Artist History

The many greats of the world

Performing Arts Houston (formerly Society for the Performing Arts) brings artists from around the world. Since our founding in 1966, we’ve presented many of the most influential artists in history.

Explore highlights below and join us each new season as the list grows.

PIANO

  • Leif Ove Andsnes
  • Vladimir Ashkenazy
  • Emanuel Ax
  • Daniel Barenboim
  • Alfred Brendel
  • Yefim Bronfman
  • Seong-Jin Cho
  • Vladimir Horowitz
  • Evgeny Kissin
  • Katia & Marielle Labèque
  • Lang Lang
  • Yunchan Lim
  • Garrick Ohlsson
  • Arthur Rubinstein
  • Jean-Yves Thibaudet
  • Yuja Wang
  • André Watts
  • Joyce Yang

VIOLIN

  • Joshua Bell
  • Hilary Hahn
  • Midori
  • Anne-Sophie Mutter
  • Igor Oistrakh
  • Itzhak Perlman
  • Isaac Stern
  • Pinchas Zukerman

VOICE

  • Boys Choir of Harlem
  • Kathleen Battle
  • Montserrat Caballé
  • Renée Fleming
  • The Irish Tenors
  • The King’s Singers
  • Bobby McFerrin
  • Jessye Norman
  • Bernadette Peters
  • Soweto Gospel Choir
  • Tenebrae
  • Vienna Boys Choir

 

ORCHESTRAS

  • BBC Philharmonic
  • Boston Symphony Orchestra
  • Chicago Symphony Orchestra
  • The Cleveland Orchestra
  • Houston Symphony
  • Israel Philharmonic Orchestra
  • Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra
  • Los Angeles Philharmonic
  • The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra
  • Orchestre de Paris
  • The Philadelphia Orchestra
  • Pittsburg Symphony Orchestra
  • Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra
  • Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
  • Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
  • Louis Symphony Orchestra
  • Vienna Philharmonic

CHAMBER/SOLO

  • Academy of St Martin in the Fields
  • Bach-Collegium Stuttgart with James Galway
  • Laurie Anderson
  • Buena Vista Social Club
  • Cameron Carpenter
  • Canadian Brass
  • Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center
  • Lila Downs
  • English Chamber Orchestra
  • Sir James Galway
  • Evelyn Glennie
  • Guarneri Quartet
  • Kronos Quartet
  • Mariachi Herencia de México
  • Mnozil Brass
  • Orpheus Chamber Orchestra
  • Philip Glass Ensemble
  • The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra
  • Ravi Shankar
  • Silk Road Ensemble with Yo-Yo Ma
  • Steve Reich and Musicians
  • Richard Stoltzman
  • Chris Thile
  • Takács Quartet
  • Turtle Island Quartet

JAZZ

  • Harry Connick Jr.
  • Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis
  • Jeff Goldblum & The Mildred Snitzer Orchestra
  • Pat Metheny
  • Oscar Peterson
  • Preservation Hall Jazz Band
  • Marcus Roberts
  • Doc Severinsen
  • Matthew Whitaker

BALLET

  • American Ballet Theatre with Mikhail Baryshnikov
  • Ballet Hispánico
  • Bolshoi Ballet
  • Dance Theatre of Harlem
  • Houston Ballet
  • Joffrey Ballet
  • Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo
  • Louisville Ballet
  • Miami City Ballet
  • The National Ballet of Canada
  • National Ballet of China
  • New York City Ballet
  • The Royal Ballet
  • The Royal Danish Ballet

CONTEMPORARY DANCE

  • A.I.M by Kyle Abraham
  • Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
  • Donald Byrd/The Group
  • Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan
  • Complexions
  • Merce Cunningham
  • DIAVOLO
  • Dorrance Dance
  • The Holy Body Tattoo
  • Hubbard Street Dance Chicago
  • Martha Graham Dance Company
  • Bill T. Jones
  • Liz Lerman Dance Exchange
  • Mark Morris Dance Group
  • MOMIX
  • Parsons Dance
  • Paul Taylor Dance Company
  • Caleb Teicher
  • Pilobolus
  • Twyla Tharp Dance

INTERNATIONAL

  • Balé Folclórico da Bahia
  • Ballet Folclórico de México
  • Ballet Folclórico Nacional de Chile
  • Le Ballet National du Senegal
  • Les Ballets Africains
  • Bayanihan Dance Company
  • The Belgrade State Folk Ensemble
  • Danzas Venezuela
  • Drum Tao
  • The Peking Acrobats
  • Ragamala Dance Company
  • Samulnori Percussion
  • Shaolin Warriors
  • Vuyani Dance Theatre
  • The Whirling Dervishes of Turkey

SPEAKERS/COMEDY

  • Jad Abumrad
  • Margaret Atwood
  • Bob Berky
  • Anthony Bourdain
  • Tim Conway
  • Carol Burnett
  • Alton Brown
  • Billy Collins
  • Comedy Bang! Bang!
  • Marlene Dietrich
  • Felipe Esparza
  • Neil Gaiman
  • Ina Garten
  • Ira Glass
  • Spalding Gray
  • Fran Lebowitz
  • Marcel Marceau
  • Mystery Science Theater 3000
  • Tig Notaro
  • Al Pacino
  • Mandy Patinkin
  • Penn & Teller
  • David Sedaris
  • William Shatner
  • Stephen Sondheim
  • Neil deGrasse Tyson

THEATER/BROADWAY

  • Art Heist
  • Beakman’s World
  • Blue Man Group
  • Bluey’s Big Play
  • The Choir of Man
  • The Color Purple
  • Gazillion Bubble Show
  • Kid Koala
  • Manual Cinema
  • STOMP
  • Wild Kratts