Dulles High School Honors Orchestra

Performer Details

Performer Bio Synopsis

.Located in Sugar Land, TX, The John Foster Dulles Orchestra program is one of the largest orchestra programs in Fort Bend ISD and one of the premiere orchestra programs in the state of Texas. Located in Sugar Land, a southwest suburb of Houston, Fort Bend County and Dulles High School are among the most diverse schools in America. The orchestra program in Fort Bend ISD began in 1990 and the Dulles High School orchestra has been run by only two directors. Michael Isadore became the director of orchestras in 1999 and today the program boasts over 170 members. The Dulles Orchestra has been consistently awarded the Mark of Excellence National Honor Orchestra Award and Commended Award in the string and full orchestra categories. In Texas, they are competitive in the Honor Orchestra competition placing as high as number two. This will be the first performance for the Honors String Orchestra at the Midwest Clinic, and the second appearance for the orchestra program, having brought a symphony orchestra in 2004. Having a reputation for energetic and adventurous programming, this Midwest Clinic performance will contain varied repertoire and will include some lesser known gems of contemporary string orchestra music by Texas composers Christopher Theofanidis of Yale University and Pierre Jalbert from the Shepherd School at Rice University. The program will also feature two premiers including a newly commissioned and published work by Kirt Mosier.

Dulles High School Honors Orchestra

Conductor's Bio

Michael Isadore is the Director of Orchestras at Dulles High School, Associate Conductor of the Houston Civic Symphony and the Philharmonia Conductor with the Houston Youth Symphony. Known for being an energetic conductor with authentic, moving performances, Mr. Isadore has become a prominent voice in the Houston area. Since work with young musicians has played an important part of his career, Mr. Isadore has developed a detailed rehearsal strategy and creative ways to spark imagination in order to communicate the most advanced musical concepts. Under his direction, the Dulles High School orchestra has been a consistent “commended winner” in the Mark of Excellence competition and recognized as the 2012 National Winner. Other past honors include performances at the Midwest Convention in Chicago in 2004 and as the runner up for TMEA Honor Orchestra in 2005. In 2010 Mr. Isadore was recognized with the Spec’s Charitable Foundation Award for Excellence in Music Education presented by the Houston Symphony. Mr. Isadore’s versatile career involves performances as an orchestral and chamber musician, concerto soloist, recitalist, lecturer and teacher. He holds clarinet positions with the Victoria Symphony, Houston Gilbert and Sullivan Society, and has performed professionally with the Houston Symphony, Corpus Christi Symphony, and the Victoria Bach Festival. As a soloist, Isadore has performed concertos with the Brazosport Symphony, South Texas Symphony Orchestra, Fort Bend Symphony Orchestra, Houston Civic Symphony and the Houston Sinfonietta. Instrumental in advancing new music, Mr. Isadore is a founding member of the Flute/Clarinet Duos Consortium (FCDC) with the goal of increasing the repertoire for flute, clarinet, and piano by leading composers. Mr. Isadore and his wife premiered the third FCDC commission by Valerie Coleman at the 2007 National Flute Convention in Albuquerque; he has also lectured on the creation of FCDC and performed at the International Clarinet Association Convention. Mr. Isadore uses his love of contemporary music to bring composers into his orchestra rehearsals and exposes them to music not commonly played by those ensembles.