Musiqa

05/22/2026

We are thrilled to be named Hobby Centers ‘Houston Is Inspired’ residency next season to premier two chamber operas by Anthony Brandt and Pierre Jalbert. Tickets are now on sale 🎫

Hey, Houston! Our new 2026-2027 Houston Is Inspired series is built for you, with bold performances by Houston artists. Experience music, dance, storytelling, and contemporary performances, offering you a deeper connection to our city and its creative community.

Three-show packages start at just $49. Single tickets are also on sale now!

https://www.thehobbycenter.org/houston-is-inspired-2026-2027-series/

04/28/2026

What happens when a storyteller, bat, alligator, raccoon, and elephant queen meet on stage?

THE SOUND OF HOUSTON!!
🎵 🦇 🐊 🦝 🐘

Meet the cast for “The Sound of Houston”, a brand-new musical and educational play co-created by Creative Education Director and for Musiqa!

“The Sound of Houston” premieres this Thursday, April 30 for the 140 third graders of Parker Elementary!

Theo Chandler : composer, narrator 🎵
Sarah Dyer-Jones : mezzo-soprano, bat 🦇
Caio Diniz : cellist, alligator 🐊
Nanki Chugh : creative director, scriptwriter, violinist, raccoon 🦝
Maiko Sasaki : clarinetist, elephant queen 🐘

04/18/2026

We’re thrilled to learn that Oswald Huỳnh, our 2022 Emerging Composer fellow, has been selected for the 2026 Guggenheim fellowship in music composition! Congratulations Oswald on this incredible accomplishment!

03/30/2026

Recording session with the Karim’s was 🔥

03/28/2026

Exciting sounds from today’s rehearsal of The Strangers’ Case. Join us tomorrow for the world premiere and experience it live. Get your tickets now - link in bio.

03/17/2026

Gearing up for Karim Al-Zand's World Premiere of the Strangers Case with Kinetic Ensemble and the Karim Sulayman. Tickets are Pay-What-You-Can and available now👇
https://matchouston.org/events/2026/strangers-case

On March 28, Musiqa and Kinetic Ensemble partner to present the world premiere of Canadian-American composer Karim Al-Zand's The Strangers’ Case. The GRAMMY® award-winning, Lebanese-American tenor Karim Sulayman joins the ensemble for this song cycle for tenor and string orchestra that gathers poems and other turn-of-the-century accounts by immigrants to the United States, and situates them among texts from canonically venerated authors including Shakespeare and Dickinson.

In Al-Zand’s words, “The Strangers’ Case aims to remind us of our shared history, fraught as it is with contradiction, filled with both selfless generosity and selfish indifference. By using text materials that span diverse nationalities, stories, voices and historical periods, The Strangers’ Case aims to make a case of its own: though our commitment to immigrants and refugees has been equivocal, nonetheless their success forms the basis of American strength and renewal. As the child of an immigrant, I believe this sort of consciousness-raising is the only way forward. And as an artist, I believe that music is an ideal spark to kindle the altruism in our better natures.”

Get your tickets to the premiere here: https://matchouston.org/events/2026/strangers-case

03/09/2026

Here's another chance to catch Free Rein - a live collision of music, dance, and neuroscience, with live visualizations of brain data during the performance. Featuring Musiqa, NobleMotion Dance, University of Houston's Nordin Lab, and the University of Georgia's Creativity and Imagination Lab.

Two recent New York Times articles also spotlight Artistic Director Anthony Brandt's work connecting music and science - including bringing EEG imaging to the concert stage and what musical variations can tell us about the creative brain.

Fri, March 13 | 7:30 pm
Lois Chiles Studio Theater - Moody Center for the Arts (Rice University)

Free dinner at 6:30 pm + free parking with registration: delange.rice.edu

Learn more about Anthony's work in the New York Times - link in bio.

Photos by Lynn Lane

01/26/2026

We're hiring!

Development Manager (PT or FT) to lead fundraising for Musiqa.

What you'll do:
• Lead individual giving, corporate sponsorships, and grant writing
• Build and manage a donor pipeline
• Plan major benefit events and donor engagement
• Maintain development operations and CRM systems

What we're looking for:
Development professionals and artists/musicians who love connecting with people and want to support contemporary music.

Ideal fit: 2+ years nonprofit development experience, natural connector, comfortable making the ask, organized and systems-minded.

Hybrid-remote (Houston-based). Part-time (30hrs) or full-time (40hrs). Competitive compensation based on experience.

Apply: [email protected]
https://bit.ly/musiqa-dev-manager

01/23/2026

Weather update for Free Rein: Due to the anticipated severe weather this weekend, NobleMotion Dance and Musiqa have made the decision to move their matinee from Sunday at 2 PM to Saturday at 2 PM and cancelling our Saturday night performance. We would love to see full houses enjoying the incredible work the artists have put into creating this exciting and uplifting show. We hope you will choose one of these 2 performances for Free Rein:

Friday, January 23 @ 7:30 PM
Saturday, January 24 @ 2:00 PM

Musiqa and NobleMotion Dance, known for their innovative collaborations, present Free Rein - a fusion of music, dance, multimedia design, and cutting-edge neuro-engineering. Performances run January 23-25, 2026, at MATCH-Midtown Arts and Theater Center Houston. The evening features music by Anthony....