Famous Daughter — Whose Book Inspired the Awards-Season Darling 'Maestro' — Toasts Houston Music Org

Emily Jaschke
Famous Daughter — Whose Book Inspired the Awards-Season Darling 'Maestro' — Toasts Houston Music Org

Alecia Lawyer, ROCO Founder, and Jamie Bernstein

A SPECIAL GUEST attended Houston-based chamber orchestra ROCO’s annual holiday gathering. Jamie Bernstein, the daughter of composer Leonard Bernstein, attended the festive evening, which coincided with the release of the talked-about movie Maestro, starring Bradley Cooper as Leonard. (Cooper just received a Golden Globe nom for the role.)


Guests were excited to check out ROCO’s new home in the Edloe Forum, a beautiful and acoustically sound venue off of Buffalo Speedway, where they enjoyed light bites by Soren Pederson and vino courtesy of Gil Family Estates.

Jamie recently authored the book Famous Father Girl: The Intimate Memoir of Growing Up Bernstein, which inspired the motion picture. She participated in a conversation about the intersection of music, culture and creativity, and also gamely fielded questions during a lively Q&A following her presentation.

Another highlight of the evening was a performance by pianist Dehner Franks, who played his arrangements of West Side Story tunes.

Amy Gibbs, Beverly and Bill Coit

Toni Oplt and Ed Sneider

Beth Wolff and Jennifer Jacks

Carlos Ramos and Mark Sanders, Winnie and Edwin Sy, Larry Lawyer

Sonja Massak, Craig Miller, Bret Hammett and Diana Woodman

Edloe Forum

Steve Wyatt and Joyce Echols

Michael and Marcia Feldman

Dehner Franks

Kristie Peterman, Jane Johnson, Anite Jenson

Lori Gobillot, Mikey Brock, Ted Gobillot

Parties

Matthew Dirst (photo by Jacob Power)

FOR FANS OF early music — an often scholarly lot who aren’t afraid to wear their hearts on their sleeves — bad-boy Baroque-era painter Caravaggio certainly nailed something in his dramatic 1595 painting, “The Musicians.” (Simon Schama talks about this in his TV series The Power of Art.) One look at his masterpiece, and you feel as if you’ve stumbled upon and surprised a roomful of dewy-eyed musicians, their youthful faces swollen with melancholy, with the lutist looking like he’s about ready to burst into tears before he’s even tuned his instrument. So no, you certainly don’t need a Ph.D. to enjoy and be moved by the music of Handel, G.P. Telemann, or J.S. Bach, but a little bit of scholarship never hurt anyone. Knowing the history of this music may even deepen your appreciation of it.

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'A Hidden Agenda'

On Saturday, Jan. 6, artist-owned Archway gallery greets the new year with Inward Journey, an exhibition of unapologetically beautiful abstract paintings by Houston painter Mohammad Ali Bhatti.

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