Hurricane Harvey wreaked havoc in Texas and Louisiana, and in Houston, many neighborhoods throughout the city suffered serious damage. Our hearts go out to everyone who has been impacted by the hurricane. We are especially concerned for our friends at HGO, the Ballet, and Alley Theatre, who experienced significant flooding at the Wortham Center. Many have postponed or relocated performances and some operations.
How has Hurricane Harvey impacted Musiqa?
We are glad to report our offices and the homes of our boards, staff, and the many musicians in our collective were minimally affected. While Zilkha Hall did take on some water backstage up to the first couple of rows, our September 23rd performance, “Bodies in Motion”, and education fundraiser ARTS 4 ALL After-Party will continue as planned. Our performances at The MATCH and Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, which both were spared, will also go on as planned.
Fifty-three Houston public schools were severely damaged with nine closed for the entire year. With the opening of Houston public schools delayed by a week or more, we expect class and school bookings for our October run of “Around the World with Musiqa” at the Hobby Center to drop. We also expect to have less time to offer pre-concert workshops at every school. We are working with the Hobby Center staff to ensure we can deliver quality music education programs to students and schools that desperately need them.
How has Musiqa responded?
Musiqa partnered with Apollo Chamber Players and Jazz Forever to offer a Harvey Relief Concert at the MATCH, Friday, September 8. Patrons from all over the city helped us raise over $8,000 to be distributed to the Mayor Turner’s Harvey Relief Fund at the Greater Houston Community Foundation and Catholic Charities of Greater Houston. We are grateful for the outpouring of support.
The Artistic Board and staff will continue to look for ways to bolster the city and advance our cultural mission to enrich and inspire the community through programs that integrate new music with other modern art forms.
How can you help?
To assist artists and arts nonprofits who have been directly affected by Harvey, consider making a donation to The Harvey Arts Recovery Fund, The Actors Fund (offers assistance to actors, dancers, musicians, stagehands, playwrights and many more), Musician’s Foundation, or the Greater Houston Community Foundation – Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund.
As Houston comes together in an unprecedented way to support one another, we want to do our very best for the children of our city. The arts are a beacon for the community. The sight and sound of an auditorium full of students singing along with our musicians is truly inspiring. We hope you’ll join us onstage for ARTS 4 ALL After-Party following our “Bodies in Motion” performance to support our education programs.