The Conversation

Sit down with HSPVA alumni and learn about their journeys and careers.

the conversation.

Exploring Beyond the Streetlights

Exploring Beyond the Streetlights

It was a hot, summer Houston day in 1994. Outside, the buzzing of cicadas could be heard under the swelling sun. Cameron J. Ross (Theatre ‘06) was seven years old. He was going to the local movie theater on I-10 East and Federal Road with his mother, where the...

read more
Passing Notes

Passing Notes

HSPVA senior photo.Conducting at the February 2020 "Gospel Spirit" concert featuring the Houston Choral Society and the Prairie View A&M University Concert Chorale. Photos courtesy of Dr. Taylor.This year’s back-to-school season marks the end of Dr. A. Jan...

read more
Backbone of the B(l)ackbeat

Backbone of the B(l)ackbeat

Herman Matthews (Jazz '79) grew up in Acres Home on the Northside of Houston. While watching The Lawrence Welk Show as a six-year-old, he started showing an interest in the drums. It wasn’t long before he was hand drumming "Wipe Out" onto his desk at Durkee Elementary...

read more
Autumn in Spring

Autumn in Spring

“All the world’s a stage,” the famous quote begins, “and all the men and women merely players.” This opening phrase from Shakespeare’s As You Like It can suggest the idea that aspects of performance and performativity are interwoven throughout our day-to-day lives,...

read more
Born Fresh

Born Fresh

Picture it: America, 1939. The world is a vision in sepia. Not exactly black and white. A little dusty in places. The devastating effects of economic and environmental disaster in an already fragmented and segregated society are evident and World War II is steadily...

read more