Ima Hogg, daughter of Governor James Stephen Hogg, was born in Mineola, Texas, on July 10, 1882. After graduating from the University of Texas, between 1901 and 1909 she studied music in New York, Berlin, and Vienna. She then moved to Houston, where she gave piano lessons to a select group of pupils and helped found the Houston Symphony Orchestra. She served as the first vice president of the Houston Symphony Society and became president in 1917. Ima Hogg was also involved in founding the Houston Child Guidance Center and the Hogg Foundation for Mental Hygiene. She was involved in the Philosophical Society of Texas, the Texas State Historical Survey Committee, and the Academy of Texas. She received numerous awards and honors for her philanthropic and cultural contributions to the state of Texas. On August 19, 1975, at the age of 93, Ima Hogg died of complications from a traffic accident while she was vacationing in London.
The Houston Symphony Orchestra began when Ima Hogg sponsored a concert on June 21, 1913. Originally the orchestra was an ensemble of 33 part-time musicians with a $2,500 budget. The Houston Symphony enjoyed steady artistic growth under the direction of strong conductors, including Ernst Hoffmann (1936-47), Efrem Kurtz (1948-54), Ferenc Fricsay (1954), Leopold Stokowski (1955-61), Sir John Barbirolli (1961-67), Andre Previn (1967-69), Lawrence Foster (1971-78), Sergiu Comissiona (1979-88), and Christoph Eschenbach (1988-1999). After decades in City Auditorium or the Music Hall, the HSO moved into the visually and acoustically fine Jesse H. Jones Hall for the Performing Arts in 1966. In the years since its beginning, the orchestra has hired long-term professional musicians, played classical, pops, holiday, children's, and free concerts, offered education programs and young artist competitions, commissioned works, made recordings, broadcast concerts, and toured the United States, Europe, and Asia. During the 1998-1999 season, the orchestra consisted of 97 full-time musicians supported by a professional staff with a $18.4 million budget.
From the guide to the Ima Hogg Symphony Programs Collection 1969-023., 1900-1978, (Special Collections, University of Houston Libraries)
