Ars Lyrica Houston’s Impact

Ars Lyrica goes beyond the concert hall to bring audiences the highest-quality artistry and most exciting performances possible. To cultivate Baroque music in Houston, Ars Lyrica commissioned two instruments to be housed locally: a Baroque guitar and a theorbo. Without the hassle of transporting these instruments by plane, these commissions ensure that the historical practices of the Baroque are honored in performances. Historically accurate guitars add an exquisite, unique quality to the orchestra’s sound.

In partnerships with hospitals throughout the Texas Medical Center, Ars Lyrica brings healing, joy, and reflection to patients, families, and staff. Artistic Director Matthew Dirst has shaped the Houston Baroque music community and led Ars Lyrica to the world stage with a Grammy nomination.

The Ars Lyrica Baroque guitar is based on guitars made by the famous violin maker Antonio Stradivarius. The Stradivarius guitars were a radical departure from the ornate and exotic French-style instruments of the elite. They were made with the same materials as his violins: alpine spruce for the soundboard and maple for the body and neck. The beauty of Stradivari guitars lies in their simplicity and elegance of design.

The Ars Lyrica theorbo is based on an extant instrument housed in the Royal College of Music in London.  The label on the original instrument reads “Magno Diefopruchar 1608 a Venetia.” This four-hundred-year-old design was common in Venice and its surrounding regions: our theorbo has a long neck and a pear-shaped body with six bass strings on its extended neck and eight higher strings that can be fretted.

The Texas Medical Center is the largest medical complex in the world, and Ars Lyrica has implemented programs throughout the medical district that draw on transformative and healing power of music. Through partnerships and sponsorships, Ars Lyrica musicians have developed educational and reflective programming for M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Texas Children's Hospital, and Houston Methodist Hospital. Our artists work with patients through recorder classes to develop breathing capacity as well as performing music for contemplation and as a respite from everyday life in the medical center for patients, families, and staff.

Ars Lyrica artists Cecilia Duarte and Jesús Pacheco performed works for voice and percussion from their program Songs from the Heart as well as previewing their program Contemplation in Light, which premieres at the Rothko Chapel in July of 2020. Listen to a clip from their most recent performance at Texas Children’s Hospital. Visit our outreach page to schedule an outreach performance.