Dan Brown premieres video with the Houston Youth Symphony

The bestselling author and classical-music fan debuts his new symphonic suite from his 'Wild Sympony' Saturday.

The album cover for Dan Brown's 'Wild Symphony'

Photo: Susan Batori

Following the release of Dan Brown’s “Wild Symphony” earlier this week, the best-selling author and lifelong musician has premiered a quarantine-friendly video on his YouTube channel, featuring the final movement of his new symphonic suite performed by members of the Houston Youth Symphony under the baton of the picture book’s title character, Maestro Mouse.

“One of the things that Dan Brown has accomplished with this wonderful concept of his is that he’s made the music performable by not only professional orchestras but also by community and amateur orchestras,” said Michael Webster, artistic director of the award-winning youth ensemble that proudly represents Houston’s rich diversity. The group was selected for this opportunity - which was originally intended to be filmed at Rice University’s Stude Concert Hall before plans were upended by the pandemic - thanks to a connection between producer Bob Lord at PARMA Recordings and local composer and educator Arthur Gottschalk.

“We’ve become a culture of associating symphonic music with imagery, and this music will definitely spur the imagination of everybody, but for kids in particular, it’s a great way to introduce them to different instruments of the orchestra,” said Houston-based Karl Blench, who served as orchestrator for the multifaceted project. “Anything that strives to create a connection with an up-and-coming audience to make them enjoy instrumental music, make them think of instrumental music as being on par to any other type of music, is good in my book.”

See the video of Dan Brown’s “Maestro Mouse Reprise,” performed by the Houston Youth Symphony, here at the Houston Chronicle first!

https://youtu.be/ffQquvS0lr4

More info may be found at wildsymphony.com.

  • Lawrence Elizabeth Knox