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Press Releases
Apollo Chamber Players Presents EMPOWER
Apollo Chamber Players Presents EMPOWER
Featuring Emmy-Winning Composer Daniel Bernard Roumain’s
World Premiere Work And Still We Cross, a Powerful Reflection
on Migration and the Struggle for Freedom
Contemporizing the Legacies of Frederick Douglass and Booker T. Washington,
Through Their Living Descendant, Kenneth B. Morris, Jr.
Third in Four-part Concert Series Celebrating the Ideals of the
American Founding, in Run-up to 250th Anniversary
Saturday, February 7, 2026 | MATCH in Midtown | Houston, TX
“...a young, dynamic ensemble...creating programs in response to current events.” – NPR
“superb and out of this world” – Gramophone
“recasting music for a diverse and multi-ethnic generation” – Strings Magazine
Houston, TX (January 8, 2026) – Houston-based Apollo Chamber Players, Chamber Music America’s 2025 Ensemble of the Year, present EMPOWER, the third program in their season-long American Story series, on Saturday, February 7, 2026 at 7:30pm at Houston’s MATCH in Midtown. Celebrated for their “passion for new music and impressive virtuosity” (The Whole Note), Apollo will perform the world premiere of a new work, And Still We Cross, by the Emmy-winning Haitian-American composer and violinist Daniel Bernard Roumain. The program also features Felix Mendelssohn’s String Quartet in F Minor and Libby Larson’s Sorrow Song & Jubilee, a 2014 Apollo Chamber Players commission composed as an homage to Dvorák's work during his tenure as director of the National Conservatory of Music of America, where fellow composer Henry Thacker Burleigh introduced him to the African-American spirituals and dances that became a major influence in his music.
In his new work And Still We Cross, Roumain makes an artistic statement on migration and the enduring struggle for freedom through the vision of two rivers: the Ohio River, a key crossing point for American slaves on their journey north via the Underground Railroad; and the Rio Grande, a defining boundary for migrants from Latin America today. Composed in collaboration with Kenneth B. Morris, Jr., a descendant of both Frederick Douglass and Booker T. Washington, the work honors the legacies of both African-American luminaries, tracing their lasting imprint on history, education, and racial justice. This work for string quartet, SATB chorus, and narrator will be performed in its premiere by the Apollo Chamber Players alongside members of the Houston Chamber Choir – soprano Penelope Campbell, alto Natalie Broussard, tenor Wayne Ashley, and baritone Keaton Brown – with Morris serving as narrator. Kenneth Morris is the co-founder of the Frederick Douglass Family Initiative (FDFI) based in Rochester, NY, and he appears with Apollo representing FDFI as a program partner.
As a counterpoint to this reflection on migration and African-American heritage, the Felix Mendelssohn work draws on the life story of the composer’s grandfather, Moses Mendelssohn, whose role in the Jewish Enlightenment helped shape the ideals that guided America’s founders and later generations of moral leaders.
Following this penultimate program, the American Story series will continue with a final live program, VENTURE, at MATCH in Midtown Houston at 7:30pm on Friday, May 22, 2026.
Through its four themed programs, the American Story series traces the many threads of the nation’s identity as it approaches the 250th anniversary of its founding. In a thought-provoking journey through music, history, and storytelling, American Story reflects on the narratives that connect us, honoring the many voices that shape our history while looking ahead with hope toward a more inclusive and inspired future through the power of music.
American Story follows on the heels of Apollo’s We the People series presented in the 2024-2025 season as a reflection on American democracy: its triumphs, its shortcomings, and the imperative of preserving its ideals for future generations. The program was cited in Apollo Chamber Players’ selection as Chamber Music America’s 2025 Ensemble of the Year, an honor presented to ensembles exemplifying “exceptional artistry, musicality and groundbreaking impact on the chamber music landscape.” Apollo founder, Artistic Director and violinist Matthew J. Detrick reflected on the series’ message, encompassing his own hopes and fears for the nation’s future, in an op-ed published in The Strad, titled “When Diversity Became Dangerous.”
Apollo Chamber Players Season 18: American Story
Info: www.apollochamberplayers.org/american-story-2526.html
Tickets: www.thehobbycenter.org/events/american-story-declare/
Subscriptions: checkout.square.site/merchant/XDJQSXZKN9SZW/checkout/UTGOURC4DTMO6YCKMRUHERAX
Concert 3: EMPOWER
Saturday, February 7, 2026 at 7:30pm
MATCH in Midtown | Houston, TX
Guest Artists:
Daniel Bernard Roumain, composer
Kenneth B. Morris, Jr., narrator
Members of the Houston Chamber Choir
Penelope Campbell, soprano
Natalie Broussard, alto
Wayne Ashley, tenor
Keaton Brown, baritone
Concert 4: VENTURE
Saturday, May 22, 2026 at 7:30pm
MATCH in Midtown | Houston, TX
Guest Artists:
Mark Buller, composer and co-creator
?John Cornelius, composer and co-creator
About Apollo Chamber Players
Houston-based Apollo Chamber Players “performs with rhythmic flair and virtuosity” (The Strad) and “recasts music for a diverse and multi-ethnic generation” (Strings Magazine) through globally inspired programming and multicultural new music commissions. The ensemble is the 2025 honoree of Chamber Music America’s prestigious Ensemble of the Year award, which cited its recent themed concerts, highlighting American democratic ideals and the dangers of censorship, as exemplars of “exceptional artistry, musicality and groundbreaking impact on the chamber music landscape.” Also a past recipient of Chamber Music America’s Residency Partnership award, the ensemble has performed for sold-out audiences at Carnegie Hall and The Kennedy Center, and is featured frequently on American Public Media’s nationally syndicated program Performance Today.
Celebrated for blending vibrant multicultural commissions with social commentary, Apollo was described by NPR’s Neda Ulaby as a “young, dynamic ensemble...creating programs in response to current events.” The ensemble has drawn recent acclaim for its collaborations with the legendary actor, author, and activist George Takei, who delivered a live narration in the opening concert of its 2024-2025 We the People series. Takei and the Apollo Chamber Players were recognized for the program with City of Houston Proclamations by Houston Mayor John Whitmire and Councilmember Willie Davis. U.S. Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher, who represents Texas’s 7th District including the city of Houston, wrote a letter commending the ensemble’s “artistic effort to bring enlightened inspiration of the Founding Fathers meaningfully into the 21st century, to expand on those ideals, and to help build a more perfect union through connection and community.” For the 2025-2026 season, Apollo continues on its themes of American heritage and justice with its American Story series timed for the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding.
Takei can also be heard on Apollo’s newest album, BAN: Stories of Censorship on Azica Records (August 2025). Previous Azica releases include Trace of Time (2024), praised as the work of “gifted musical storytellers” by Musical America, and With Malice Toward None (2021), which reached No. 1 on Amazon’s Hot New Release chart. The ensemble’s catalog of records has been featured on hundreds of radio and media stations worldwide. The organization’s debut feature film, MoonShot: The Remarkable Journey of Apollo Chamber Players, won international accolades, including Best Documentary and Best Documentary Soundtrack at the Seattle, Vancouver, Houston, and Screen ATX International film festivals. It is now available on Amazon Prime and Tubi.
A passionate advocate of globally-inspired contemporary music and art, Apollo counts an expanding catalogue of more than 60 commissioned works and eight critically acclaimed commercial albums. The ensemble’s diverse roster of leading and emerging composers includes Jennifer Higdon, John Corigliano, Libby Larsen, Pamela Z, Jerod Tate, Allison Loggins-Hull, Brian Raphael Nabors, and Vanessa Võ.
Apollo’s community partners include schools and universities, at-risk youth centers, refugee and veterans’ service organizations, and public libraries. The ensemble’s vanguard Library Voyage project, an initiative to perform in all Harris County/Houston Public Libraries, is the first of its kind in the nation. Apollo was founded in 2008 by violinist and music entrepreneur Matthew J. Detrick and violinist Timothy Peters.
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Photo credits: Apollo Chamber Players by Lynn Lane, Kenneth Morris, Jr. by Celeste Sloman, Daniel Bernard Roumain courtesy of the composer; Natalie Broussard, Wayne Ashley, Keaton Brown, and Penelope Campbell courtesy of Houston Chamber Choir.
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