Houston, Texas – August 27, 2023—Symphony North of Houston announced appointment of conductor, Karl Blench.
Symphony North of Houston is please to introduce Dr. Karl Blench as its newly appointed principal conductor. Last season Dr. Blench conducted the Winter and Early Spring concerts and was selected by the members and board of directors of Symphony North as its principal conductor. The concert schedule for 2023-2024 can be found at our schedule page. Our concert venue is Salem Lutheran Church in Tomball, Texas. Admission to our concerts is by donation at the door, or you may donate online.
Karl Blench is a Houston-based conductor, composer, and educator. He received his undergraduate degrees in music education and music theory from the University of New Hampshire. He made the move to Texas in 2005 after being a middle school music teacher to attend Rice University for his master’s and doctorate degrees in music composition. Dr. Blench has lead various groups as a guest conductor, including the University of New Hampshire Wind Ensemble and Symphony Orchestra, and the Prairie View A&M University Choir. He also has an extensive history leading premieres of new works by both professional and student composers.
As a composer, Dr. Blench’s music is known for making “Texas-sized statements” and for being “heartbreakingly beautiful.” He fully arranged the Houston-based Axiom Quartet’s debut album in 2018. This album garnered highly positive reviews from The WholeNote and American Record Guide. Other notable performances of Blench’s work include the Indianapolis Symphony, the University of Houston Wind Ensemble, the University of New Hampshire Wind Ensemble, Duo Dramatique, The h2 Saxophone Quartet, and the Shepherd School of Music Symphony and Chamber orchestras. Blench’s works have also been performed in Carnegie Hall multiple times as well as the Kennedy center.
Dr. Blench is the recipient of the 2010 ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composers Award and the 2011 Marilyn K. Glick Young Composers Competition. He also won the 2018 Frame Dance Composers Competition. Blench worked with novelist Dan Brown, author of “The Da Vinci Code,” to orchestrate and arrange Brown’s music for the book, “Wild Symphony.” Recordings of his work can be found on the Navona and Innova labels.
For More Information:
| Email: | |
| Phone: | (281) 803-9127 |
| Mail: | 21175 State Highway 249 No. 222 Houston, TX 77070-1655 |
| Web: | https://symphonynorth.org |
| Donate: | https://symphonynorth.org/donate/ |
| Concert Venue: | Salem Lutheran Church 22601 Lutheran Church Rd Tomball, TX 77377 |
