Our Season
2025-2026 season Dates
ALL MEETINGS WILL BEGIN AT NOON (Doors open at 11:40 AM) AT EMERSON UNITARIAN CHURCH UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED
October 7, 2025
PRESIDENT’S COFFEE
October 21, 2025
Music for the Birds
Speaker: Matthew Delavorys
November 4, 2025
Parallels in Music & Art (In 30 Minutes or Less)
Speaker: Deborah Moran, Violinist
November 18, 2025
A Musical Feast
Featuring: HTMC Fabulous Performing Members
December 2, 2025
The Planets: an HD Odyssey
Speaker: Deborah Moran, Violinist
December 9, 2025
HTMC Holiday Luncheon at 10:30 am
Venue TBA
Perfomance by the Houston Tuesday Musical Club Chorus
January 13, 2026
Nobody is Better at Singing Based on Their Zip Code
Speaker: Sonja Bruzauszkas, Mezzo Soprano, Founder/Director Round Top Theatre Forum, Founder/CEO Partnerschools
February 3, 2026
The Planets by Holst - A Performance by the Houston Symphony
Speaker: Deborah Moran
February 10, 2026
FOR THE LOVE OF MUSIC: A HOUSTONIAN VALENTINE
Speaker: Deborah Moran
February 24, 2026
CONCERT FEATURING CONCERT PIANIST
ZOYA SHUHATOVICH
March 7, 2026
The Rochelle Liebling Kahan Competition for Young Piano Prodigies
Houston Piano Company
March 10, 2026
HAVE YOU HEARD THIS? Weird instruments including the Octobass & the Blaster Beam
Speaker: Deborah Moran
March 22, 2026
ARTIST CONCERT at ST. PHILIP PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
Artist: DEUX VOIX
March 24, 2026
PHANTOMS OF THE OPERA: A Look Behind the Scenes at HOUSTON GRAND OPERA
Speakers: Richard Bado and Alexa Lietzow
April 7, 2026
The Annual Joke Concert
Joke Moderators: Kelli Estes and Richard Baum
April 11, 2026
Ruth Burr Competition for Instrument
First Presbyterian Church
April 28, 2026
Spring Luncheon
featuring the Winners of the Rochelle Liebling Kahan Competion and the Burr Competition
Houston Junior League, at 10:30 AM
2025-2026 Speaker Bios
Matthew Delevoryas
October 22, 2025, at noon
Matthew Delevoryas is a modern day Renaissance man who likes to explore the medieval quadrivium - mathematics, geometry, music and astronomy. Each pillar was considered a version of music (music in space, music in time, etc). An avid listener to classical music, Matt marched as a clarinetist in the Marching Owl Band at Rice University, where he received his degree in Mathematics.
A creative problem solver, he worked for many years as a systems programmer on mainstream computers. A passionate sport fencer, he trained to become one of the few Level 1 armorers in the United States, the highest qualification to repair the electrical scoring equipment and weapons. He currently works for Salle Mauro, Houston Athletic Fencing Center, and Alliance Fencing of San Francisco in this capacity.
Matt recognizes kindred spirits in the famous classical composers who also nurtured their love of fencing, botany, chemistry, astronomy and chess.
Deborah Moran, violinist
NOVEMBER 4, 2025,
AT NOON
DECEMBER 2, 2025
FEBRUARY 3, 2026
FEBRUARY 10, 2026
MARCH 10, 2026
Deborah Moran was a member of the Houston Symphony violin section for 27 years. She first started studying violin in Midland, TX but credits the extensive music education in Houston, TX after she moved here at the age of 12 for steering her in that direction for a career. In Houston she studied with Houston Symphony violinist Elizabeth Mosny and was concertmaster of the Texas All-State Orchestra in 1974. She studied with Stephen Clapp at the University of Texas for two years before moving on to Juilliard at his suggestion to finish her BM and MM under Ivan Galamian and Margaret Pardee. After a short period of freelancing in Houston she joined the Symphony in 1983 and remained until 2010. Currently she is co-programmer for the Houston Tuesday Musical Club along with pianist Gayle Martin.
Outside of music, she is an active amateur astronomer involved in outreach, a telescope operator at the George Observatory in Brazos Bend State Park and a light pollution activist with an educational website called www.softlighthouston.com. She also loves all things space and aviation and moonlighted as a NASA test subject for a number of years including participating in simulated zero-G flights.
A Musical Feast
NOVEMBER 18, 2025
Musical presentations by our HTMC Performers and Chorus.
SONJA BRUZAUSKAS,
MEZZO SOPRANO
Founder/ARtistic Director, Round Top Theatre FOrum
Founder & Ceo, Partnerschools
January 13, 2026
Noon
Born and raised in Germany, Sonja Bruzauskas was trained on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. Besides her expansive stage career in musical theater, opera and operetta, Sonja is a well-established concert singer and recitalist, focusing on German Art Song and contemporary music.
Engagements include the Staatsoperette Dresden, the Santa Fe Opera, Volkstheater Rostock, Nordharzer Staedtebundtheater, Babelsberger Filmorchester, Bochumer Symphoniker, Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra, Da Camera, Ars Lyrica Houston,the Bach Society, Mercury the Orchestra Redefined, the Greenbriar Consortium, the Houston Chamber Orchestra, the Houston Chamber Choir, ROCO and The Roundtop Institute.
Sonja has sung and lectured at institutions such at Vanderbilt, LSU, Rice University, the University of Houston, Piano on the Rocks, the Philosophical Society of Houston, Grinnell College, CalArts, as well as numerous health institutions.
Board of Director positions include the Houston Chamber Choir, the Houston Tuesday Musical Club, the German Center Houston; Chair positions: Philosophical Society at Rice University, Ars Lyrica Houston, Partnerschools.
Sonja teaches collaborative projects for CSSSA at CalArts, she serves as Producer/Artistic Director for the Theatre Forum at Round Top and is the founder and CEO of Partnerschools, a project that creates friendships through arts education and creative expression.
Zoya Shuhatovich, Concert piANIST
February 24, 2026
noon
Zoya Shuhatovich is an International concert pianist, Steinway Artist. She received her M.M and DMA at the Gorky (Nizhny Novgorod) State Concervatory, Russia under the tutelage of highly regarded professor Ilja Fridman, student of legendary Heinrich Neuhaus. She immigrated to the US, Houston in 1993, where she currently resides.
Zoya worked at the Moore’s School of Music, University of Houston from 1994 to 2002. She performs extensively in Europe: UK, France, Italy, Spain, Austria, Germany, Poland, Kosovo, Liechtenstein, Estonia. For Zoya’s extensive biography, click here. Also, check out her website: www.zoyapiano.net
Richard Bado,
Chief artistic Officer & chorus director
Houston Grand Opera
march 24, 2026
NOON
A native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Richard Bado made his professional conducting debut in 1989 leading Houston Grand Opera’s acclaimed production of Show Boat at the newly restored Cairo Opera House in Egypt. Since then, Mr. Bado has conducted at Teatro alla Scala, Opéra National de Paris, Houston Grand Opera, New York City Opera, the Aspen Music Festival, Tulsa Opera, the Russian National Orchestra, the Florida Philharmonic, the Montreal Symphony, Wolf Trap Opera, and has conducted the Robert Wilson production of Virgil Thomson’s Four Saints in Three Acts at the Edinburgh Festival. This season Mr. Bado conducts performances of The Nutcracker for Houston Ballet and performances of Porgy and Bess for Houston Grand Opera. An accomplished pianist, Mr. Bado appeared for over 20 years with Renée Fleming in recital. He has also played for Cecilia Bartoli, Frederica von Stade, Susan Graham, Denyce Graves, Marcello Giordani, Ramon Vargas, Samuel Ramey, Jamie Barton, Ryan McKinney, Nicole Heaston, Jack Swanson, and Michael Spyres. Mr. Bado, who holds music degrees from the Eastman School of Music, where he received the 2000 Alumni Achievement Award, and West Virginia University, has studied advanced choral conducting with Robert Shaw. Mr. Bado is the Director of Artistic Planning and Chorus Director for the Houston Grand Opera, where he received the Silver Rose Award in 2013. He has appeared on A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor. For 12 years, he was the Director of the Opera Studies Program at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music. He has served on the faculty of the Aspen Music Festival and School, the Dolora Zajick Institute for Young Dramatic Voices, the International Vocal School in Moscow, the Texas Music Festival, and has served on the music staff of the Metropolitan Opera, Seattle Opera, the Bolshoi Opera Young Artist Program, Opera Australia, Santa Fe Opera, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Utah Opera, Chautauqua Opera, and Wolf Trap Opera.
Alexa Lietzow, artistic & Music Coordinator,
Houston Grand Opera
Alexa Lietzow is the Artistic & Music Coordinator at Houston Grand Opera where she supports artistic planning, manages the children’s chorus, supernumeraries, light walkers, surtitle callers, and child chaperones. Her career bridges arts administration and performance, with previous experience at the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra in both artistic operations and accounting.
A lifelong violinist, Alexa has performed with the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, the Springfield Symphony Orchestra, and the Sheboygan Symphony Orchestra, where she served as Associate Concertmaster. In fact, her violin teacher while growing up in Houston was our very own Debbie Moran! Alexa also plays fiddle for the Houston Area Traditional Dance Society and performs with the early music ensemble Lutenklang. An active member of the Houston musicians’ union, she continues to perform regularly while bringing her deep love of collaboration, organization, and musical storytelling to her work behind the scenes.
Past 2024-2025 season
October 8, 2024
President’s Meet and Greet
at the home of Sharon Ley-Lietzow
October 22, 2024
Nature’s Music
Speaker: Matt Delevoryas
November 5, 2024
The Voice of Brubeck
Speaker: Dr. Arthur Gottschalk, Composer
November 19, 2024
Music’s Nature
Speaker: Deborah Moran, Violinist
December 3, 2024
All In the Family
Musical Selections and Performances by our Members
December 12, 2024
HTMC Holiday Luncheon at 10:30 am
At the Home of Jean Phillips
Perfomance by the Houston Tuesday Musical Club Chorus
January 14, 2025
The History of the Houston Chamber Choir
Speaker: Robert Simpson, Founder & Artistic Director, Houston Chamber Choir
January 28, 2025
The Medieval Art of Change Ringing
Speaker: Alan Nunley, Director of Palmer Bells
February 11, 2025
The Rochelle Liebling Kahan Memorial Fund Competition for Child Piano Prodigies
(What a BIG name for little people!)
Speakers: Rochelle Liebling Kahan Panel
February 25, 2025
ARTIST CONCERT
A Special Performance by Pianist, Nancy Weems
March 1, 2025
The Rochelle Liebling Kahan Competition for Young Piano Prodigies
Houston Piano Company
March 11, 2025
Joke Concert
Special HTMC Hosts and Guests and the HTMC Chorus
March 25, 2025
The Art of Gamelan
Speaker: Members of Gamelan of the New Moon
April 1, 2025
Ruth Burr Competition for Piano
First Presbyterian Church
April 8, 2025
TBA
Speaker: Rob Landes Pianist
April 29, 2025
Spring Luncheon
featuring the Winners of the Rochelle Liebling Kahan Competion and the Burr Competition
Houston Junior League, at 10:30 AM