Biography
“Superb ensemble and unflagging energy and verve.... I cannot begin to describe the delight I found in [their] playing.” - The Morning Call (Bethlehem, PA)
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Hailed internationally, the Ravel Trio captivates audiences with its conversational concert style and musical passion. In addition to frequent tours to Switzerland, the group maintains an increasingly active schedule in the Mid Atlantic region including formal recitals, house concerts, and performances with orchestras and choral groups. With a deep commitment to living composers, in 2008 alone the group commissioned and performed two works by Swiss composers Christian Henking and Daniel Andres, and a piano trio with voice by African American composer Dotti Anita Taylor.
In the Ravel Trio, each player is an accomplished solo artist and chamber musician. The group's diverse interests range from performing the Beethoven Triple Concerto with the Loudoun Symphony to presenting a series on Russian Chamber Music at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Washington; from preparing an amateur wind ensemble for performance to presenting a workshop incorporating dance and chamber music at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
The group served as guest judges for the 2008 Diane Peacock Jezic Womens Composers Contest, selecting a piano trio by Judith Shatin for winning performances by the Ravel Trio. Additionally, the group respects new music and regularly performs works by Bright Sheng, Paul Schoenfield, Zhou Long, Daniel Schnyder, Nikolai Kapustin, and Libby Larson.
The Ravel Trio enjoys seeking non traditional avenues to bring chamber music to new audiences, and has played in renovated wine cellars, church services, and Cobi's Jazz Club in New York City. At the core of its mission is artistic collaboration with other artists - dancers, singers, poets - presenting wine concerts, and spreading the love of music through programs for intergenerational learning including workshops for adult amateurs of all instruments. Associated with numerous colleges in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and New York, members of the group embrace the study of music and its relationship to other academic curricula.
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"You left an indelible impression on the audience. The Ravel Trio wins hands down - judged by many to be one of the best concerts held at Notre Dame the past few seasons!"
-Ernest Ragogini, Director, Music at College of Notre Dame Concerts
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Pianist Daniel Lau has received enthusiastic press notices for both his solo and chamber performances. The Washington Post praised his "exemplary artistry/" the Baltimore Sun noted "Lau's beautifully shaded playing;" the Intelligencer Journal (Lancaster, PA) lauded his "flair, great technical proficiency and expressiveness;" and La Liberté (Fribourg, Switzerland) cited his "playful nuances, translucent phrasing, and miraculous sonorities." Since 2006, he has released half a dozen recordings with a variety of artists, including one recorded by award winning engineer Marc Arbort and a self-produced solo CD "Transcendent Colors." Dr. Lau serves as Chair of the Maryland State Music Teachers Association Chamber Music Festival and Competition Coordinator for the American Liszt Society’s Liszt-Garrison Festival and International Piano Competition. A versatile pianist, violinist and conductor, Dr. Lau also tours nationally with soprano Sabrina Coleman Clark. Dr. Lau attended Loma Linda University and the Peabody Conservatory, becoming a member of the Pi Kappa Lambda honorary society. He is an Assistant Professor of Music at Washington Adventist University in Takoma Park, MD.
Cellist Nancy Baun has performed over 1,000 events throughout the United States, including multiple appearances at NYC's Carnegie's Weil Hall and Merkin Hall, as well as in Switzerland, France, Italy, Iceland, and Canada. She appears on ten recordings, including two on the Naxos label. A student of Orlando Cole, she appeared in master classes for Lynn Harrell and Nadja Salerno Sonnenberg, as a fellow at the Aspen Music Festival. Living in Buffalo since 2001, Ms. Baun serves as adjunct faculty at SUNY Fredonia and the Tapestry School for the Arts. She has taught at Messiah College and Dickinson College, where she was also Director of the College Residency program. Her multiple interests also include recognition as Executive Producer for the Public Radio International series “Home for the Holidays,” Co-Director of the 2006 and 2008 JoAnn Falletta International Guitar Competitions, "new producer" credit on NYC's WQXR Radio Record Award 2000, and a 2006 national Young Audiences grant for her education workshops integrating music with drawing in Buffalo public schools.
Violinist Simon Maurer is an accomplished musician performing orchestral, chamber, operatic and solo repertoire throughout the eastern United States and Europe. He has performed as feature soloist in France and Switzerland with the St. Jean Orchestra of Geneva Switzerland, receiving rave reviews. He is Concertmaster of the Schuylkill Symphony Orchestra, Assistant Concertmaster of the Pennsylvania Sinfonia, and performs with Valley Vivaldi, Sartori, and other groups. In 2008, he was selected as violist in the Moravian String Quartet, in residence at Moravian College, and he is a founding member of Gabriel Chamber Ensemble. Mr. Maurer also ventures in the practice of jazz and free style improvisation, featured at Philadelphia area jazz clubs. He studied music at the Conservatory in Biel, and continued his violin studies in the U.S. with Geoffrey Michaels at Swathmore College and Joyce Robbins at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. He is on the string faculty at the Blue Mountain Academy and the Pennsylvania Music Academy where he also conducts and performs annually in the summer festival Vivace.
Instrumentation
Daniel Lau, piano
Simon Maurer, violin
Nancy Baun, cello
Discography
Ravel Trio Debut CD - "Music From Our Home - Volume 1" featuring the Mendelssohn D Minor Trio, Turina B Minor Trio, and Rebecca Clarke Trio.
Links
| http://www.raveltrio.com |