Hailed as “a rising star” (The New Yorker), Christopher Cerrone writes music of profound intimacy and rigor.  Cerrone has received awards and grants from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, Chamber Music America, the Civitella Ranieri Foundation, Opera America, the Jerome Foundation, ASCAP, and New Music USA.  He was recently named to NPR’s 2011 crowd-sourced selection of young composers, “100 Composers Under 40.”  In his hands, Italo Calvino’s novel becomes a deeply spiritual musical experience.

Named a “Face to Watch” in 2012 by the LATimes, Yuval Sharon has been creating an unconventional body of work exploring the interdisciplinary potential of opera.  His productions have been described as “powerful” (New York Times), “virtuosic” (Opernwelt), “dizzyingly spectacular” (New York Magazine), “ingenious” (San Francisco Chronicle) and “staggering” (Opera News).  Yuval directed a landmark production of John Cage Song Books at the San Francisco Symphony and Carnegie Hall with Joan La Barbara, Meredith Monk, and Jessye Norman.  He made his European debut with a new production of John Adams’ Doctor Atomic at the Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe.  He founded and serves as Artistic Director of The Industry.

Danielle Agami is Artistic Director of Ate9 Dance Company in Los Angeles.  She was a member of the Batsheva Dance Company from 2002-2010.  Between 2007-2009, she served as the artistic director of Batsheva Dancers Create and functioned as the company’s rehearsal director from 2008- 2010, during which she received the Yair Shapira Prize for Excellence in Dance.  In 2013, Agami was commissioned by Ohad Naharin to choreograph ‘Shula,’ a new work for the BatSheva Ensemble and the Northwest Dance Project.