Neave Trio Performs Bernstein& More in All-American Program at DiMenna Center

On Friday, January 5, 2018 at 8pm the Neave Trio (Anna Williams, violin; Mikhail Veselov, cello; Eri Nakamura, piano) will present a program entitled Three Piano Trios from America to the Moon at the DiMenna Center for Classical Music's Cary Hall (450 West 37th Street). This program of all-American music features music by two living American composers - Robert Paterson's Moon Trio and the world premiere of Russell Steinberg's Paleface, based on the acclaimed paintings of New York "psychological pop" artist Jerry Kearns. The concert also includes Leonard Bernstein's Piano Trio, Op. 2 (1937), contributing to the worldwide tribute to the beloved composer, conductor, educator, and humanitarian's 100th birthday.

Russell Steinberg's Paleface (2017) explores the persistence of the American hero myth in three movements - "Wild West," "Action Hero," and "Into Night" - each paired with video projections created by Amanda Tiller of Kearns' artwork. Robert Paterson's Moon Trio (2015) ranges from the dreamlike to the explosive, exploring different lunar moods in four movements: "Moonbeams," "Lunatic Asylum," "Blue Moon," and "Moon Trip." Bernstein's youthful Piano Trip, Op. 2 is included on the Neave Trio's 2016 album, American Moments (Chandos), and was written while Bernstein was a student at Harvard studying with Walter Piston.

Since forming in 2010, the Neave Trio has earned enormous praise for its engaging, cutting-edge performances. WQXR explains, "'Neave' is actually a Gaelic name meaning 'bright' and 'radiant', both of which certainly apply to this trio's music making." The Boston Musical Intelligencer included Neave in its Best of 2014 and Best of 2016 roundups, writing, "it is inconceivable that they will not soon be among the busiest chamber ensembles going," and "their unanimity, communication, variety of touch, and expressive sensibility rate first tier."

Neave has performed at many esteemed concert series and at festivals worldwide, including Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall, 92nd Street Y, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center/La Jolla Music Society, Rockport Chamber Music Festival, Norfolk and Norwich Chamber Music Series (United Kingdom), and the Samoylov and Rimsky Korsakow Museums' Chamber Music Series in St. Petersburg (Russia). The trio has also appeared frequently as soloists for Beethoven's Triple Concerto with orchestras across the country and held residency positions at Brown University, ArtsAhimsa Chamber Music Festival, San Diego State University as the first ever Fisch/Axelrod Trio-in-Residence, the Banff Centre (Canada), among many other institutions. In the fall of 2017, the Trio will join the faculty of the Longy School of Music of Bard College as an Alumni Artists, Faculty Ensemble-in-Residence.

The Neave Trio strives to champion new works by living composers and reach wider audiences through innovative concert presentations, regularly collaborating with artists of all mediums. These collaborations include performances with the Blythe Barton Dance Company, which earned "Best Dance Production" at the 2015 San Diego International Fringe Festival; projection artist Ryan Brady, who has added visual components to Neave's performances of standard repertoire; the interactive concert series "STEIN2.0," launched in collaboration with composer Amanuel Zarzowski; Klee Musings by acclaimed American composer Augusta Read Thomas, which was premiered by Neave; and the upcoming short film, 4Seasons, a genre-defying short film based on the tango music of Astor Piazzolla, in collaboration with filmmaker Pablo Berron and the Blythe Barton Dance Company. In addition to American Moments, recordings include an upcoming release on Azica Records featuring all new arrangements of Piazzolla's works for piano trio and voice with mezzo-soprano Carla Jablonski, and an all-French album on Chandos Records in 2018 featuring the music of Debussy, Fauré, and Roussel.

About composer Russell Steinberg:
Russell Steinberg's music fuses Romanticism with contemporary pulse and colors that reviewers call "freshly lyrical, pulsating, edgy, infectious" and "shimmering with great beauty and energy." Three orchestras- the New West Symphony, the Bay Atlantic Symphony, and the Hopkins Symphony Orchestra-commissioned and premiered Cosmic Dust, a work that Science News Magazine featured in its issue celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Hubble Space Telescope.

Commissions and premieres for 2017-2018 include Trio for Horn, Violin, and Piano with Sierra Ensemble in the Presidio in San Francisco, Whack-A-Mole USA with double bassist James Rapport at the Gesellschaft für Musiktheater in Vienna, and Paleface with the Neave Trio, a work accompanied by video projection of paintings by acclaimed "psychological pop" artist Jerry Kearns at the Dimenna Center in New York City.

Steinberg is passionate about music education for listeners of all ages. He is a popular pre-concert speaker for the Los Angeles Philharmonic and is Artistic Director of the Los Angeles Youth Orchestra, a widely-praised ensemble that includes 120 students from over 60 schools. The orchestra recently toured Italy, performing in Cremona, Montecatini, and Rome.

Steinberg received a Ph.D. in Music from Harvard University studying with Leon Kirchner, an M.M. from the New England Conservatory studying with Arthur Berger, and a B.A. from UCLA studying with Elaine Barkin.

Information about Steinberg's music and lectures is available at www.russellsteinberg.com.

About composer Robert Paterson:
A 'modern day master' and often the 'highlight of the program' (The New York Times), Robert Paterson's music is loved for its elegance, wit, structural integrity, and a wonderful sense of color. Paterson was named The Composer of The Year from the Classical Recording Foundation with a performance at Carnegie's Weill Hall in 2011. His music has been on the Grammy® ballot yearly, and his works were named 'Best Music of 2012' on National Public Radio. His works have been played by the Louisville Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, American Composers Orchestra, Austin Symphony, Vermont Symphony, BargeMusic, the Albany Symphony Dogs of Desire, among others. Paterson's choral works were recorded by Musica Sacra and maestro Kent Tritle, with a world premiere performance at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City in 2015.

Season highlights included The Nashville Opera world premiere of THREE WAY in January, 2017 and then Nashville performed the opera at BAM in Brooklyn, June, 2017. The New York Premiere of his opera, The Whole Truth with a libretto by Mark Campbell, sold out in January 2016, at Dixon Place in New York City. Other premieres & commissions include Shine for the American Brass Quintet, Moon Music for the Claremont Trio, and Graffiti Canons for the Volti Choir of San Francisco. Notable awards include winner of the Utah Arts Festival, the Copland Award, ASCAP Young Composer Awards, a three year Music Alive! grant from the League of American Orchestras and New Music USA, and yearly ASCAP awards. Fellowships include Yaddo, the MacDowell Colony, and the Aspen Music Festival.

Paterson holds degrees from the Eastman School of Music (BM), Indiana University (MM), and Cornell University (DMA). Paterson gives master classes at colleges and universities, most recently at the Curtis Institute of Music, New York University, and the Cleveland Institute of Music. Paterson is the Artistic Director of the American Modern Ensemble and resides in NYC with his wife Victoria, and their son, Dylan. For more information, visit www.robertpaterson.com.

Three Piano Trios from America to the Moon

Featuring music by Russell Steinberg, Robert Paterson, and Leonard Bernstein and art by Jerry Kearns

Friday, January 5, 2018 at 8pm
DiMenna Center for Classical Music, Cary Hall
450 West 37th Street | New York, NY

Information: www.dimennacenter.org
Tickets available: $20 through Eventbrite (complimentary glass of wine included with ticket purchase)

"a delectable joyful surprise" - The Boston Musical Intelligencer

Watch the Neave Trio perform Bernstein's Piano Trio, Op. 2: Tempo di Marcia

www.neavetrio.com

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