Twyla Tharp Dance

Since graduating from Barnard College in 1963, Ms. Tharp has choreographed more than 160 works: 129 dances, 12 television specials, six Hollywood movies, four full-length ballets, four Broadway shows, and two figure skating routines. She received one Tony Award, two Emmy Awards, nineteen honorary doctorates, the Vietnam Veterans of America President's Award, the 2004 National Medal of the Arts, the 2008 Jerome Robbins Prize, and a 2008 Kennedy Center Honor. Her many grants include the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Fellowship. She is a member of the American Philosophical Society and an Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters.  
  
In 1965, Ms. Tharp founded her dance company, Twyla Tharp Dance. By combining different forms of movement—such as jazz, ballet, boxing, and inventions of her own making–Ms. Tharp’s work expands the boundaries of ballet and modern dance.    
  
In addition to choreographing for her own company, she has created dances for The Joffrey Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, The Paris Opera Ballet, The Royal Ballet, New York City Ballet, The Australian Ballet, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Martha Graham Dance Company, Pacific Northwest Ballet, and Royal Winnipeg Ballet. Today, ballet and dance companies around the world continue to perform Ms. Tharp’s works.  
  
In 1992, Ms. Tharp published her autobiography Push Comes to Shove. She went on to write The Creative Habit, followed by The Collaborative Habit. In 2019, her fourth book was published, Keep It Moving: Lessons for The Rest of Your Life.  

Photo by Greg Gorman

Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Philip Glass is a graduate of the University of Chicago and The Juilliard School.  By 1974, Glass had created a large collection of music for The Philip Glass Ensemble.  The period culminated in the landmark opera, Einstein on the Beach.  Since Einstein, Glass’s repertoire has grown to include music for opera, dance, theater, orchestra, and film.  His scores have received Academy Award nominations (Kundun, The Hours, Notes on a Scandal) and a Golden Globe (The Truman Show).  Recent works include Glass’s memoir, Words Without Music, by Liveright Books, Glass’s first Piano Sonata, opera Circus Days and Night and Symphony No. 14.  Glass received the Praemium Imperiale in 2012, the U.S. National Medal of the Arts from President Barack Obama in 2016, and 41st Kennedy Center Honors in 2018.

Since 2005, Third Coast Percussion (TCP)—featuring David Skidmore, Robert Dillon, Peter Martin, and Sean Connors—has performed in over a thousand concerts around the world. TCP educates thousands of students of all ages each year and has commissioned over 100 new works from composers including Zakir Hussain, Jessie Montgomery, Philip Glass, Clarice Assad, Danny Elfman, Jlin, Tigran Hamasyan, Augusta Read Thomas, Devonté Hynes, Missy Mazzoli, Ivan Trevino, Tyondai Braxton, and leading early career composers through their annual Currents Creative Partnership. The mission of TCP is to inspire and educate through the creation of exciting and unexpected musical experiences. TCP’s vision is a world-wide audience that embraces creativity, curiosity, and community through music.