Zodiac Trio Launches the Boston New Music Project: Jan 31-Feb 3

Online, January 21, 2011 (Newswire.com) - The Boston New Music Project is a collaboration between the acclaimed French/American ensemble ZODIAC TRIO (clarinet-violin-piano) Boston Conservatory and Berklee College of Music and, which focuses on contemporary chamber music by living American composers.

As part of the Boston New Music Project, the Zodiac Trio will premiere works by Boston-based composers Andrew List and Andy Vores on Monday, January 31st at 8pm at Seully Hall (Boston Conservatory) and on Thursday, February 3rd at 7:30PM at David Friend Recital Hall (Berklee College of Music). The program will also feature Ned Rorem's "End of Summer" and Phillip Glass' "Music in Fifths," which will accompany a short film titled "ORDINARY CYCLE" by the French film-maker Nicolas Hauser, which was created for the musical work.

In addition, the Zodiac Trio, joined by Andrew List and Andy Vores, will present two workshops at both institutions for student composers to discuss the composer/performer relationship, and read through works by the attending students. The Zodiac Trio will select a work from both workshops to be included on the final concert as part of its Student Composer Competition.

The goal of the Boston New Music Project is to foster, encourage and promote contemporary American chamber music, with a special focus on Boston-based composers, both established and aspiring.

The complete program is as follows:

Ned Rorem - "End of Summer"
Phillip Glass - "Music in Fifths"
(with an original film by Nicolas Hauser)
Andy Vores - "Fabrication 17: Stunt" (WORLD PREMIERE)
Andrew List - "Visions from the Aboriginal Dreamtime" (WORLD PREMIERE)
WORLD PREMIERE of two selected student compositions*
*February 3rd Only

Seully Hall is located at the Boston Conservatory, 8 The Fenway. David Friend Recital Hall is located at Berklee College of Music, 921 Boylston Street. Both concerts are free of charge and are open to the public. For more information please call (617)605 - 2026 or go to www.BostonNewMusicProject.com

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

The ZODIAC TRIO
Kliment Krylovskiy, clarinet
Vanessa Mollard, violin
Riko Higuma, piano
www.ZodiacTrio.com

The acclaimed French/American Zodiac Trio is considered by many to be the leading clarinet-violin-piano ensemble performing today, with a concert schedule that spans three continents. Protege of the renowned Ysaye Quartet at the Paris Conservatory, the Zodiac Trio has performed at such leading venues as the famed Festival Radio France Montpellier in France and the Oriental Performing Arts Center in Shanghai, has been broadcast by France 3 Televsion and has recorded multiple times for Radio France in Paris. In June of 2010, the Zodiac Trio performed a six-city tour of China where the young ensemble was welcomed on the country's leading stages and was invited to present masterclasses at the Ningboa University and the China Conservatory in Beijing.

Featured in the London-based international MUSO magazine as one of the most exciting contemporary chamber groups on the concert circuit, the Zodiac Trio has been praised by critics for their "impeccable technique" (Ouest-France), "remarkable musicality of rare intensity" (La Tribune, France), "truly exceptional and sublime talent" as well as being declared "excellent, talented and committed" by the New York Concert Review and "awe-inspiring" by NYC.com.

The young ensemble has graced many foremost stages throughout the US, Europe, Japan and China. Representing the three different nations of Japan, Russia and France, the Zodiac Trio originally formed in New York in 2006 and has since appeared at such venues as Walter Bruno Auditorium at Lincoln Center in NY; Oriental Performing Arts Center in Shanghai; the Corum in Montpellier and the Acropolis in Nice, France; Izumi Hall in Osaka, Japan and Radio France in Paris, among many others. Notably, the trio collaborates with Yovan Markovich, cellist of the famed Ysaÿe Quartet in extended programs.

Highlights from the 2009-10 season includes performances on the Festival Radio France Montpellier, Russian River Music Festival and Old First Concerts in California, Lincoln Friends of Chamber Music in Nebraska, Preston Bradley Hall at the Chicago Cultural Center, Merkin Concert Hall in New York, Berklee College of Music in Boston, Mount Allison University in Canada, Pro-Musica Festival and Festival Autour d'une Piano in France, numerous recordings and broadcasts on Radio France and France 3 television, and an extensive two-week tour of China which included performances in Beijing, Shanghai, Dalian, Shenyang, Xiamen and Ningboa.

The 2010-11 season features the Zodiac Trio on the historyic Schneider Series in New York, St. Vincent College Concert Series in PA, Virtuosi Series in Winnipeg, Manitoba; The Four Seasons Performing Arts Centre in Toronto, Berklee College of Music in Boston, Boston Conservatory, Bennington College, University of California Berkeley, Old First Concerts in San Francisco and Salle Cortot in Paris, among others. The season will also feature the ensemble in a special new music project at the Berklee College of Music and the Boston Conservatory. Notably, the Zodiac Trio will give their debut at the fames Colmar Festival in France in 2011.

Shortly after its inception at the Mahattan School of Music, the Zodiac Trio debuted with a concert at the Kaufman Center prompting Edith Eisler of the New York Concert Review to describe the young ensemble as "...excellent, talented and committed...". The debut was followed by a tour of Southern France where the trio was further praised by the local media: "...unforgettable concerts by the Zodiac Trio! ...Truly exceptional and sublime talent... The prestigious level of the performances radiated the undeniable talent of the trio and foreshadowed their great success in the future." - raved the Nice-Matin. Since then, the Zodiac Trio has been awarded prizes at a number of national and international competitions including the Yellow Springs Chamber Music Competition, FNAPEC Ensemble Competition (Paris), International Chamber Music Competition of Duchi D'Aqcuaviva (Italy), Val Tidone International Music Competition (Italy), the Cziffra Foundation (France), Joyce Dutka Foundation for the Arts (New York), International Peninsula Young Artist Festival in California and the ProMusica Ensemble Competition (France), among others. The ensemble also received a Recording Grant and Commission Grant from Co-Op press, are laureates of the 6th International Osaka Chamber Music Competition in Japan, and were recently awarded the Encore Grant from the American Composers Forum to support their collaboration with composer Andrew List.

The Zodiac Trio has been broadcast and was featured on National Public Radio in the U.S., CBC Radio in Canada, Radio France in Paris and Radio Classique (France. Its debut commercial recording continues to receive airplay throughout the United States.

Strong advocates of new music, the trio has commissioned new works in order to expand the clarinet-violin-piano trio repertoire, and strive to serve as a platform of exposure for up-and-coming composers. Their debut commercial recording included two works written for the ensemble. Currently the Zodiac Trio is involved in a number of collaborative projects with emerging composers both in the United States and France, bridging the two countries and fueling an exciting cultural exchange. Aside from trios, the young ensemble often presents sonatas to bring a large variety to its audiences in the scope of a single concert.

In 2007, the Zodiac Trio made Paris their headquarters, where they are on the artist roster of the Cziffra Foundation, an organization dedicated to promoting Europe's top young artists. The young ensemble was chosen by Culture France to receive moral and financial support from the « Declic » Program, partner with the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Mecenat Musical Societe General. The Zodiac Trio also enjoys the generous support of the Swiss Global Artistic Foundation.