Artist Led; Artist Curated
Kinetic Ensemble
Kinetic is a conductorless ensemble of 16 young, professional musicians committed to amplifying diverse, underperformed, and newly-composed classical music in and beyond Houston, Texas, through intensely collaborative chamber and orchestral ensemble performances.
Who We Are
Dubbed “Best Chamber Orchestra of 2023” by the Houston Press, the artist-led, artist-curated Kinetic Ensemble has gained increasing national recognition as an innovative and dynamic force in Houston’s music scene, and an important advocate for the diversification of classical music repertoire.
Critics say our performances are “first class,” and call the ensemble “a credit to Houston.”
Audiences rave that we “approach music with wonder and curiosity,” making classical music “accessible to someone without music education.”
Composers with whom we have worked report that they have “seldom felt so well-represented in their music,” and that our collaborations were “a pivotal moment in their growth.”
What We Do
We perform concerts and make recordings that strengthen the fabric of our cultural landscape. In doing so, we uplift the voices of emerging composers, unearth hidden gems of the string orchestra repertoire, and gather the most compelling new music from across the globe to share with our Houston community.
Kinetic Ensemble began in 2015, and we are proud to look back upon the achievements of our first decade: 50 performances in and beyond Houston that included the premiere of more than 30 new works of music; a roster of incredible guest artists like Clarice Assad, Sasha Cooke, and Miguel Zenón (above); and appearances on 5 albums, including our chart-topping debut of 2023.
2025-2026 Season Highlights
September 26, 2025: Notes Unspoken at MATCH, featuring Alex Berko, Natalie Lin Douglas, and Sebastian Stefanović.
January 10, 2026: Miguel Zenón: Yo Soy La Tradición at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts, featuring Miguel Zenón, in partnership with Aperio, Music of the Americas.
March 28, 2026: The Strangers’ Case at MATCH, featuring Karim Al-Zand and Karim Sulayman, in partnership with Musiqa.
Who We Serve
The vision for Kinetic Ensemble has always been that of an artist-focused and Houston-centered ensemble that brings our community together in a meaningful way to experience dynamic musical performance. Ours is a community of adventurous listeners, of groundbreaking composers and collaborators, of eager young artists, and, most importantly, of friends. Through our concerts, commissions, educational workshops, and recordings, we create spaces where artists and listeners alike can learn from and inspire one another.
What one listener has identified as our “collaborative, entrepreneurial, and adventurous spirit” extends to more than just our artists: our audiences are hungry for something new, fresh, unexpected; their feedback shapes our programming, and has led to some of our most successful commissions and premieres to date.
To quote another of our listeners, “I love how creative every show is. Kinetic was my first classical music experience and I have been a fan since!”
Support Kinetic:
Kinetic is a 501(c)3 non profit organization committed to amplifying diverse, under-represented, and newly composed classical music to communities in and beyond Houston, Texas. Support Kinetic with an online donation today.
