Hush
Music
Bobby McFerrin », Yo-Yo Ma »
Set and costume design
Marian Bruce »
Lighting Design
Christina R Gianelli »
Bobby McFerrin is one of the natural wonders of the music world. A ten-time Grammy Award winner, he is one of the world's best-known vocal innovators and improvisers, a world-renowned classical conductor, the creator of Don't Worry Be Happy, one of the most popular songs of the late 20th century, and a passionate spokesman for music education. His recordings have sold over 20 million copies, and his collaborations including those with Yo-Yo Ma, Chick Corea, the Vienna Philharmonic, and Herbie Hancock have established him as an ambassador of both the classical and jazz worlds.
With a four-octave range and a vast array of vocal techniques, McFerrin is no mere singer; he is music's last true Renaissance man, a vocal explorer who has combined jazz, folk and a multitude of world music influences - choral, a cappella, and classical music - with his own ingredients. As a conductor, Bobby is able to convey his innate musicality in an entirely different context. Those familiar with his shows, whether as a conductor or a vocalist, know that each one is a unique event that resonates with the unexpected. He is that rare artist who has the ability to reach beyond musical genres and stereotypes for a sound that is entirely his own. As one of the foremost guardians of music's rich heritage, he remains at the vanguard with his natural, beautiful and timeless music that transcends all borders and embraces all cultures.
Yo-Yo Ma was born in 1955 to Chinese parents living in Paris. He began to study the cello with his father at age four and soon came with his family to New York, where he spent most of his formative years. Later, his principal teacher was Leonard Rose at the Juilliard School. He sought out a traditional liberal arts education to expand upon his conservatory training, graduating from Harvard University in 1976. He has received numerous awards, including the Avery Fisher Prize, the Glenn Gould Prize, the National Medal of the Arts, the Dan David Prize, the Sonning Prize, and the World Economic Forum's Crystal Award. Appointed a CultureConnect Ambassador by the United States Department of State in 2002, Yo-Yo Ma has met with, trained and mentored thousands of students worldwide. In 2006, Secretary General Kofi Annan named him a U.N. Messenger of Peace and in 2007 Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon extended this appointment. Yo-Yo Ma remains one of the best-selling recording artists in the classical field. All of his recent albums have quickly entered the Billboard chart of classical bestsellers, remaining in the Top 15 for extended periods, often with as many as four titles simultaneously on the list. He is strongly committed to educational programmes that not only bring young audiences into contact with music but also allow them to participate in its creation.
Marian Bruce trained as a dancer at the Rambert School and performed with Marie Rambert's company in the 1960s. She began her studies in the visual arts in 1970, later undertaking an MA in printmaking at Wimbledon School of Art. Marian Bruce has exhibited widely in England and is represented in Houston, Texas by Donna Rogers. She designs for contemporary dance productions both in the UK and abroad.
"I associate my ideas with the conceptual world and surrealism. Through installation and sculpture I am able to express, without compromise or constraint, the inexpressible. A concept will evolve through a process of gathering together and assembling evocative, disparate, symbolic and often transitory materials. The objects will retain the essential elements of risk and uncertainty as I attempt to truthfully reflect and observe intimate aspects of the human condition from both a personal and political point of view. The resulting ambiguity, will, I hope, both involve and implicate the viewer."
Since 1987, when she joined Houston Ballet, Ms. Giannelli has designed lighting for Stanton Welch's Indigo, Bruiser, and The Four Seasons. Trey McIntyre's Peter Pan, Skeleton Clock, Curupira, Touched, Second Before the Ground, Bound and The Shadow, and Ben Stevenson's Eclipse, Don Quixote, Five Poems, and Twilight. She has designed the Houston premieres of Sir Frederick Ashton's La Fille mal Gardée and Les Patineurs, Sir Kenneth MacMillan's Manon, and Glen Tetley's Daphnis and Chloe. Ms. Giannelli freelances extensively around the country and abroad. She sits on the board of the Houston Dance Coalition, DiverseWorks Artists Board, and she curates and produces the Weekend of Texas Contemporary Dance at Miller Outdoor Theatre, DanceCard, and houstondance.org.