August 7, 2005
Sunday, 8 PM
New World Trio
Annie Trepanier, violin
Melissa Morgan, cello
Pi-Hsun Shih, piano

Program:

Piano Trio Op. 97, “Archduke” Ludwig van Beethoven

Allegro moderato (1770-1827)

Scherzo

Andante cantabile, ma pero con moto

Allegro moderato

Spirit of Chimes, for violin, cello, and piano Zhou Long (1953)

Café Music Paul Schoenfield (1947)
Allegro
Andante Moderato
Presto

The New World....past and present www.NewWorldTrio.org

The New World Trio brings the excitement and intimacy of chamber music to live audiences throughout New England. Founded in 1985 the trio (originally known as the New World Ensemble) continues to delight audiences with its mix of both great classics and contemporary works. The group includes Annie Trepanier, violin, Melissa Morgan, cello, and Pi-Hsun Shih, piano.

Through wide-ranging presentations of both classical and contemporary chamber music works performed with consummate artistry, the ensemble serves two goals: entertaining its audiences and educating them about the valuable literature that is seldom heard elsewhere. New World “...likes to present surprising juxtapositions...” says the New York Times. Alongside the established repertoire, the group has played over one hundred twentieth century works, including twelve commissions, many of which have had the composer present for commentary. There have even been twenty-first century commissions!

New World is committed to reaching out to young people in educational programs using a format called “Informances" in which the players engage directly with school children to foster their appreciation of music. The many enthusiastic letters from their young audiences attest to their ability to communicate with their art. To date, more than 60 performances have both entertained and enlightened the area’s students.

New World Trio is also a growing part of Greater Hartford’s multi-cultural and outreach scene. They have joined with a variety of other musical groups to provide multi-faceted musical experiences; one such recent performance combined gospel choir with Schumann and Gwyneth Walker piano quartets to an enthusiastic audience at New Testament Church of God in Hartford.

In recognition of its outstanding quality, New World is listed with both CONNTOURS and the New England Foundation for the Arts on their touring artists rosters. Following a concert at the Emily Dickinson Homestead in Amherst sponsored by the International Emily Dickinson Society, the Director of the Homestead summed up the feelings of the audience, “Your souls sang enthusiastically and beautifully throughout Sunday’s performance...thank you so much."

Violinist Annie Trépanier’s playing has been hailed by The Boston Globe as "supercharged, clear-headed, yet soulful." She has collaborated with many renowned artists from both Canada, the United States and Europe, including guest appearances with the Copenhagen and Adaskin String Trios and the Myftaraj Piano Trio, and has been heard regularly in national broadcasts on Radio-Canada, CBC and NPR. She is currently also a member of the Axiom Chamber Players. As a former member of both the Diabelli String Quartet and the Avery Trio she has been featured in a documentary for America's Public Broadcasting System, was a finalist for the 2001 Banff International String Quartet Competition, and recorded for CRI and Ongaku Records. Ms. Trépanier studied chamber music with members of the Orion, Fine Arts, Emerson, Cleveland and Orford String Quartets as well as the Raphael Trio. She studied violin with Denise Lupien at McGill University in Montreal, received a Master of Music from the University of Ottawa where she worked with Claude Richard, and completed a Graduate Professional Diploma in Chamber Music and an Artist Diploma at The Hartt School where her teachers were Philip Setzer, Teri Einfeldt and Pamela Frank.

A Connecticut native, Melissa M. Morgan is the most recent addition to the New World Trio, having recently returned to the state following stints in New Mexico and California. A co-founder of the Bella Cosi String Quartet while living in New Mexico, Ms. Morgan taught cello at the University of New Mexico and was a member of the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra and the Chamber Orchestra of Albuquerque, and was principal cellist of the Sante Fe Ballet. In 2000, she and the Bella Cosi String Quartet moved to San Francisco, where she joined the faculty of the San Francisco Community Music Center and taught privately. The quartet participated in the prestigious Fischoff Competition in Indiana. Ms. Morgan earned a Bachelor of Music degree from the Eastman School of Music (where she studied with Steven Douane) and a Master of Music from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (under Bonnie Hampton). Since returning to Connecticut, Ms. Morgan started a music appreciation class at the Burlington Academy of Learning. She has also performed in a recent solo recital, and will be playing on the Avon public library concert series.

Pianist Pi-Hsun Shih joined the New World Trio in 2001. Born in Taiwan, Ms. Shih came to this country in 1990. A dedicated chamber musician as well as solo artist, she has collaborated with musicians in North and South America, Hong Kong, China and Taiwan. Ms. Shih has performed with members of the Empire Brass and the Emerson String Quartet. She has appeared as a soloist with the Mexico State Symphony Orchestra in Mexico, the Sao Paulo State Symphony Orchestra in Brazil, and the Hartt School Symphony Orchestra in Connecticut. While serving for three years as the pianist for the Mexico State Symphony Orchestra, she collaborated frequently with the orchestral players. Clarinet Magazine praised her Duo Asiatica (clarinet and piano) CDs for its "passionate virtuosity," describing her piano playing as "a tour de force" and concluding that she "proves to be a remarkable pianist partner." Following the review, the Chinese Performing Arts Foundation sponsored the duo's debut in Boston's Jordan Hall. Ms. Shih has served on the piano faculty at Mount Holyoke College and she is currently on the faculty of the Hartt School Community Division and the Center for Creative Youth at Wesleyan University. She earned her master's degree from Bosotn University and doctorate from the Hartt School; her teachers include Hong-Kuan Chen, Gary Steigerwalt and Rolf-Peter Wille.


Summer Music Festival