The Houston Symphony Chorus, the official choral unit of the Houston Symphony, is led by Dr. Charles Hausmann. It is a chorus of volunteer singer-musicians who are committed to rehearsing and performing the choral-orchestral repertory at the highest level of choral artistry. In addition to presenting an annual schedule of concerts in Jones Hall with the Houston Symphony, the Chorus has toured Europe several times and performs regularly in Mexico City with the Orquesta Sinfónica de Mineriá.
The group, originally known as the Houston Chorale, was founded in 1946 by Alfred Urbach, then principal cellist of the Houston Symphony. The Chorale made its debut with the Houston Symphony in 1949 with a performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. This inaugurated what was to be a lasting relationship, one that has produced hundreds of memorable performances of the great choral masterworks led by some of the world's leading conductors. In 1986, the Chorale was renamed the Houston Symphony Chorus.
Our director: Dr. Charles S. Hausmann
Dr. Hausmann - HSC's director - has prepared and conducted the Chorus
for more than 500 concerts. Since he became director of the Chorus in 1986, he
has collaborated with many of the world’s great conductors, including Hans Graf,
Christoph Eschenbach, Claus Peter Flor and Robert Shaw. His extensive repertoire
list includes most of the major choral/orchestral masterworks.
As Director of Choral Studies and Professor of Conducting at the University of Houston’s Moores School of Music, Dr. Hausmann directs the masters and doctoral programs in choral conducting, conducts the Moores School Choral Artists (a graduate chamber choir), and oversees the activities of the department. Choirs under his direction have performed for conventions of the Music Educator’s National Conference and the American Choral Director’s Association. He also serves as Director of Choral Music at Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church.
He has conducted numerous concert tours throughout the United States, Europe and Mexico. In 2007 Dr. Hausmann led the chorus on its fourth European tour where he appeared as guest conductor on the Prague Spring Festival and with the Budapest Concert Orchestra and the Symphonie-Orchester der Wiener Volksoper. He and the Chorus also share a 20-year collaboration with Mexico City’s Orquesta Sinfónica de Minería. He frequently appears as a guest conductor, lecturer, and clinician.
Our assistant director: Paulo Gomes
Mr.
Gomes holds a Master of Music in
Choral Conducting from Boston University where he received the
Departmental
Honor Award for outstanding achievement, studying with Dr. Ann Howard
Jones, David Hoose and Craig Smith. In fall of 2009, he
started
his Doctoral of Musical Arts at the University of Houston under the
guidance of Dr. Hausmann. Mr. Gomes is the Assistant Director of
the Houston Symphony Chorus and the Moores School of Music Choral
Artists.
Mr. Gomes has served as a visiting professor of Director of Choral Activities at Clark University and Worcester State College in Massachusetts. He has also been a long-time music educator in Massachusetts, Texas and Brazil. In 2003 Mr. Gomes was awarded Teacher of the Year by his faculty peers at Worcester Public Schools. He has also lectured for Massachusetts ACDA on Brazilian choral music and served as choir director/organist in the Northeast of the USA.
Mr. Gomes has conducted the Boston University Concert Choir and Women’s Chorale, UMass Concert Choir, Worcester State Chorale, and Clark University Choir. He has prepared the Worcester State Chorus for the Verdi Requiem presented by the Choruses of Worcester Consortium at Mechanics Hall. He served also as an assistant conductor of the UMass Wind Ensemble and Symphony Band in 2004 under the guidance of Dr. Laura Rexroth.
Originally from Brazil, Mr. Gomes has conducted in his country, Italy and the United States. In 1992 he received a second prize on the “Premio Vicenzo Valenti” conducting the orchestra and choir Josquino Salépico in Molffetta City, Italy. Other mentors are Dr. Joseph Flamerfelt, Dr. Wayne Abercrombie, Dr. Eph Ehly, Katalin Kiss, Roberto Duarte, Sergio Magnani, and Carlos Alberto Pinto Fonseca. Mr. Gomes was an assistant conductor at the Municipal Theater in Sao Paulo during the 1997-1998 season where he had the opportunity to work with professional singers such as Aprile Millo, Samuel Ramey, and Fernando Portari in the production of the operas Un Ballo in Maschera, Elisir D’Amore, Otello, Aida, and Fidelio. Mr. Gomes is a member of American Choral Directors Association, the College Music Society, and the National Music Honor Society, Pi Kappa Lambda.