Buffalo Bayou Partnership (BBP) is pleased to announce the return of Underground Sounds, a music performance series in the Buffalo Bayou Park Cistern. Four Houston-based music ensembles will perform works composed or arranged especially for the Cistern and its extraordinary natural acoustics.

The Cistern is a former drinking water reservoir transformed by BBP into a unique public space that houses tours, periodic art installations, and musical performances. Its 221 columns and their dramatic reflection provide a striking visual backdrop, and the 17-second reverberation in this vast underground chamber is an exciting challenge for performers. Underground Sounds gives musicians and composers the opportunity to create site-specific pieces for this local architectural treasure and provides the public with a sonic experience unavailable anywhere else.

Performances will run on select dates from September through November, and tickets are known to sell out quickly. Audiences are encouraged to mark their calendars with the on-sale dates below.

The 2023 Underground Sounds schedule:

September 14 – 17 | Nameless Sound

Tickets available starting Friday, August 11 at 9 a.m.

Nameless Sound will present six unique concerts, each with a different trio of creative musicians collaborating for the first time to explore the special sonic qualities of the Cistern. Each will be a singular experience, never-to-be repeated, that will take audiences on a sonic journey of real-time musical composition. Each concert will feature three short solos, followed by a trio improvisation.

October 5 – 8 | DACAMERA

Tickets available starting Friday, September 8 at 9 a.m.

DACAMERA has commissioned Houston composer Mark Buller (an alumnus of the DACAMERA Young Artist Program) to create a new, site-specific work for the Cistern which will be performed by current DACAMERA Young Artists.

October 26 – 29 | Alexandra Smither and Austin Lewellen

Tickets available starting Friday, September 29 at 9 a.m.

A collaborative creation between soprano Alexandra Smither and double bassist Austin Lewellen, this program, entitled Ground/Water, will include solo works from Éliane Radigue’s Occam series, complemented by a co-composed work written in collaboration with Houston poet, Aris Kian, that meditates on water and the Cistern and encourages audience participation.

November 9 – 12 | Musiqa

Tickets available starting Friday, October 13 at 9 a.m.

This program features the world premiere of a new composition by artist board member Pierre Jalbert that takes advantage of the Cistern’s unique reverberation. Performers include Jacob Schader (violin), Chris Ellis (cello), Nicholas Bissen (saxophone), Sophie Volpe (trombone) and Terry McKinney (percussion).

“We are excited to invite Houston’s musical talents into the Cistern again,” said Karen Farber, BBP’s Vice President of External Affairs. “This amazing space so clearly calls out for musical experimentation. We look forward to sharing these experiences with the public throughout the fall.”

Performance times will be posted on buffalobayou.org later this week.

Generous support for Underground Sounds provided by The Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation. BBP is funded in part by the City of Houston through Houston Arts Alliance.