2025—2026
Our newest concert season in Houston features soloists Natalie Lin Douglas, Sebastian Stefanović, Karim Sulayman, and Miguel Zenón; and presents world premieres from Karim Al-Zand, Alex Berko, and Miguel Zenón.
More events will be added throughout the season, from free community events to our neighborhood chamber music series: stay tuned!
Notes Unspoken
Friday, September 26, 7:30pm
MATCH
Artistic Director Natalie Lin Douglas and Kinetic violist Sebastian Stefanović take center stage in this season opening concert that captures the inventiveness, virtuosity, and powerfully expressive capabilities of the string orchestra.
Miguel Zenón: Yo Soy La Tradición
Saturday, January 10, 7:00pm
Hobby Center for the Performing Arts
For one night only, the GRAMMY® winning, Guggenheim and MacArthur Fellow joins the ensemble for the world premiere of songs inspired by and written in honor of his native Puerto Rico, in a brand new version for saxophone and string orchestra. This concert is presented in partnership with Aperio, Music of the Americas.
Music in Medicine: Schubert’s “Trout”
Tuesday, January 27, 12:00pm
MD Anderson Cancer Center
The Music-in-Medicine Initiative, directed by Dr. Mei Rui, harnesses music to improve the health and wellness of patients, caregivers and health care providers at MD Anderson and beyond. Members of Kinetic Ensemble join Dr. Rui in an intimate, lunchtime performance of the chamber music of Franz Schubert and Harriet Steinke.
Dark Matter
Friday & Saturday, March 20 & 21, 7:30pm
Wortham Theater Center
As winners of Performing Arts Houston’s 2025/2026 New/Now award, we are thrilled to present the world premiere of Dark Matter, a concerto for flute and strings by composer Jaylin Vinson. This new work features flutist Tyler Martin, and takes inspiration from the speculative worlds of Octavia Butler, who redefined the boundaries of science fiction and, in so doing, offered expansive visions of Black futures.
The Strangers’ Case
Saturday, March 28, 7:30pm
MATCH
GRAMMY® winning tenor Karim Sulayman joins the ensemble for the world premiere of Karim Al-Zand’s new song cycle that sets the poetry of immigrants to the United States from the turn of the 20th century, on a program that includes Igor Stravinsky’s Apollon Musagète. This concert is presented in partnership with Musiqa.