Convergence Trio Gaia in Recital

In Convergence, Trio Gaia explores the theme of conflict—both internal and external—and its resolution through music. In Nico Muhly’s Common Ground, the composer navigates the tension between individual voices and collective unity, highlighting dialogue between contrasting ideas. Janáček’s Kreutzer Sonata, arranged for piano trio, delves into the raw emotions of jealousy and passion, while Bartók’s Contrasts brings together folk-inspired rhythms and harmonic clashes, creating a soundscape of cultural and personal dissonance. The program culminates with Schubert’s Piano Trio in E-flat major, which at its heart exposes deep inner turmoil on an arduous path toward emotional reconciliation. This program offers a reflective parallel to today’s world, where divisions and struggles for resolution continue to shape our collective experience, and the search for unity persists despite discord.

Trio Gaia is cellist Yi-Mei Templeman, pianist Ariel Mo, and violinist Grant Houston.

PROGRAM

Nico Muhly (b. 1981): Common Ground

Leoš Janáček (1854-1928): The Kreutzer Sonata, arr. Coxe
I. Adagio con moto

Béla Bartok (1881-1945): Contrasts Sz. 111, arr. Trio Gaia
III. Sebes

Franz Schubert (1797-1828): Piano Trio no. 2 in E Flat Major, D.929
I. Allegro
II. Andante con moto
III. Scherzando. Allegro moderato
IV. Allegro moderato

Trio Gaia, New England Conservatory's most recent graduate piano trio in residence, formed in 2018 and is dedicated to offering audiences dynamic, personally relevant experiences inside and outside the concert hall. The trio has won 1st prize at the WDAV Young Chamber Musicians Competition, as well as prizes in the Premio Trio di Trieste International Music Competition, Chamber Music Yellow Springs Competition, and the Plowman National Chamber Music Competition.

Recent seasons have included appearances on stages nationally and internationally, including recitals for the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concerts, Davidson College Concert Series, and Core Memory Music, as well as performances in Osaka, Japan as part of the Osaka International Chamber Music Competition. The trio has also been presented in recitals in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Virginia, Michigan, and Panama City, Panama, with summer appearances at the Chamber Music Workshop of the Perlman Music Program and Yale University’s Norfolk Chamber Music Festival. In the 23/24 season, Trio Gaia debuts at the Artist Series Concerts of Sarasota, the Harvard Musical Association, the Shouse Institute of the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival, and was been awarded a Creative Residency at the Perlman Music Program to bring new life to its integrative programming of works beyond the classical piano trio canon. In 2020, during the onset of the pandemic, Trio Gaia gave virtual performances for Music for Food, Massachusetts Peace Action, NEC's Black Student Union, and Opus Illuminate, a series dedicated to music by composers underrepresented in classical music. In their programming, the trio is equally passionate about reviving standard works and championing new works, while also experimenting with original arrangements and compositions.

Dedicated to sharing classical music in the community, Trio Gaia is sought-after for its educational programming for students, seniors, and everyone in between. The trio has crafted weeklong residencies for both the Panama Jazz Festival and the Virginia Arts Festival in support of its mission to invite students into the experience of creating chamber music. Previously, Trio Gaia served as Community Performance & Partnership fellows at NEC, and most recently they were invited to perform and teach at PRIZM International Music Festival in Tennessee.

Over the years, the trio’s mentors have included Vivian Weilerstein, Don Weilerstein, Kim Kashkashian, Yeesun Kim, Ayano Ninomiya, Merry Peckham, Max Levinson, Laurence Lesser, Itzhak Perlman, and members of the Brentano Quartet and Horszowski Trio. Each member is a graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music.