Gualala Arts Chamber Music Series presents: Peabody Trio Sunday, April 19, 2009 at 4:00 p.m. at the Gualala Arts Center

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Peabody Trio Violaine Melançon, violin Natasha Brofsky, cello Seth Knopp, piano

Since winning the prestigious Naumburg Chamber Music Award in 1989, The Peabody Trio has established itself as an important presence in the chamber music world as vivid interpreters of the classics of the repertoire, advocates for new music, and dedicated teachers and mentors to a generation of young musicians. They bring to their music making what The Washington Post calls "the romantic fervor of the 20th century greats."

The Peabody Trio currently serves as the resident faculty ensemble of the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, a position they have held since 1989. They are frequently asked to perform educational residencies for chamber music organizations and have served as visiting professors at universities and conservatories both in the United States and abroad. They spend summers as ensemble-in-residence at the Yellow Barn Music School and Festival in Putney, Vermont.

The Peabody Trio celebrated its twentieth season in 2007-08 with the release of the Beethoven Trios Opus 1, Nos. 1 and 3 on Artek Records, the second in their series of the complete piano trios of Beethoven. In 2004 the trio released their recording of the Beethoven Opus 70 Trios on Artek, praised by Strad Magazine as "some of the most accomplished Beethoven Trio playing . . . heard in many a year." Previously they have recorded for New World Records and CRI.

The three musicians of the Peabody Trio come from diverse musical backgrounds. Violinist Violaine Melançon is from Quebec, Canada and after receiving First Prize in violin at the Conservatoire de Musique she continued her studies with Ivan Galamian at the Curtis Institute of Music and with Isadore Tinkleman at the San Francisco Conservatory. While at Curtis, she was a member of the Nisaika Quartet, prize winner of the 8th International String Quartet Competition in Evian, France. Ms. Melançon is also the recipient of many awards for solo performance including the 1984 Prix d'Europe. Since then, her activities as a chamber musician, soloist with orchestras, and teacher have taken her to many major Canadian and American music centers, Europe, the Middle East, and Japan.

Cellist Natasha Brofsky has enjoyed a career in both the United States and Europe. In addition to her work with the Peabody Trio, Ms. Brofsky has performed as guest with numerous ensembles, including the Takács, Prazak, Cassatt and Norwegian Quartets. Upcoming performances include guest appearances with the Jupiter and Ying Quartets.

During nearly a decade in Europe, Ms. Brofsky held principal positions in the Norwegian Radio Orchestra and the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra under Iona Brown. In addition she was a member of the Serapion Ensemble, performing with them in Germany and Austria, and the string trio, Opus 3, which performed throughout Norway. She recorded Olav Anton Thommessen's concerto for cello and winds for Aurora Records and was a regular participant at Open Chamber Music in Prussia Cove, England. A sought-after teacher, Ms. Brofsky joined the cello faculty of the New England Conservatory in 2004 and serves as assistant chair of strings at the school. Since 2001, she has been on the faculty at the Yellow Barn Festival in Vermont. Natasha Brofsky received a Bachelor of Music and a Performer's Certificate from the Eastman School, and a Master's Degree from Mannes College. She was awarded a Fulbright Grant to study in London with William Pleeth where she won the Muriel Taylor Cello Prize. Her other teachers included Marion Feldman, Robert Sylvester, Timothy Eddy and Paul Katz.

Pianist Seth Knopp is a founding member of the Peabody Trio and serves on the piano and chamber music faculties of the Peabody Conservatory where the trio has been ensemble-in-residence since 1987. In 2000 he was named Artistic Director of the Yellow Barn Music School and Festival, an international gathering of artists who meet each summer to explore the vast riches of the chamber music repertoire. Knopp studied at the New England Conservatory with Leonard Shure, at the San Francisco Conservatory, where he studied with Nathan Schwartz, and with Leon Fleisher. In 1983, Mr. Knopp met violinist Violaine Melançon forming the Knopp-Melançon Duo, an artistic collaboration which would eventually expand to become the Peabody Trio. In 1987, as a result of having been appointed USIA Artistic Ambassadors, the duo toured abroad extensively and made their Washington, DC debut at the Kennedy Center. Since that time, this husband and wife team has performed throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, Japan and Egypt. Seth Knopp's solo and chamber music performances can be heard on the Albany Records, Analekta, Artek, CRI, Koch and New World Records labels.

Tickets are $20 for advance purchases; $5 more on the day of the concert (buy your tickets early!). Children and young people ages 7 through 17 are admitted free.

For advance purchase, go to Brown Paper Tickets or call them at 800-838-3006.
To purchase in person, visit the Gualala Arts Center or Dolphin Gallery in Gualala.

The Gualala Arts Center, located at 46501 Old State Highway in Gualala, CA,
is open weekdays 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and weekends from noon to 4:00 p.m.
Please call (707) 884-1138 for more information, or email info@gualalaarts.org.

Serving the coastal communities of northern Sonoma & southern Mendocino Counties.