spring productions in “Dido and Aeneas” and “The Rape of Lucretia,” the release reported.

The new season provides patrons a chance to watch Shepherd School Symphony and Chamber Orchestra concerts as they occur live on music.rice.edu, with each performance capped by a post-show dialogue with Loden and guest artists, the release said.

Pulitzer Prize and Grammy-winning composer Kevin Puts is serving as the Shepherd School’s guest composer-in-residence for the season and the Shepherd School Contemporary Ensemble with perform a concert consisting of his works, according to the release.

Loden is expecting a lot of great things from the Shepherd School this season, the release reported.

“The quality of music making at the Shepherd School of Music has never been better, and we couldn’t be more excited to unveil our 2023–24 season,” he said in the release. “From world premiere collaborations to free chamber music out in the community to celebrated repertoire and new voices, the Shepherd School is showcasing the best and brightest in classical music today. We can’t wait to host our beloved patrons from Houston and around the world as we present many of the most outstanding musicians of our time.”