Lisa Houston

Lisa Houston is a feature contributor to Classical Singer magazine and San Francisco Classical Voice, and the founder of SingerSpirit.com, a website for singers.

Articles By This Author

Lisa Houston - March 23, 2010

Cellist David Requiro lives in New York City, where he plays with the critically acclaimed Jupiter Symphony Chamber Players. The Oakland native has performed with numerous local orchestras, as well as the Tokyo Philharmonic, National Symphony Orchestra, and Symphony Pro Musica in Boston. He has debuted at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center. This week, he joins his long-time collaborator, pianist Miles Graber, for a concert as part of the Noe Valley Chamber Music Series.

Lisa Houston - February 21, 2010
Chad Hoopes

A 15-year-old from Cleveland is coming to town to join the California Symphony in a program titled, simply, “Virtuosity.” The concerts on March 7 an

Lisa Houston - December 16, 2009

Jeffrey Thomas is preparing American Bach Soloists for their two performances of Handel’s Messiah at San Francisco’s Grace Cathedral this weekend. He is also writing a book on Handel’s masterpiece, leading the ABS into new educational territories (including a summer training program), and finding time to create the occasional chilled-avocado and seafood soup.

Lisa Houston - December 1, 2009
With an abundance of choices for choral music this season, you might want to mark your calendar for “Canción de Navidad,” the Dec. 12 and 13 concerts of Clerestory, a relative newcomer to the Bay Area’s choral scene.
Lisa Houston - October 27, 2009

A perfect evening at the Symphony or a dazzling night at the Opera might begin with a new outfit, a trip to the barber, and, once you’re properly outfitted, dinner out. Whether having hors d’oeuvres and cocktails with friends, or a fine meal at a restaurant near the concert hall, you can be sure that many of your fellow diners are headed for the same enjoyable evening that you are. But once you’ve soared on the golden wings of Puccini or Mahler, you might find yourself unceremoniously dropped into the less than majestic scene of San Francisco’s Civic Center after 11 p.m.

Lisa Houston - September 29, 2009

This week Bay Area music lovers can look forward to two events featuring the music and scholarship of baritone Thomas Hampson. Tuesday evening, he will be joined at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music by curators from the Library of Congress to discuss their collaboration celebrating the history of American song.

Lisa Houston - September 22, 2009

A night like this could get to be a habit. Saturday’s simulcast of San Francisco Opera’s Il trovatore was the seventh free, live simulcast in a tradition instituted by General Director David Gockley in 2006 and the fourth to be held at AT&T Park. The staid glamour of the opera house was happily exchanged by many for a jovial, picnic setting and a ticket price that can’t be beat. (It’s free.)

Lisa Houston - September 21, 2009

Christine Brewer is coming to town. Her upcoming recital for Cal Performances on Sept. 27 will feature the music of Berg, Strauss, and Britten, along with some old chestnuts favored by big-voiced sopranos of the last century. She was happy to be back home in St. Louis for a couple of weeks, as I caught up with her to chat about her life as world-class dramatic soprano, mother and ...
Lisa Houston - July 31, 2009
Raised in Sacramento, and an alumnus of both the Merola program at San Francisco Opera and the Resident Artist training program at Opera San José, bass Kirk Eichelberger now sings lead roles with opera companies throughout the U.S. He is currently in rehearsal to play Mephistopheles in Festival Opera’s production of Faust.
Lisa Houston - July 27, 2009
This weekend, you can take a picnic, and bring as many friends as you like to enjoy a free performance in Berkeley’s John Hinkel Park. This might evoke memories for some of a small artistic collective that began in 1974 and has now grown to become Cal Shakes. But the latest free show to encourage lovers of the performing arts is called Open Opera. Founded in 2008 by Olivia Stapp. Ellen St.