Four Premieres

Christopher Bruce was born in England in 1945 and started studying dance at 11 years old. After studying at the Rambert School he joined Rambert Ballet in 1963, where he quickly became the leading male dancer. Mr. Bruce appeared in works such as Don Quixote in 1964 and Coppelia in 1966. In 1977 Mr. Bruce was appointed associate director of the company and was associate choreographer from 1979-87, where he created over twenty works for the company. Between 1986-91 he acted as associate choreographer for London Festival Ballet, later English National Ballet, and associate choreographer for Houston Ballet beginning in 1989. From 1994 - 2002, he served as artistic director for Rambert Dance Company. Often political in his work, he integrates classical ballet and modern dance, often set against popular music by artists like Bob Dylan and The Rolling Stones. Throughout his career, critics have praised his innovative and detailed choreography. “What Bruce also brings to the choreography is his consummate craft, especially his gift for wrapping seamless lines of dance around vividly observed detail,” writes Judith Mackrell of The Guardian. Over the last 25 years, Houston Ballet has emerged as Mr. Bruce’s artistic home in America.

Leoš Janáček,  (born July 3, 1854, Hukvaldy, Moravia, Austrian Empire—died  Aug. 12, 1928, Ostrava, Czech.) composer, one of the most important exponents of musical nationalism of the 20th century. Janáček was a choirboy at Brno and studied at the Prague, Leipzig, and Vienna conservatories. In 1881 he founded a college of organists at Brno, which he directed until 1920. He directed the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra from 1881 to 1888 and in 1919 became professor of composition at the Prague Conservatory. Deeply interested in folk music, he collected folk songs with František Bartoš and between 1884 and 1888 published the journal Hudební Listy (Musical Pages). His first opera, Šárka (1887–88; produced 1925), was a Romantic work in the spirit of Wagner and Smetana. In his later operas he developed a distinctly Czech style intimately connected with the inflections of his native speech and, like his purely instrumental music, making use of the scales and melodic characteristics of Moravian folk music. His most important operas were Jenůfa (original title, Její pastorkyňa, 1904; Her Foster Daughter), which established Janáček’s international reputation; Věc Makropulos (1926; The Makropulos Case), Z mrtvého domu (1930; From the House of the Dead ), the two one-act satirical operas Výlet pana Broučka do Mĕsíce (Mr. Brouček’s Excursion to the Moon) and Výlet pana Broučka do XV stol (Mr. Brouček’s Excursion to the 15th Century), both performed in Prague in 1920, and the comic opera Příhody Lišky Bystroušky (1924; The Cunning Little Vixen). His operas are marked by a skilled use of music to heighten dramatic impact. Janáček also wrote a number of instrumental chamber works in which, as in his vocal works, he manipulates blocks of strong harmonies and repetitive melodies influenced by the contours of his native folk music. His use of elements of folk music and his attention to speech inflection mark him as a 20th-century counterpart of Mussorgsky. Although some influence of the French musical Impressionists appears in his later works, Janáček’s style remained highly individual and original.

Melissa Hough was born in Severn, Maryland and trained at the Kirov Academy of Ballet in Washington, DC. As a young dancer she performed in ballet competitions and festivals including The USA International Ballet Competition in Jackson, Mississippi, the Helsinki International Ballet Competition and the Vail International Dance Festival. Ms. Hough spent the majority of her dance career with Boston Ballet, artistic director Mikko Nissinen. She has also danced with Houston Ballet, artistic director Stanton Welch and is now a member of the Norwegian National Ballet, artistic director Ingrid Lorentzen. Her diverse repertoire includes lead roles in Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, Nureyev’s Don Quixote, Maina Geilgud's Giselle, The Sleeping Beauty, and Stanton Welch’s Cinderella. She has also danced works by George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, August Bournonville, John Cranko, Sir Kenneth MacMillan, Sir Frederick Ashton, Mark Morris, Christopher Wheeldon, Twyla Tharp, Jiri Kylian, William Forsythe, James Kudelka, Christopher Bruce and Val Caniparoli. Hough has created roles in ballets by choreographers Lucinda Childs, Mark Morris, Stanton Welch, Niccolo Fonte, Aszure Barton, Helen Pickett and Jorma Elo. Hough’s work has been performed in galas for Houston Ballet, Boston Ballet and Oregon Ballet Theater. She has choreographed for Boston Ballet II as well as many events through Boston Ballet. She participated in both of Houston Ballet’s choreographic workshops and in 2011 was the recipient of the New York Choreographic Institute Fellowship. Along with choreographing, Hough is on the faculty of New York City Dance Alliance teaching ballet and contemporary and is thrilled to contribute to the same organization that inspired her so much when she was a young dancer. She danced with Houston Ballet from 2010-2013, achieving the rank of first soloist before leaving to join The Norwegian National Ballet.

Composing music that both embraces and challenges western classical traditions, Gabriel Prokofiev has emerged at the forefront of a new approach to classical music in the UK at the beginning of the 21st century. His Concerto for Turntables was performed at the BBC Proms in August 2011 to critical acclaim and it has since been performed by Seattle Symphony and Copenhagen Philharmonic. Prokofiev’s own distinctive sound is informed by his background as a producer of hip-hop, grime, and electro records, as well as his earlier involvement in electroacoustic music at York and Birmingham universities, which saw him win a Residency prize at the prestigious Bourges International Electroacoustic Music Competition in 1998. His classical composing career began 2003 with his first two String Quartets, which he composed for the Elysian Quartet, though he continued producing electro & grime, and also began his Nonclassical Remix series (and has now produced over 30 Remixes of contemporary classical works). Large-scale works include a ballet of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ (2011) with choreographer Cathy Marston for Bern Ballet, Switzerland, a Concerto for Bass Drum & Orchestra which was premiered by Princeton Symphony in the USA with soloist Joby Burgess and Rossen Milanov (2012), plus an all electronic ballet collaboration ‘Howl!’ with American choreographer Maurice Causey for Lucerne Ballet (2012). In May 2013, Gabriel made his Russian Orchestral debut with the world premier of his Cello Concerto No1 with the St Petersburg Philharmonic conducted by Sabrie Bekirova, and soloist Alexander Ivashkin. Most recent orchestral commissions were a critically acclaimed Concerto for Trumpet Percussion, Turntables and Orchestra premiered by Orchestre de Pau Pays de Béarn (2014), a Symphonic Work ‘Dial 1-900 Mix-A-Lot’ for Seattle Symphony (2014), and his first Violin Concerto (commission by the BBC Proms and Luxembourg Philharmonie) and written for Violinist Daniel Hope (2014), and performances at the Royal Albert, Tchaikovsky Hall & Luxembourg Philharmonic Hall. In March 2015 he made his Royal Opera House debut with a 1 hour contemporary dance work with genre-defying choreographer Shobana Jeyasingh, ‘Bayadere: The Ninth Life’ which has since been nominated for the British Composer Awards 2015. Gabriel is currently the composer in residence for Orchestre de Pau Pays de Béarn in southern France, who premiered the first chapter of his new orchestral City inspired series: Carnet de Voyage in September 2015, with movements on St Petersburg, London & Vienna.

Choreographer Garrett Smith was born in Salt Lake City, Utah and began his formal training with the Utah Regional Ballet. In 2002, Garrett performed in the Winter Olympics Opening Ceremonies, and toured Austria in the Tanszsommer Festival. Garrett was later named a Presidential Scholar in the Arts where he was honored to meet George W. Bush at the White House and perform his choreography at The Kennedy Center. Garrett studied at the Houston Ballet Academy where he created five works for Houston Ballet II's repertoire, which were taken on tours through the United States, China, Toronto, and Hungary. Garrett joined Houston Ballet and danced works by Stanton Welch, Jorma Elo, Nicolo Fonte, and Christopher Bruce. Garrett choreographed his first work on the company as an apprentice, through an award presented to him by Peter Martins from the New York Choreographic Institute Fellowship. Garrett was later commissioned by Houston Ballet to create a new work in the 2013 season’s mixed bill. Garrett was accepted as a member of The Norwegian National Ballet, where he had the great pleasure to work personally with choreographers Jiři Kylían, Nacho Duato, Alexander Ekman, and dance in other works by William Forsythe. Garrett has since been commissioned by The Norwegian National Ballet, Ballet West, and Milwaukee Ballet to create new works. Garrett was a selected choreographer to choreograph a new work for the National Choreographers Initiative 2014. Garrett was recently accepted as a finalist for the Milwaukee Ballet's Genesis International Choreographic Competition, where his new creation “Mortal Form” took 1st place. New York City Ballet has selected Garrett to create on the company for the 2015 New York Choreographic Institute Fellowship.

John Adams is one of the best known and most often performed of America's composers. As Andrew Porter wrote in The New Yorker, Adams is the creator of a "flexible new language capable of producing large-scale works that are both attractive and strongly fashioned. His is a music whose highly polished resonant sound is wonderful." Le Monde says that his music "...gives the impression of a rediscovered liberty, of an open door which lets in the fresh air in great gusts." His creative output spans a wide range of media: works for orchestra, opera, video, film, and dance, as well as electronic and instrumental music. Such pieces as Harmonium, Harmonielehre, Shaker Loops, and The Chairman Dances are among the best known and most frequently performed of contemporary American music. In these works he has taken minimalism into a new and fresh terrain characterized by luminous sonorities and a powerful and dramatic approach to form. Adams' works have been programmed by every major orchestra in the United States as well as orchestras throughout Europe, Asia, and Australia. His music has also been choreographed by numerous dance companies including Dance Theater of Harlem (Garth Fagan) and the New York City Ballet (Peter Martins). Adams's operas have been among the more controversial and widely seen stage events in recent history. In 2003 Lincoln Center presented a festival entitled "John Adams: An American Master," the most extensive festival ever mounted at Lincoln Center devoted to a living composer. Other festivals of his music have been presented in London and in Rotterdam, as well as in Stockholm.

James Kudelka is widely acknowledged as one of North America’s most innovative choreographers. His mastery of both classical ballet and modern/contemporary dance has earned him commissions from companies—some 25 in all—as stylistically diverse as American Ballet Theatre, Chicago’s Hubbard Street Dance and Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal. Even as a student at Canada’s National Ballet School Kudelka demonstrated a choreographic interest in exploring innovative approaches. While adept in the classical ballet vocabulary he infuses it with a contemporary sensibility acquired from his intense interest in modern movement idioms. Kudelka’s work covers an impressive range, from virtuoso pas de deux, through large-scale and always arresting adaptations of such classics as Swan Lake, The Nutcracker and Cinderella, to boldly innovative creative collaborations with dancers, designers and musicians. Kudelka has never been afraid to tackle psychologically challenging subject matter in his story ballets—he views dance as a primary medium of artistic discourse—and through his gift for movement metaphor infuses poetic, emotional meaning into his many non-narrative works. After nine distinguished years as artistic director of the National Ballet of Canada (1996-2005) James Kudelka continues to undertake collaborative projects that engage and challenge him as a choreographer.

Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential of all composers. His best-known compositions include 9 symphonies, 5 piano concertos, 1 violin concerto, 32 piano sonatas, 16 string quartets, his great Mass the Missa solemnis and an opera, Fidelio. Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of the Holy Roman Empire, Beethoven displayed his musical talents at an early age and was taught by his father Johann van Beethoven and by composer and conductor Christian Gottlob Neefe. At the age of 21 he moved to Vienna, where he began studying composition with Joseph Haydn, and gained a reputation as a virtuoso pianist. He lived in Vienna until his death. By his late 20s his hearing began to deteriorate, and by the last decade of his life he was almost totally deaf. In 1811 he gave up conducting and performing in public but continued to compose; many of his most admired works come from these last 15 years of his life.