Dine-and-Discover Meetings and Events
Our meeting date is the last Wednesday of the month. Special event dates will be announced. RSVPs are due by noon on the Monday prior to each meeting as online registration automatically closes at that time. If registration is closed and you find you can attend, please contact Mary Abshier to check on seating availability.
Below is a menu of programs that are sure to satisfy any intellectual appetite. Join HFCW’s meetings where lifetime learners gather. Be a part of our long history of sharing wit and wisdom with HFCW members and their guests since 1974.
Questions? Contact Mary Abshier at marketing@hfcw.org or 281-923-9241
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Wildcatting in the Arts!
Wednesday, August 28, 2019 @ 11:20 am - 1:00 pm
When one thinks of classical music, one usually thinks white, dead, and male. Alecia Lawyer brings us into the ROCOsphere where she will introduce you to diverse, dynamic, and sometimes exotic cultures in the new classical world.
You will see how creating community-specific and economically viable arts groups with dynamic and engaging people will deepen our experiences. ROCO (http://www.roco.org) has been called a trailblazer and arts disrupter and is leading the sector in innovation.
SPEAKER
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Alecia Lawyer was named by Musical America as one of classical music’s Top 30 Influencers for 2015. A Texas native, Alecia, is the Founder, Artistic Director, and Principal Oboist of ROCO (River Oaks Chamber Orchestra), a professional music ensemble that flexes from 1 to 40 musicians from around the US and Canada, including guest conductors from around the world. Expanding the repertoire, ROCO has commissioned and world premiered over 75 works from living composers. The group performs dozens of concerts annually in multiple venues throughout Houston, many of which are broadcast nationally and live streamed to the world. Known as “The Most Fun You Can Have with Serious Music!”
Calling her business model “Wildcatting in the Arts,” Alecia was named a finalist for Texas Musician of the Year (along with Willie Nelson) and was listed as one of Houston’s Top 50 Most Influential Women. She is a proud member of the Diversity Composer’s Database Executive Council and has received numerous awards, including the Gutsy Gal Award from Houston Woman Magazine and Sigma Alpha Iota Musician of the Year. She regularly presents her entrepreneurial model and dynamic ideas to conservatories, universities, and music festivals around the US, such as Juilliard, Yale, SMU, Round Top, and the Texas Music Festival, using ROCO as a case study for community-specific orchestra building. Business and social groups in the Greater Houston Area engage her to speak on numerous topics related to the creation, innovation, marketing, and development of the arts. After receiving her Masters from Juilliard and Bachelors from SMU, both in oboe, Alecia’s career has ranged from recording for John Cage and soloing with Rostropovich, to a contemporary chamber music recital at Carnegie Hall, live radio broadcasts in New York, and disc jockeying for KRTS-92.1FM, Houston, TX. Enjoying a year residency in France, she recorded with the Sorbonne Orchestra, performed recitals in Paris, and concertized with various orchestras and chamber groups in France and Germany. Alecia and her husband Larry have two fantastic sons, Jacob, 19 and Zachary, 16. |
If you plan to attend, please RSVP to marketing@hfcw.org.