The music of Canadian-American composer Karim Al-Zand (b.1970) has been called “strong and startlingly lovely” (Boston Globe). In a wide-ranging catalogue of solo, chamber, vocal and orchestral compositions, his music embraces a variety of interests, issues and influences. It explores connections between music and other media, and draws inspiration from graphic art, myths and fables, folk music of the world, film, spoken word, jazz, and his own Middle Eastern heritage. From scores for dance, to compositions for young people, to multi-disciplinary and collaborative works, Al-Zand’s music is diverse in both its subject matter and its audience. His compositions have enjoyed success in the US, Canada and abroad, and he is the recipient of several national awards, including the “Arts and Letters Award in Music” from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Since 2000 he has taught composition and music theory in Houston at the Shepherd School of Music, Rice University.

Composer and Musiqa Artistic Director Anthony Brandt’s catalogue includes three chamber operas, as well as orchestral, chamber, vocal, theater, dance, and television scores. Recent commissions include works for Performing Arts Houston, Opera in the Heights, KINETIC, members of the Louisiana Philharmonic, and more. His pioneering collaborations with NobleMotion Dance and the University of Houston BRAIN Center have been presented at Wolf Trap and, in May 2024, will be performed at the United Nations’ “AI for Good” Conference in Geneva, Switzerland. Recordings of his music are available on the Albany, Crystal, and Navona Live labels. Dr. Brandt and neuroscientist David Eagleman have co-authored The Runaway Species: How Human Creativity Remakes the World, which has been published in fourteen countries. Dr. Brandt has contributed chapters to the Oxford Handbook of Music and the Brain, Oxford Handbook of Music and Language and several other volumes, and published papers in the Journal of Creativity, Creativity Research Journal, Frontiers in Psychology, the American Journal of Psychology, Tech Trends, and Brain Connectivity. He is currently a co-investigator in an NEA Research Lab examining the benefits of musical creativity for the elderly, as well as several other studies involving music and health. Dr. Brandt is Professor of Composition and Theory at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music.

photo credit Claire McAdams

Badie Khaleghian is a dynamic composer and multimedia artist whose passion for collaborative and innovative storytelling projects ignites imaginations, conversations, and transformative experiences. With a keen interest in exploring the intersection of art, cultures, science, and technology, he creates performances that challenge boundaries and break new ground. His works have been featured at renowned festivals worldwide, including the Atemporanea Festival in Buenos Aires, the Korea Electro-Acoustic Music Society’s Annual Conference in Seoul, and the Society for Electro-Acoustic Music in the United States (SEAMUS). Khaleghian’s compositions have been performed by a range of ensembles, from the Crossing Borders and Hub New Music to the Talea Ensemble, Transient Canvas, and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. Currently pursuing a doctorate in composition at Rice University, Khaleghian is deeply committed to research, teaching, and composing. He draws inspiration from his diverse cultural background and a strong desire to connect people through the power of art. Whether collaborating with other artists or working solo, Khaleghian’s work is characterized by its bold experimentation, technical sophistication, and emotional depth. With his finger on the pulse of the latest artistic trends and technologies, Khaleghian is poised to make an indelible mark on the world of contemporary music and multimedia art.

Marcus Karl Maroney studied composition and horn at The University of Texas at Austin and Yale School of Music. His principal composition teachers were Joseph Schwantner, Ned Rorem and Joan Tower. In 1999, he received a fellowship to the Tanglewood Music Center, the First Hearing award from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and an ASCAP/Morton Gould Young Composer’s award. Other awards and fellowships followed, including a Charles Ives Scholarship from The American Academy of Arts and Letters, two residencies at the Copland House and consecutive Woods Chandler Memorial awards from Yale University. Commissions have come from such organizations and individuals as ROCO, eighth blackbird, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, The Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, Timothy McAllister, the Moores School Percussion Ensemble, the Texas Music Festival and the Deer Valley Music Festival. Marcus served on the Yale School of Music faculty from 2002-2004. He is currently Associate Professor of Music and Director of Graduate Studies at the University of Houston’s Moores School of Music, where he has taught since 2005. In addition to composing and teaching, Marcus and his husband are wine connoisseurs, rescue dog fathers and travel enthusiasts.

Andy Noble and Dionne Sparkman Noble are long time collaborators who have been entertaining dance audiences for over 20 years. Andy Noble is an Associate Chair/Professor of Dance at Sam Houston State University. Dionne Sparkman Noble is an Associate Professor of Dance at Sam Houston where she directs the graduate program. Together they direct NobleMotion Dance, one of Texas’ premier dance companies. For 15 years, NMD’s programming has garnered national exposure and continues to serve as a vehicle for providing a high level of cultural excellence. Andy and Dionne collaborated with Academy Award winner John Ridley to create original choreography for the Emmy Award Winning and Golden Globe Nominated ABC TV show American Crime. Their work has been performed in venues such as Boston’s Institute of Contemporary Art, The Ailey Theatre in NYC, The Barns at Wolf Trap, and The Kennedy Center. Their choreography has also been commissioned by Dallas Black Dance Theatre, Repertory Dance Theatre, Bruce Wood Dance Company, John Malashock Dance Company, and Urbanity Dance to name a few. Recently, Andy and Dionne co-authored a TEDx Talk presented by Andy titled “Science Worth Dancing About.” This talk highlights the dance and neuroscience research conducted over the past few years with neuroengineer Jose Contreras-Vidal (IUCRC BRAIN, University of Houston) and composer Anthony Brandt (Musiqa, Rice University) that investigates the ways that dance enhances brain development. This research was also presented at Wolf Trap for the Performing Arts as part of the 2022 International Workshop on the Neural and Social Bases of Creative Movement and will be shared at the “AI for Good” Global Summit hosted by the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland later this year. Andy and Dionne have both been recognized as among Houston’s 100 Most Creatives and they teach each year in Lucca, Italy at the international dance intensive Dance Italia.

Jose ‘Pepe’ Contreras-Vidal, PhD is Cullen Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Director of the NSF Research Center for Building Reliable Advances and Innovations in Neurotechnology (IUCRC BRAIN) at the University of Houston. He was elected a Fellow of the IEEE and the AIMBE for pioneering contributions to development of brain-machine interfaces for controlling wearable exoskeletons for rehabilitation, and for mapping art-evoked brain activity. His art-science research uses team science and convergent research approaches to investigate coupled brain activity during dance and music, create and validate art-prescriptions to improve health and wellbeing and to uncover the neural basis of the creative process. Dr. Contreras-Vidal’s recent art-science collaborations include “LiveWire,” with Tony Brandt and Andy and Dionne Noble – a new ballet in which each section was inspired by a different feature of brain behavior, which premiered internationally at the Wolf Trap in 2022; a new chamber work titled “Diabelli 200” (composed by Tony Brandt), one of four winners of the 2022 Performing Arts Houston competition, which premiered at the Hobby Center in 2023, and “The “Slowest Wave” – a ground breaking collaboration with NY-based butoh dance artist Vangeline and scientists Constantina Theofanopoulou and Sadye Paez in 2023. Dr. Contreras-Vidal edited the Springer book Mobile Brain-Body Imaging and the Neuroscience of Art, Innovation, and Creativity. He was the co-chair of the 2022 International Workshop on the Social and Neural Bases of Creative Movement held at the Wolf Trap National Center for the Performing Arts. His career development in biomedical engineering was highlighted by the journal Science. Dr. Contreras-Vidal has received many awards and honors, including being named a Senior Research Scholar by the City of Paris, France, a Fellow of the Human Frontiers Science Program, and named a member of the National Advisory Board for Medical Rehabilitation Research (NABMRR) at the National Institute of Health. His research has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, DARPA, Industry and Philanthropy. His research has appeared in The Economist, Nature, Science, Der Spiegel, and Wall Street Journal, among others.

Nanki Chugh is an Indian-American violinist from Santa Monica, California. She is currently pursuing her masters degree at the Shepherd School of Music, studying with Paul Kantor. She completed her undergraduate degree at Yale University in May 2022 where she studied both music and biochemistry, receiving a bachelors of science in Molecular Biochemistry and Biophysics. She was the concertmistress and a member of the Programming Committee during Yale Symphony Orchestra’s Fall 2021 and Spring 2022 seasons. She has participated in numerous festivals including Heifetz International Music Institute, Orford Music Festival, and ‘Incontri in Terra de Siena’ Festival, Italy, and is the recipient of several awards including the Alfred Newman Award, Glen Katz Memorial Scholarship, and Margaret Ross Scholarship from the Westside Committee of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Nanki enjoys exploring the crossover space between Western and Hindustani classical music, and is particularly inspired by the works of Reena Esmail. She is also passionate about the therapeutic potential of music; she has been a part of many music for healing programs, playing for patients in medical wards, programming and performing virtual concerts for patients during the pandemic, and studying the effects of music on the brain. 

Nick Davies is the Bass/Utility Clarinet of the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, and was formerly the Principal Clarinet of the Great Falls Symphony and the Chinook Winds. Additionally, he has performed as a substitute with orchestras including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Louisville Orchestra, Des Moines Metro Opera, Sarasota Opera Orchestra, Bozeman Symphony and Santa Barbara Symphony. As a soloist, Nick recently performed Frank Ticheli’s Clarinet Concerto alongside the composer, and has performed as a soloist with ensembles such as the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra, and the USC Wind Ensemble. Mr. Davies has a strong interest in contemporary music and has held past fellowships with Ensemble Modern’s Klangspuren Schwaz, Aspen Contemporary Ensemble, and Spoleto Festival USA.  As a composer, his commissions include those from the Houston Grand Opera, Midic Winds, Webster Trio, and the Chicago Harp Quartet. Nick is the artistic director and founder of the Rossini Club, a chamber music organization based in Nantucket, Massachusetts, which is hosting its tweflth season this year. Nick holds degrees from Rice University and the University of Southern California.

Noted for his “elegant and brilliant pianism” (South Florida Classical Review), Wesley Ducote is a pianist/arranger based in St. Petersburg, Florida who has led a diverse musical career pursuing an extensive range of interests. As a collaborator, Mr. Ducote has been featured with many of today’s brightest stars including composer/vocalist Kate Soper, Emmy Award-winning composer and Vietnamese folk musician Van Anh Vo, flutists Leone Buyse and Carol Wincenc, clarinetist Evan Ziporyn, soprano Ana Maria Martinez, and many others. He has served as principal\guest principal keyboardist with the Houston Grand Opera, Naples Philharmonic, The Florida Orchestra, and the Britt Festival Orchestra, and recently completed a piano fellowship at the New World Symphony. As a chamber musician he has been a featured artist with MUSIQA and the Nantucket Rossini Club, and in 2017 was selected by the Shepherd School of Music to perform with the Gyldfeldt quartet from Leipzig. Mr. Ducote has even worked as a keyboardist/composer in his own jazz-fusion sextet Steve Cox’s Beard. An enthusiastic performer of new and contemporary music, Mr. Ducote has premiered over 40 new works and worked with faculty at institutions in China, South Korea, Canada and all over the United States.

Born in 1997, Christopher Ellis has been described as “a rapidly rising cello star” (The Irish Times). Christopher grew up in Ireland and attended the Royal Irish Academy of Music with Aisling Drury Byrne before continuing his studies at the Conservatoire Nationale Supérieur de Musique et Danse Paris studying with Marc Coppey, where he graduated with the highest honours of a ‘Premier Prix’. As a soloist Christopher has performed internationally at SuperCello Festival Beijing, Piatigorsky Cello Festival Los Angeles, Cello Biennale Amsterdam, Pablo Casals Masterclasses France and Kronberg Academy Masterclasses and has appeared at festivals in Ireland including Kilkenny Arts Festival, Clandeboye Festival, Sligo Chamber Music Festival and Killaloe Music Festival. As a chamber musician, Christopher has shared the stage with artists such as Barnabás Kelemen, Lars Anders Tomter, Finghin Collins, The Vogler Quartet, Elina Vähälä and Marc Coppey. A recent highlight for Christopher was making his debut as soloist with the Irish Chamber Orchestra at the Cellissimo Festival in Galway, Ireland. Christopher is currently studying with Brinton Smith at Rice University in Houston, Texas

Recognized by the Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM) for possessing “unusual creativity and expression,” Darius Milhaud Foundation Award recipient Molly Wise is a violist who uses performance to inspire and educate audiences. She performs extensively throughout Houston with classical and contemporary organizations including Musiqa Houston, Kinetic Ensemble, and more, as well as across the United States and Canada. Recent highlights include the world-premiere performance of MEKONG: Soul at the Kennedy Center with the Apollo Chamber Players and Vanessa Vo, guest principal with the Amarillo Symphony, and a fellowship for the second year in a row at Toronto Summer Music. This spring she looks forward to performances of Impetuoso, a duo-recital program with pianist James Palmer, at the Steinway Selection Center and Archway Gallery, as well as lecture-recital performances of original transcriptions of works by Florence Price and Amy Beach at Texas Christian University, CIM, and the American Viola Society Festival at the Colburn School in Los Angeles. A winner of the CIM Concerto Competition, Molly made her solo debut performing Penderecki’s Viola Concerto with the CIM Orchestra. She is currently a Doctor of Musical Arts student and James Dunham’s teaching assistant at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University.

Wesley Cordova started dancing at the age of eight and was instructed in various forms of dance at North Harris Performing Arts. While teaching at N.H.P.A Wesley became a member of Revolve Dance Company where he worked with Amy Cain and Dawn Dippel. Additionally, he was a cast member of Gothic South Production’s, Revolve on Camera; a series of several dance films directed by Benjamin Epps. He also performed in several East meets West productions, performed alongside the Houston Symphony Orchestra, and has worked under Wes Veldink, of Wes Veldink Movement in NYC. While acquiring his B.F.A. in Dance at Sam Houston State University, he became a member of NobleMotion Dance and has performed with the company for four years. Recently he was a performer and dance captain for two Houston Grand Opera productions and is currently instructing at the Institute of Contemporary Dance and Texas Academy of Dance Arts. He has studied under Amy Cain, Dawn Dippel, Randall Flinn, Elijah Alhaji Gibson, Lindsey McGill, Andy Noble, Dionne Noble, and Manuel Vigoulle.

Rachel Cox Culver is a dance artist based in Austin, TX. Culver performs with Ventana Ballet, NobleMotion Dance, Sea Legs Dance, Ty Graynor, and Red Nightfall Dance Theatre. Formerly, she danced with Nicolay Dance Works and as an apprentice with Bruce Wood Dance. Culver holds a BFA in Dance Performance from Sam Houston State University. She hails from Elida, NM where she studied classical and contemporary ballet and spent her summers studying with the Kirov Academy of Ballet, among others.

La’Rodney Freeman is a dancer, choreographer, and dance instructor based in Houston, Texas. He first began dancing under Anna Ashy as a member of Alief Jazz Ballet. He then decided to pursue his BFA in Dance at Sam Houston State University. During his time at SHSU, he has worked under the guidance of Andy and Dionne Noble, Elijah Alhadji Gibson, Dr. Cindy Gratz, Dana and Betty Nicolay, Jonathan Charles Smith and Jennifer Pontius. He has also worked with choreographers Jane Weiner, Harrison Guy, Walter Hull, Khaleah London and Maurice Causey. La’Rodney is an instructor for the Houston Ballet Academy and The Hope Project. He is also the Dance Coordinator for Workshop Houston, a non-profit organization based in Third Ward, Houston. LaRodney is also in his 10th season with NobleMotion Dance of Houston, Texas and has danced with Hopestone Dance, Urban Souls Dance Company and FrameDance. La’Rodney is also the owner of Generations Soul Kitchen Catering.

Sheena Kapila is a mover, maker and educator originally from Regina, Saskatchewan Canada. She received her Bachelors of Fine Arts in Dance from Sam Houston State University in the Summer of 2022, along with a minor in Kinesiology. Kapila is currently obtaining her Masters of Fine Arts (MFA) from Sam Houston State University. Training under Nadine Selinger for fifteen years she has trained in various genres. She has had the opportunity to train with the Radio City Rockettes, Royal Winnipeg Ballet School, School of Alberta ballet as well with representing Canada at the World Dance Championships in Poland and Germany. One of the most recent ventures was training and performing in Lucca, Italy with Dance Italia. In her collegiate career she was fortune enough to work with choreographers Dual Rivet, Take Ueyama, Andy Noble, Randall Flinn, Evelyn Toh, Francisco (Cisco) Graciano, Colette Kerwick, Gregory Dolbashian, Joshua Manculich and many more!

Jacob Regan is an artist and researcher who is currently pursing his Masters in Fine Arts at Sam Houston State University. His current research is centered around the aesthetic value and practical utility of movement improvisation in the field of contemporary dance.

Lauren Serrano is originally from Orange County where she trained at many local studios including Jimmy Defores, and Edge Performing Arts Studio in Los Angeles. She attended Orange County High School for the Performing Arts for classical and commercial dance. Lauren graduated from University of California Santa Barbara with a B.F.A. in dance, and later received her Masters in Dance Education from the Arnhold Graduate Dance Education Program at Hunter College in 2015. In New York City Lauren had the opportunity to work with choreographers such as Jennifer Muller, Young Soon Kim, Toni Renee Johnson, Pedro Ruiz, and Mike Esperanza. While pursuing her passion for dance education in California, she performed with Santa Barbara Dance Theater and Nebula Dance Lab which included works by Andrea Schermolly, Yusha Sorzano, Christopher Pilafian, Jennifer Muller, Stephanie Miracle, Brandon Whited, Edgar Zendejas, and Weslie Ching. Lauren graduated from Sam Houston State University (SHSU) with her M.F.A. Her work has been selected to perform in festivals in California, New York, and at Barnstorm Dance Fest in Texas. Serrano was recently selected as one of the 2023-2024 Artists in Residence cohort from Dance Source Houston. She is currently based in Houston dancing with NobleMotion Dance and co-directing NMD2. She is thrilled to be an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Dance at Sam Houston State University.