Shriver Hall Concert Series to Present Junction Trio

Shriver Hall Concert Series Baltimore's premier presenter of chamber music ensembles and solo recitalists - will continue its 2021-22 season on Sunday, February 13, 2022 at 5:30pm with a performance by the acclaimed Junction Trio, which is made up of violinist Stefan Jackiw, cellist Jay Campbell, and pianist Conrad Tao. The Trio presents a program featuring Ravel's Piano Trio in A minor and Brahms' Piano Trio in B Major, Op. 8, plus Passing Through, Staying Put by Christopher Trapani. Following a widely acclaimed digital 2020-21 season, Shriver Hall Concert Series offers all ticket holders the option to watch this season's mainstage concerts live from home.

Christopher Trapani's Passing Through, Staying Put (2011) is a piece split into two parts, like the novel from which it takes its title - Geoff Dyer's Jeff in Venice, Death in Varanasi - or the city of its premiere, Nicosia. According to Trapani, "The first half (Passing Through) is all about motion and change; a long chain of consonant four-note piano chords - calculated in OpenMusic to correspond to a set of meticulous voice-leading principles - unfolds throughout the piece, while snippets of material in the strings move in and out of phase in chiasma patterns inspired by Nancarrow. The second part (Staying Put) by contrast deals with settling and stasis, a sense of arrival."

Of their upcoming Baltimore debut, the Junction Trio says, "We are so looking forward to sharing an evening of music with a live audience at Shriver Hall. In the past, Baltimore (a city dear to our hearts) has welcomed us individually with open arms and we are grateful to return to Charm City as a trio - and we're showing our gratitude by presenting a unique and challenging program."

The Junction Trio's Conrad Tao previously gave his Baltimore Recital Debut at Shriver Hall on April 7, 2019, stepping in for Piotr Anderszewski. Of the performance, Tim Smith, former arts editor of the The Baltimore Sun, raved "'Pianist' seems way too limiting a term for Conrad Tao. There should be a word that somehow captures how this guy combines, in roughly equal measure, the elements of adventurer, intellectual, charmer, poet and badass. Definitely not just another talented keyboard artist." On April 29, 30 and May 1, 2022, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra will present Stefan Jackiw in the world premiere of Tao's new violin concerto.

Concert Information

Junction Trio
Sunday, February 13, 2022 at 5:30pm
Shriver Hall | 3400 N. Charles Street | Baltimore, MD 21218
Tickets: $44 for seated ticket or home livestream.
Link: https://www.shriverconcerts.org/junction

CHRISTOPHER TRAPANI: Passing Through, Staying Put
Maurice Ravel: Piano Trio in A minor
JOHANNES BRAHMS: Piano Trio in B Major, Op. 8

Junction Trio
Stefan Jackiw, violin
Jay Campbell, cello
Conrad Tao, piano

About Junction Trio

Three visionary next-generation artists combine internationally recognized talents in the eclectic new ensemble, Junction Trio. The Trio has performed at Washington Performing Arts, Portland Ovations, Rockport Music, Chautauqua Institution, Royal Conservatory in Toronto, and the Aspen Music Festival.

This season, the Junction Trio gives performances in Rockport, Moab, New Orleans, Key West, Eugene, Shriver Hall in Baltimore, at Duke Performances and Cliburn Concerts in Ft. Worth. The Junction Trio was selected by New York's classical music radio station, WQXR, to be part of their inaugural Artist Propulsion Lab, which allowed them to engage collaborators and commission works. The opportunity also allows them to take advantage of WQXR's various outlets to reach audiences via Greene Space performances, on-air curation opportunities, and more.

In the 2020-2021 season, live and virtual performances were presented by Caramoor, Harvard Musical Association, Corpus Christi, Cleveland, and Philadelphia Chamber Music Societies, Syracuse Friends of Chamber Music, and Emory University. Highlights of the 2019-2020 season included debuts at the Orange County Philharmonic Society and BIG ARTS Sanibel.

Admired for combining poetic interpretation with impeccable technique, violinist Stefan Jackiw joins cellist Jay Campbell and pianist and composer Conrad Tao, whom The New York Times has called a musician of "probing intellect and open-hearted vision." Campbell, too, has been praised by The New York Times as "electrifying," approaching old and new works with the same curiosity and emotional commitment while Jackiw has been celebrated for his "remarkable purity of tone." Learn more at www.jcttrio.com.