Brazos Music is a non-profit organization dedicated to enriching the lives of all people through equitable access to music education, music performances, and community programs and partnerships.
Who We Are
Daniel Saenz
Founder and Executive Director
Cellist Daniel Saenz has performed and presented master classes throughout South America, Mexico, and the USA. Performance engagements have taken him to internationally renowned venues throughout the United States, Europe, South America, and Asia. He is a well respected educator and thrives teaching a wide range of students from beginners to college students. His love of teaching and engaging with students led him to create the TexStrings All-State Camp in 2008. As the camp grew, Daniel took inspiration from his years of experience in education, performance, and the nonprofit world and created Brazos Music.
https://www.shsu.edu/academics/music/faculty-bios/2020/daniel-saenz
Katie Geringer
Penny Meitz
Penny Meitz recently retired as Orchestra Director and Strings Teacher at St. John’s School where she held the Mary Wood Neuhaus Chair in Music. In 2023, Ms. Meitz was named Orchestra Director of the Year by the Texas Orchestra Directors Association. Including her years at St. John’s, Ms. Meitz has taught for a total of 50 years. She is a violist, formerly with the Houston Ballet Orchestra and Houston Grand Opera Orchestra, and she continues to perform as a freelance musician. Ms. Meitz received her training at the University of Michigan, Western Michigan University, and Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music. She is a member of American String Teachers Association, American Viola Society, Mu Omicron, Texas Orchestra Directors Association, and Texas Music Educators Association. Ms. Meitz is a past Orchestra Division Vice President of TMEA and has served on the boards of both TODA and TexASTA.
Programs
TexStrings All-State Camp serves about 100 students each year and assists many of them in achieving their goals of making the Region and All-State orchestras.
Houston Orchestra For All is a unique program dedicated to inclusive and equitable music education and performance for all.
Never Too Late is a class is open to all adults who have never had an opportunity to learn to play a bowed string instrument.
Houston Fiddle Week is a camp dedicated to fostering community by learning and performing different styles of music.
*Houston Fiddle Week is taking a break this summer but will return in July 2025!
Partnerships
In partnership with AFA, we helped launch a violin class at the Etoile Academy in the Gulfton Community in Spring 2021. Nina Knight developed a curriculum for the spring and summer sessions and was the first instructor of the class. In fall 2021, we were thrilled to welcome Katie Geringer to our team and be back at Etoile.
In the Summer of 2021 we partnered with Aperio and sponsored a composition competition and commissioned an arrangement of “Take the A Train.” The winning arrangement by Drew Zaremba was premiered by the Aperio orchestra at the Miller Outdoor Theater in Houston, TX on June 18, 2021.
