Houston Symphony

The Houston Symphony is an American orchestra based in Houston, in the U.S. state of Texas. Since 1966, it has performed at the Jesse H. Jones Hall for the Performing Arts in downtown Houston.

The first concert of what was to become the Houston Symphony took place on June 21, 1913, sponsored by the Houston philanthropist Ima Hogg. Initially, the orchestra was composed of only 35 part-time musicians. Despite its small stature and budget, the orchestra and its first conductor, Julien Paul Blitz, enjoyed a good response and continued to perform. Blitz conducted until 1916, then Paul Bergé, until the orchestra disbanded in 1918.

The orchestra reformed in 1930, still as a semi-professional orchestra, and gave its first full season of concerts the following year conducted by Uriel Nespoli. In the spring of 1936 the symphony society officially became the Houston Symphony Society. Ernst Hoffmann began his tenure that year with increased support from the Society and began hiring professional musicians. The orchestra continued to expand over the next several decades, and its first 52-week contract was signed in 1971.

Houston

Houston (ⁱ/ˈhjuːstən/ HYOO-stən) is the most populous city in Texas and the fourth most populous city in the United States. With a census-estimated 2014 population of 2.239 million people, within a land area of 599.6 square miles (1,553 km²), it also is the largest city in the Southern United States, as well as the seat of Harris County. It is the principal city of Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land, which is the fifth most populated metropolitan area in the United States.

Houston was founded in 1836 on land near the banks of Buffalo Bayou (now known as Allen's Landing) and incorporated as a city on June 5, 1837. The city was named after former General Sam Houston, who was president of the Republic of Texas and had commanded and won at the Battle of San Jacinto 25 miles (40 km) east of where the city was established. The burgeoning port and railroad industry, combined with oil discovery in 1901, has induced continual surges in the city's population. In the mid-twentieth century, Houston became the home of the Texas Medical Center—the world's largest concentration of healthcare and research institutions—and NASA's Johnson Space Center, where the Mission Control Center is located.

Houston station (Texas)

Houston is an Amtrak intercity train station in Houston

History

The present Houston station, which opened on October 26, 1959, was built by the Southern Pacific Railroad to replace Grand Central Station, which was just east of the present station. That station operated from September 1, 1934 until the property was sold to the U.S. Government in 1959 to become the site of the Houston main post office. Grand Central Station had replaced the original Houston & Texas Central depot of 1886. When Amtrak was created it was one of two stations in Houston that served Amtrak trains, the other being Union Station, now part of Minute Maid Park. All Amtrak trains moved to Southern Pacific Station by the end of July 1974, and all trains were canceled or rerouted out of Houston except the Sunset Limited. This station continued to be owned and operated by the Southern Pacific Railroad after the creation of Amtrak, and has been owned and operated by the Union Pacific Railroad since the merger of Southern Pacific and Union Pacific.

Houston (Means I'm One Day Closer to You)

"Houston (Means I'm One Day Closer to You)" is a song written by Larry Gatlin and recorded by American country music group Larry Gatlin & the Gatlin Brothers Band. It was released in September 1983 as the first single from the album "Greatest Hits Vol. II" then included to first track of "Not Guilty" (1984). "Houston (Means I'm One Day Closer to You)" was the group's third and last number one on the country chart. The single went to number one for two weeks and spent a total of fifteen weeks on the country chart.

Chart performance

References

External links