On 14 March 2026 Jeremy Birchall and Stina Quagebeur premiere Omelas for Ballett am Rhein at Opernhaus Düsseldorf. The work, in rep until 6 June 2026 and receiving 8 performances, features as part of the triple-bill Orgelpassion, alongside Glen Tetley’s Voluntaries and Goyo Montera’s Aurea.
The work, which will be both abstract and narrative in character, is based on Ursula K. Le Guin’s 1973 short story The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas – an allegorical dystopian tale of a summer festival held in the eponymous city, where happiness is contingent on the perpetual misery of a single child. “What is the price of paradise and who has to pay for it?” asks Belgian choreographer Stina Quagebeur. Birchall’s score features a prominent role for solo organ alongside its orchestral sweep, performed by Markus Hinz and conducted by Valtteri Rauhalammi.
Omelas is Birchall’s fifth collaboration with Quagebeur. July 2024 saw the premiere of Everything InBetween in Philadelphia’s Wilma Theater. The 29-minute work, with an original orchestral score by Birchall, was commissioned by BalletX and tells the story of a couple in therapy, and the vicissitudes of their memories.
Hungry Ghosts – an exploration of opioid addiction – premiered in February 2024 as part of Joffrey Ballet’s triple-bill Studies in Blue at Chicago’s Lyric Opera and was lauded by critics. Birchall’s 40-minute score is a blend of live orchestral performance and recorded tracks. Their other projects include Nostalgia for Northern Ballet, performed at the Royal Opera House in 2022, and Catching Colour, a collaboration between English National Ballet and The Line, which debuted in 2022.
Liquid Life, a 30-minute ballet inspired by the writings of Zygmunt Bauman choreographed by Andrew McNicol and for his Ballet Collective, toured in March and April 2025, appearing at Hull City Hall, the Royal Academy of Music, and Leeds’ Stanley & Audrey Burton Theatre. Scored for string quartet – present onstage throughout – and electronics, incorporating various diegetic sounds such as sirens and radio static, its premiere was the capstone of the Ballet Collective’s fifth anniversary Here and Now programme, and was celebrated by critics.