Houston Civic Symphony

Ryu Goto has established himself as a significant voice in classical music, with a large and growing public in Asia, North America and Europe. Ryu’s career began at age seven when he made his debut at the Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo, Japan, playing Paganini’s Violin Concerto No.1. Since then, Ryu has appeared as a soloist with many of the world’s leading orchestras, including National Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic, Münchner Philharmoniker, Wiener Symphoniker, Sydney Symphony, The Philadelphia Orchestra, Orchestre national de Lyon, Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, Frankfurt Radio Symphony, Hamburger Symphoniker and Shanghai Symphony Orchestra. He has worked with conductors Lorin Maazel, Tan Dun, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Fabio Luisi, Leonard Slatkin, Kent Nagano, Myung-Whun Chung, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Andrés Orozco-Estrada and Jonathan Nott. Ryu has performed in many of the world’s most stigious venues, including Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, Tokyo Suntory Hall, Sydney Opera House, Shanghai Grand Theater, Taipei National Concert Hall, Vienna Musikverein, Munich’s Herkulessaal and the Philharmonic Hall Gasteig.

Ryu’s philanthropic work includes working with student musicians throughout the world, mentoring their development, conducting master classes in conjunction with the world’s top institutions. Efforts include the “Ryu Goto Excellence In Music Initiative Scholarship” with the NYC Department of Education, as well as collaborations with institutions like the Juilliard School and the Harvard Bach Society Orchestra. He does extensive musical outreach and cultural exchange in developing countries in Latin America, Southeast Asia and Africa.

In Japan Ryu’s features in media are numerous, including his own documentary “Ryu Goto’s Odyssey”, a chronicle of his career and personal life from 1996-2006. He also serves as spokesperson for the East Japan Railway Company with regular coverage on TV, radio and in print. Since October 2015, he has appeared weekly on TV Asahi as the host of Untitled Concert, a nationally televised program in Japan that has been listed in Guinness World Records as “the longest-running TV program for classical music.”

Ryu records for Deutsche Grammophon in collaboration with Universal Classics Japan. In May 2011 he graduated from Harvard University with a BA in Physics and is currently studying the violin with Prof. Ana Chumachenco. He is a member of US-Japan Council, and has accepted an award from the Japanese American Bar Association as a Japanese-American leader. He holds a 3rd degree black belt from the Japan Karate Association. He performs on the Stradivarius 1722 violin “Jupiter” on loan to him from Nippon Music Foundation.

@ September 2016

Each year the Houston Civic Symphony invites high school and middle school musicians to participate in its Young Artist Competition.  Each year we continue to be amazed to hear and watch student musicians from the Houston area and from around the state as they audition for in the competition.  Winners of competition will be featured in performance with the orchestra.  It is always an enjoyable and inspiring evening of great music and talented young people.

Photo by Kennon Evett

Brian Del Signore is the Principal Percussionist and Associate Principal Timpanist of Houston Symphony. Brian joined Houston Symphony in 1986. Prior to the Houston Symphony appointment, he held a one year position as principal percussionist of the Grand Rapids Symphony in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and performed with the Kalamazoo and Lansing symphonies while there. Before moving to Michigan, Brian performed in many orchestras in Pennsylvania and New Jersey including both the Pittsburgh Symphony and the Philadelphia Orchestra.

Born in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, Brian Del Signore earned a Bachelors of Fine Arts degree from Carnegie-Mellon University in 1981, where he studied with the Pittsburgh Symphony percussionists. In 1984, Mr. Del Signore earned a Masters in Music from Temple University where he studied with Alan Abel of the Philadelphia Orchestra. He began piano lessons at age six and drums at age eleven. His first drum teacher in the late 1960’s was Lou Carto, pop star Bobby Vinton’s drummer and bandleader at that time.

Besides keeping a very busy schedule with Houston Symphony performances, Brian maintains an education and outreach schedule, presenting educational percussion programs in elementary schools, and percussion clinics in high schools across the Houston area. “Digital Recording Tools for the Performing Musician” is a clinic and master class for college aged percussionists and musicians which explores the use of recording technology to critique and improve performance ability. This clinic and master class has been presented by Mr. Del Signore at various music schools around the USA including Baylor University, Texas A&M Commerce, Sam Houston State University, New England Conservatory, Boston Conservatory, Yale University, The Julliard School, Manhattan School of Music, NYU, Curtis Institute of Music, Temple University, Peabody Conservatory, Carnegie Mellon University, Cleveland Institute of Music, The Colburn School in Los Angeles, and San Francisco Conservatory.

Brian Del Signore endorses manufacturers of high quality percussion instruments and accessories. These companies: Remo Corporation, Sabian Cymbals, Pearl/Adams Percussion, ProMark Sticks, and Black Swamp Percussion, as well as The Houston Symphony League Bay Area support Mr. Del Signore’s educational and outreach programs. For more information on these educational programs please visit www.briandelsignore.com.

Brian and his wife Leah have three college aged children, Damian, Dominique and Dione,