Meet Ruby Ortiz, Founder of the Houston Pride Orchestra
The violist shares how courage, collaboration, and community shaped the LGBTQ ensemble.
Ruby Ortiz never planned on becoming a violist. “I stumbled across orchestra completely by accident in sixth grade,” they laugh. “I chose viola at random, in an act of desperation during my first day of middle school.”
What began as chance soon became purpose. “I quickly fell in love with the act of creating something from nothing and also the community and found family that came along with being in orchestra,” Ortiz remembers. “The biggest thing that keeps me going every day in regards to both this organization and my work in education is just the opportunity to provide experiences like performance opportunities for musicians who otherwise wouldn’t have those opportunities.”
After years of teaching orchestra across the Houston area, Ortiz says their students shaped their leadership philosophy as much as they shaped young musicians. “The most important thing that I try to keep with me after being in the classroom for so long is to listen more than you speak and ask for help,” they explain. “Leading collaboratively, leading as a community, is far more important and fruitful than just being a figurehead.”
That collaborative approach has become essential as HPO grows, but it was also born from personal experience. Ortiz recalls being told “that my pronouns don’t make sense” and later leaving a teaching position after being “bullied out of the classroom” over displaying a Pride flag. “Nobody ever stood up for me. Nobody cared, it felt like,” they emphasize. “After those experiences, I have never felt so alone.”
Those moments reinforced why creating HPO mattered. “As professional musicians, we also do our best work when we feel safe,” Ortiz imparts. “That’s what I feel when I’m sitting in the viola section of the Houston Pride Orchestra. So that’s why that representation is so important.”
Asked what advice they would offer young queer musicians, Ortiz doesn’t hesitate. “There’s a great quote going around right now that I fully believe in: ‘Do it scared,’” they state. “I was terrified starting this organization. I thought I would fail it all. I still sometimes have those thoughts.”
“Do it scared because the outcome could be something you never would’ve dreamed you could achieve,” they conclude.
For more info, visit houstonprideorchestra.org
