“Chelsea Tipton II planned to fly to Idaho on Monday for a rehearsal with the Boise Philharmonic,” writes Kaitliln Bain in Tuesday’s (12/4) Beaumont Enterprise (TX). “Instead, he spent the day studying music in Houston and preparing to conduct a memorial concert to honor former President George H.W. Bush, who died on Friday. ‘I’m honored to have this opportunity to pay tribute to one of our great American presidents, one of the great Houstonians and Texans,’ said Tipton, who [is music director of] the Beaumont-based Symphony of Southeast Texas…. Tipton … conducted the inauguration for Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner in 2016. He said Turner remembered him from that ceremony and suggested him for Monday’s tribute with the Houston Symphony at City Hall…. The selected pieces included ‘Fanfare for the Common Man’ by Aaron Copland, ‘Nimrod’ by Edward Elgar and ‘I Believe I Can Fly,’ accompanying gospel singer Yolanda Adams.” Rebecca Zabinski, the Houston Symphony’s director of artistic planning, “said the symphony selected the music based on the mayoral office’s vision for the ceremony—‘not too somber but more uplifting and celebratory’ … and selections from American composers…. Country music stars Clay Walker and Larry Gatlin and the Gatlin Brothers were among performers.”
Posted December 5, 2018
