“Get used to seeing Steven Reineke on the Jones Hall podium. The Houston Symphony recently extended his contract as the orchestra’s principal pops conductor through the 2026-27 season,” writes Chris Gray in Wednesday’s (1/6) Houston Chronicle (TX). “The affable Ohio native, whose breezy patter between numbers makes him an ideal master of ceremonies, credits his success to the ‘electricity’ between him and the orchestra…. ‘There is a lot to be said about chemistry…. It’s a good fit,’ he says.… He enjoys the opportunity to ‘present concerts that will reach our entire community and really represent the diversity that our communities look like,’ he says, noting the steady advance of R&B, soul and hip-hop into his programs…. Reineke … holds similar positions with Washington, D.C.’s National Symphony Orchestra and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra…. This weekend’s concerts [are] dubbed ‘In the Mood: A Big Band New Year.’ … Social-distancing protocols [limit] the number of musicians onstage…. ‘I really wanted to ring in this new year with some uplifting, uptempo, throwback great swing tunes,’ Reineke says.”
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