The performing arts company breaking every convention in the book … and winning
For a company working in an art form steeped in tradition, the choice to break away from some of its most sacred rules has brought it both critical acclaim and throngs of loyal audiences.
In breaking with some of its genre’s most hallowed traditions, US chamber orchestra ROCO (Houston) has built an impressively large multigenerational audience. Pictured here, ROCO musicians perform at the opening of POST, a former post office turned retail space in Houston. Photo: Daniel Ortiz.
When ArtsHub first meets ROCO chamber orchestra Founder and Artistic Director Alecia Lawyer over the Zoom screen (ArtsHub in Australia, Lawyer in Houston, Texas), it’s clear this Juilliard-trained oboist and arts entrepreneur takes a disciplined, yet joyful approach to what she does.
‘We’re all about making “human-first” decisions,’ she beams into the camera.
ArtsHub's Arts Feature Writer Jo Pickup is based in Perth. An arts writer and manager, she has worked as a journalist and broadcaster for media such as the ABC, RTRFM and The West Australian newspaper, contributing media content and commentary on art, culture and design. She has also worked for arts organisations such as Fremantle Arts Centre, STRUT dance, and the Aboriginal Arts Centre Hub of WA, as well as being a sessional arts lecturer at The Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA).
