We had the good fortune of connecting with Houston Ensemble and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Houston, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
The Houston Ensemble strives to be a renaissance platform that combines art, freedom of thought, and community outreach. We want to use our platform as a means of connecting people through music, podcasts, and live events. Our podcast features guests that are renowned professionals in their field. Some of these guests include world famous musicians such as Kurt Rosenwinkel, Peter Bernstein, Troy Roberts, Lynn Seaton, Oz Noy, Dan Wilson, and more. Other guests at the top of the academic arena include Dr. Baxter Montgomery, Dr. Pam Popper, Dr. Will Tuttle, Dr. Joseph Varon, and David Leebron (President of Rice University). Moreover, we have scientists on the podcast who are changing the future of humanity as we know it. These include Joe Ott, a NASA engineer, who is designing the next space station, Dick Khan an author and explorer of human consciousness, and Ash Heather, CEO of Epic Water Filters, who is at the forefront of water nano-purification in a time when we need it the most. Every guest that we have has given us and our audience invaluable information that will widen anyone’s perspective. Through our interviews and live performances we are dedicated to uniting humanity and making the world a better place.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
The Houston Ensemble is one of the only platforms today that is simultaneously a trained musical group but also a podcast featuring world renowned doctors, top-level musicians, scientists, authors, and activists. Beyond that the Houston Ensemble is not afraid to speak the truth when discussing the most crucial topics in the zeitgeist. Our business started from nothing, and has flourished into an internationally known renaissance group. One great challenge we faced was when YouTube deleted our entire channel for no valid reason. As a platform dedicated to freedom of thought we did not tolerate this totalitarian gesture and won our place back on the website through logic and rationale. We have learned how to better maneuver through a myriad of obstacles. At the end of the day our goal is unification of all people through love, art, and discourse.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
1. Breakfast at Sinfull Bakery. This is Houston’s first and best all-vegan bakery. The creations by Chef Dylan are to die for!

2. We would walk around the Montrose/Westheimer area vistiting all the amazing clothing shops such as Pavement and the Leopard Lounge. After that we would make sure to grab a coffee from Mercantile Coffee Shop in Montrose. This is the best coffee shop in town and you can always catch us playing jazz there on Monday nights from 7-9pm!

3. We would eventually visit Menil park and the Menil Musuem. This is an extremely peaceful park that boasts beautiful lawns, large trees, adorable dogs, and so much more. During lockdown, you could find us playing music there almost every afternoon.

4. For dinner we would travel to Chinatown and eat at Pine Forest Garden. This is the best vegan buffet featuring some of the best Chinese food in town, and the owner is an amazing guy!

5. Finally we would go to the Ready Room on a Friday or Saturday night from 9pm-12am for the best cocktails in town. This bar is located in the Houston Heights and is ranked as the best speakeasy! Also you can watch us play music there every Friday and Saturday! It is always an amazing time.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
We want to thank everyone that has been with us on our musical, spiritual, and educational journeys. On top of that we are extremely grateful to every guest that has joined us for our podcast. Most importantly we thank our parents for showing us that true love is the answer to life.

Website: www.houstonensemble.com

Instagram: @houstonensemble

Twitter: @houstonensemble

Facebook: @houstonensemble

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVAHm0vmlH33SrC6d3m7Snw

Image Credits
Ayaan Ahsan

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