Shriver Hall Concert Series to Present Tessa Lark, Joshua Roman & Edgar Meyer and More

Shriver Hall Concert Series will continue its 60th anniversary and 2025-26 concert season with a performance featuring violinist Tessa Lark, cellist Joshua Roman, and double bassist Edgar Meyer on Sunday, November 16, 2025 at Shriver Hall. The all-star American trio will present a performance that combines bluegrass roots with classical in a program of Bach, two early Meyer trios, and a new work Meyer composed expressly for this dynamic ensemble.

Edgar Meyer is a seven-time Grammy winner, and he is the only bassist to receive both the Avery Fisher Prize and a MacArthur Genius Award. About the trio and the program he shares, "In 1986-1988, I wrote a series of three string trios that I premiered with Daniel Phillips and Carter Brey at the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival. These were the first longer pieces that I had conceived as such, and they set the tone for my next four decades. Only one was partially recorded. After meeting Tessa Lark and Joshua Roman a few years ago, I realized that they were perfect for helping me document this personal milestone. I also have set out to write a new trio for us to "complete the thought." Following the tour, we will record the old trios and the new one as a set. At this concert, we will be performing both the 1986 and 1988 trios, the new trio, and we will open the concert with the Bach Gamba Sonata, BWV 1027."

"I have so enjoyed this growing collaboration with one of my musical idols, bassist Edgar Meyer, and the incredible violinist Tessa Lark," shares cellist Joshua Roman. "I can't wait to share it with audiences in Baltimore, a beautiful city that I have been lucky to visit and explore through various projects over the years. I hope you'll join us at Shriver Hall in November for this special performance!"

SHCS is pleased to launch its acclaimed Discovery Series in November with the Baltimore debut of the Abeo Quartet on Saturday, November 8, 2025 at the University of Maryland Baltimore County's Linehan Concert Hall. Members of the quartet are violinists Njioma Grevious and Rebecca Benjamin, violist James Kang, and newest member, cellist Macintyre Taback. Formed at Juilliard, the Abeo Quartet was the inaugural Graduate String Quartet in Residence at the University of Delaware (2021-23). Its accolades already include prizes at the Fischoff, Melbourne, and Yellow Springs competitions and performances at the Kennedy Center and Lincoln Center. The quartet channels its energies into the dramatic first quartets of Mendelssohn and Brahms and the distinctive voice of American composer Adolphus Hailstork. The program will feature works by American composers Adolphus Hailstork (b. 1941), as well as Felix Mendelssohn and Johannes Brahms.

"We're really looking forward to sharing a program of Mendelssohn, Hailstork, and Brahms for our Baltimore and Shriver Hall Concert Series debut!" remarks the Abeo Quartet. "We begin with Mendelssohn's string quartet Op. 12 in E-flat major written in 1828 when Mendelssohn was just 20 years old. Mendelssohn was heavily influenced by Beethoven's "Harp" Quartet in writing this and, among other things, almost directly quotes the first couple of bars of the piece in the opening of Op. 12. Award-winning American composer Adolphus Hailstork's first string quartet weaves hopes for freedom from the spiritual "Swing Low Sweet Chariot" into his unique sound world. Finally, we end with the deeply Romantic first string quartet of Johannes Brahms, Op. 51, No. 1. Having a huge range of expression from bubbling anticipation, to prayerful reflection, to fiery excitement, Brahms takes us on a thrilling journey. This is an exciting and rich program, and we can't wait to share it!"

Shriver Hall Concert Series' Subscription Series continues on Sunday, October 19, 2025 with the Sphinx Virtuosi in their Baltimore debut and cellist Sterling Elliott. Following the Lark, Roman, and Meyer trio's concert on November 16, 2025, the series continues in January with pianist Emanuel Ax on Sunday, January 26, 2026. SHCS will also continue its Discovery Series in January with the winner of the 2025 Yale Gordon Competition, guitarist David Manzanares-Salguero, on Saturday, January 31, 2026 at the Baltimore Museum of Art.

For six decades, SHCS has created unforgettable musical experiences in the intimacy of Shriver Hall. The upcoming season builds on this legacy with a vibrant lineup of programs featuring enduring masterworks and fresh perspectives, from Bach to Beethoven to Billy Childs. Woven through the season are themes of another milestone: the 250th anniversary of the United States in 2026. Featuring American composers past and present, texts from the nation's greatest poets, classical works infused with bluegrass and jazz, and some of today's most thrilling young performers, these concerts will celebrate a nation brimming with musical treasures and talent.

Concert Information

Tessa Lark, violin, Joshua Roman, cello, and Edgar Meyer, double bass
Sunday, November 16, 2025, at 5:30 pm
Shriver Hall | 3400 N. Charles Street | Baltimore, MD 21218
Tickets: $291 Subscription; $48 Single Tickets and $10 Students
Link: https://www.shriverconcerts.org/meyertrio

JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH: Sonata for Viola da Gamba in G major, BWV 1027
EDGAR MEYER: Trio 1986
MEYER: Trio 2024 (Baltimore premiere)
MEYER: Trio 1988

A Pre-Concert Talk takes place at 4:30 pm in Shriver Hall.

The Helen Coplan Harrison Concert

Discovery Series: Abeo Quartet (Baltimore Debut)
Saturday, November 8, 2025
UMBC's Linehan Concert Hall | 1000 Hilltop Circle | Baltimore, MD 21250
Tickets: Free, $10 suggested donation
Link: https://www.shriverconcerts.org/concert/abeo