Zodiac Trio
Originally formed in New York at the Manhattan School of Music, the Zodiac Trio enjoys a concert schedule that spans across three continents. Since its inception, the Zodiac Trio has performed at such leading venues as the famed Festival Radio France Montpelier, Lincoln Center in New York, the Four Season Performing Arts Centre in Toronto, Izumi Hall in Japan, the Oriental Performing Arts Center in Shanghai; has been broadcast by France 3 Television, CBC Radio and Television in Canada, National Public Radio in the U.S. and has recorded multiple times for Radio France in Paris. In June of 2010, the Zodiac Trio performed a six-city tour of China where the young ensemble was welcomed on the country's leading stages and was invited to present masterclasses at the China Conservatory in Beijing and Ningboa University.
Upon completing a specialized chamber music course at the Paris Superior Conservatory as protégé of the renowned Ysaÿe Quartet, the Zodiac Trios reputation as the new leading clarinet-violin-piano ensemble began to grow rapidly, prompting invitations from such venues as Festival Radio France Montpellier, Russian River Music Festival and Old First Concerts in California, Lincoln Friends of Chamber Music in Nebraska, Preston Bradley Hall at the Chicago Cultural Center, Merkin Concert Hall in New York, Berklee College of Music in Boston, Mount Allison University in Canada, Pro-Musica Festival and Festival Autour d'une Piano in France, among many others. In addition to performing, the young ensemble is often called upon to present chamber music masterclasses, appearing in that capacity at the Boston University, Boston Conservatory, Berklee College of Music, Ningboa University and the China Conservatory in Beijing.
The current 2010-11 season includes performances on the celebrated Schneider Concert Series at the New School in New York, St. Vincent College Concert Series, Virtuosi Series in Winnipeg in Canada, The Four Seasons Performing Arts Centre in Toronto, Berklee College of Music in Boston, Boston Conservatory, performances in California, the International Colmar Festival, and a return to China for a second tour, among others. In addition, the Trio has received invitations from such prestigious series in the US as the Harvard Music Club and Tulsa Chamber Music.
The Zodiac Trio has been a recipient of a number of prizes and awards from national and international competitions in France, Italy, U.S. and Japan, including International Chamber Music Competition Duchi D'Acquaviva and Val Tidone International Music Competition in Italy, Yellow Springs Chamber Music Competition in the U.S., FNAPEC Ensemble Competition in Paris and has received the Encore Grant for contemporary music from the American Composers Forum.
Strong advocates of new music, the trio has commissioned new works in order to expand the clarinet-violin-piano trio repertoire, and strives to serve as a platform of exposure for up-and-coming composers. In the Spring of 2011, the Zodiac Trio launched the Boston New Music Project in collaboration of Berklee College of Music and the Boston Conservatory which resulted in two new works written for and performed by the ensemble, numerous student composer workshop and an hour-long live feature on WGBH Boston Classical Radio.
The Zodiac Trio is on the artist roster of the Cziffra Foundation in Paris, an organization dedicated to promoting Europes top young artists, and has also been chosen by Culture France to receive moral and financial support from the « Declic » Program, partner with the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Mecenat Musical Societe General. The Zodiac Trio also enjoys the generous support of the Swiss Global Artistic Foundation.
PRESS HIGHLIGHTS:
- "One the best chamber ensembles of its generation..."
- La Marseillaise - "The Zodiac Trio is a keen and polished contemporary ensemble"
- The Boston Music Intelligencer - The Zodiac Trio gave the piece [Khachaturians Trio] all its savor, by balancing the tension between legibility of melody, technical control and harmonic colors. Once again, the instrumentalists found a very beautiful balance The Zodiac Trio brings forth a technical agility and a firm investment in its interpretations."
- ClassiqueInfo.com - "What a closure for the festival "Autour d'un Piano"!
- [The Zodiac Trio] lead the public in a program dedicated to 20th century music, a task in which the trio succeeded with a rare talent. The musicians were awarded with an overwhelming ovation by the audience which included serious music lovers who did not hesitate in marking this night as extraordinary. All in all, the night carried a feeling of intense enthusiasm... With a contagious enjoyment of music, the Zodiac Trio displayed an impeccable technique. Dont forget their name, you will hear of them again, this is certain."
- Ouest France
The proposed program is:
- Astor Piazzolla - Verano Porteno
- Aram Khachaturian - Trio for Clarinet, Violin and Piano
- I. Andante con dolore
- II. Allegro
- III. Moderato
- Frederick Chopin - Revolutionary Etude
- INTERMISSION
- Astor Piazzolla - Otono Porteno
- Paquito d'Rivera - Vals Venezolano and Contradanza
- Camille Saint Saens - Tarantella
- Alexander Arutiunian - Trio for Clarinet, Violin and Piano
- I. Introduction
- IV. Finale
Their website is www.zodiactrio.com
