For over 25 years, the University of Houston Moores School of Music and Houston Ballet Academy have presented an annual performance featuring students both onstage and in the orchestra pit. The program ranges from classics like Swan Lake to works outside the standard orchestral repertoire.
In 2000, Franz Anton Krager, Director of Orchestral Studies at Moores School of Music, invited Houston Ballet to participate in the Shostakovich Festival, which marked the 25th anniversary of composer Dmitri Shostakovich’s death.
The Shostakovich Festival performance gave birth to new ideas about what was possible between the organizations. Claudio Muñoz, Ballet Master for Houston Ballet II, was part of the early efforts and is Krager’s Academy counterpart for this production.
Since it's inception, this collaboration has grown from 10 ballet students performing for a single event to a dedicated annual performance by around 70 dancers and a live orchestra of 60-70 musicians. The very best part? You can be there to experience the magic for yourself!
Visit our Academy Performance Calendar for more information and to purchase tickets for the next performance.