Trio Celeste [Rebroadcast]

May 13, 2020, 12:15 pm

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(Photo: Trio Céleste)

Hailed as “a first-class ensemble” (Orange County Register), “unfailingly stylish” (The Strad), “technically dazzling” (Long Beach Gazette), “flawless” (New York Concert Review) and “the epitome of what chamber musicians should be” (Palm Beach Daily News), Trio Céleste has firmly established itself as one of the most dynamic chamber music ensembles on the classical music scene today.

Recent highlights include recital debuts at the Chicago Cultural Center, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, New York’s Carnegie Hall, Seoul Art Center in South Korea, and the world premiere of Paul Dooley’s Concerto Grosso for Piano Trio and Strings co-commissioned by Trio Céleste and Chamber Music | OC. Winners of the prestigious Beverly Hills Auditions and the recipients of the 2017 Emerging Artist Award from Arts Orange County, the ensemble has performed hundreds of recitals worldwide also appearing in master classes, entrepreneurship seminars, and performance residencies at some of the nation’s top academic institutions and centers for arts and culture. In 2014, the ensemble was selected from over 500 applicants to be Artists-in-Residence at The Grand Canyon National Park.

Trio Céleste was Ensemble-in-Residence at the Claire Trevor School of the Arts at UC Irvine from 2013-2019, and are current Directors of the acclaimed arts organization Chamber Music | OC where they have been featured in collaborations with violist Paul Coletti, Emerson String Quartet violinist Philip Setzer, and principal players of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. During the 2015/2016 season, the Trio commissioned new music from composers Samuel Adler, Mike Block, Christopher Dobrian, Paul Dooley, Eugene Drucker, Peter Erskine, Eric Guinivan, Fred Hersch, Pierre Jalbert, Nicole Mitchell, Jim Scully, and Cristina Spinei, and released their Debut Album on the Navona label which debuted at #5 on iTunes for “Best Seller New Release” and #20 on Amazon’s “Chamber Music Albums”.

The ensemble was inspired to take its name after their very first meeting in New York City, where a rare celestial occurrence – the largest harvest moon in two decades – marked the beginning of their tenure together.

IRYNA KRECHKOVSKY // VIOLIN

Canadian violinist Iryna Krechkovsky is a prize-winning violinist with an international career in solo, chamber, and orchestral performances. Celebrated for her tone, emotionality, and precision, she has performed in concert venues from Stern Auditorium at Carnegie Hall and Alice Tully Hall in New York City, to The American Church in Paris, and Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto, and was featured on National Public Radio, KABC-TV Los Angeles, the Public Broadcasting Service, and most recently, as a speaker/performer at TEDxChapmanU. She was a top prize winner at the Sorantin International Competition, the Canadian Music Competition, the Kocian International Violin Competition in Czech Republic, the Beverly Hills Auditions, and the Canada Council for the Arts Musical Instrument Bank Competition which afforded her a three-year loan of the 1689 “Baumgartner” Stradivari violin.

She has performed as soloist with the Lviv National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine, the Toronto Sinfonietta, the Seoul National University Virtuosi, the California Chamber Orchestra, the Warren Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Canadian Academy Chamber Orchestra, and appears alongside principals from the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, and Orchestra of St. Luke’s in performances with the New York Women’s Ensemble Orchestra. As a distinguished chamber artist, she has performed at the Montreal Chamber Music Festival, the San Angelo Piano Festival, Ottawa Chamberfest, Artosphere, the Stony Brook Faculty Recital Series, and The Banff Centre, with artists including Denis Brott, Colin Carr, Paul Coletti, David Finckel, Gil Kalish, Alan Kay, Kyung Sun Lee, Julian Martin, and Philip Setzer. Krechkovsky has performed hundreds of recitals throughout North America, Europe, and Asia with her husband, pianist Kevin Kwan Loucks, as part of the award-winning Krechkovsky/Loucks Duo. In 2012, the Duo formed Trio Céleste with cellist Ross Gasworth and are currently Ensemble-in-Residence at the Claire Trevor School of the Arts at the University of California, Irvine where they also direct the annual Summer Chamber Music Festival. Iryna Krechkovsky is also Co-Founder and Director of the Young Artist Program of Chamber Music | OC, one of the most dynamic classical music projects in the country dedicated to advancing the art of chamber music through performance, education, and community outreach.

Born in Ukraine, Iryna Krechkovsky holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Stony Brook University in New York and earned her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Music where she was awarded the Dr. Jerome Gross Prize in Violin. Her mentors include David and Linda Cerone, Philip Setzer, Philippe Graffin, Pamela Frank, and Henk Guittart. Krechkovsky performs on a 2007 violin by Ryan Soltis and Samuel Zygmuntowicz.

Learn more at irynakrechkovsky.com.

ROSS GASWORTH // CELLO

Cellist Ross Gasworth’s playing has been praised as “gorgeous” (Waco Tribune-Harold) and “warm and generous” (Orange County Register), having concertized and taught throughout the United States, as well as in Asia and Europe. He has performed chamber music alongside principal players from the Vienna Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, San Diego Symphony, and Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. Ross was selected by Michael Tilson-Thomas to perform as Principal Cellist of the YouTube Symphony Orchestra at the Sydney Opera House in Sydney, Australia, and at Google’s annual Zeitgeist festival in London, England.

Ross has performed as a soloist with the Rochester Symphony, Birmingham-Bloomfield Symphony, Michigan Youth Arts Festival Orchestra, Detroit Symphony Civic Orchestra, California Chamber Orchestra, and the UCI Symphony. As an orchestral musician, Ross has performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Diego Symphony, Houston Symphony, Fort Worth Symphony, New World Symphony, Artosphere Festival Orchestra, and as principal cellist with the Waco Symphony and Miami Symphony. Major festival appearances include the Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival, Aspen Music Festival, and Pacific Music Festival. Ross has played in studio recording sessions for major motion pictures at Sony Picture Studios, FOX Studios, and Warner Brothers Studios, as well as albums at Capitol Records for recording artists such as Barbra Streisand, Michael Bublé, and Herb Alpert. He has performed at major venues around the world, including Carnegie Hall, Tokyo’s Suntory Hall, Seoul Arts Center, The Hollywood Bowl, The Sydney Opera House, and Paris’ Radio France Concert Hall.

Since 2012, Ross has been a member of the award-winning Trio Céleste, Ensemble-in-Residence at the Claire Trevor school of the Arts at the University of California, Irvine, where the Trio directs the Summer Festival for Chamber Music as well. Trio Céleste is also the permanent Ensemble-in-Residence at Chamber Music | OC, for which Ross is Vice President of Community Engagement. He is also co-director of the Summer Chamber Music Camp at the David Adler Music and Arts Center in Libertyville, IL.

A committed educator, Ross has been a teaching assistant at the University of North Texas, University of Illinois, and Cleveland Institute of Music. As one of the directors of Chamber Music | OC, Ross teaches Dalcroze Eurhythmics in the Chamber Music | OC Young Artist Program workshops. Additionally, he has taught cello, chamber music, and Eurhythmics at the Kneisel Hall Young Musician’s Program, the Idyllwild Arts Academy, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra Young Strings Program, and the Orange County School of the Arts (OCSA).

Ross began playing the cello at age three. He earned his Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he studied with Richard Aaron and Stephen Geber. Other past teachers include Eugene Osadchy at the University of North Texas, and Michel Strauss at the Paris Conservatoire. Ross performs on a 2005 cello by William Whedbee.

Learn more at rossgasworth.com.

KEVIN KWAN LOUCKS // PIANO

Pianist Kevin Kwan Loucks enjoys a multifaceted career as international concert artist, educator, and arts entrepreneur. He has been described as “impeccable” (La Presse, Montreal), “a shining talent” (Völser Zeitung, Italy), “a pianist of exhilarating polish, unity and engagement” (The Orange County Register, California), and in 2015, was named one of Orange County, California’s most influential people by OC Weekly. He has earned ovations from Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, to Prösels Castle in Italy, the Kennedy Center, Kumho Art Hall in South Korea, Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, and Lichtenstein Palace in Prague, and has performed on National Public Radio, CBC Radio 2, Classical KUSC, the Public Broadcasting Service, KABC-TV Los Angeles, and the Korean Broadcasting System. He was a top prize winner at the Schlern International Competition in Italy, the International Chamber Music Ensemble Competition in Boston, the Beverly Hills Auditions in Los Angeles, and received the American Prize in Piano Performance in 2012.

As a collaborative artist, Kevin Kwan Loucks has appeared in recitals with Rachel Barton Pine, Denis Brott, Colin Carr, Paul Coletti, Robert deMaine, Eugene Drucker, Edgar Meyer, Philip Setzer, Lara St. John, Kyung Sun Lee, and Carol Wincenc. He has been featured in collaborations with the Afiara, Cecilia, and Jupiter String Quartets, and has performed and recorded as a member of Gruppo Montebello, an All‐Star Ensemble of acclaimed Banff Centre faculty and alumni based in Canada. Loucks has performed hundreds of recitals throughout North America, Europe, and Asia with his wife, violinist Iryna Krechkovsky, as part of the award-winning Krechkovsky/Loucks Duo. In 2012, the Duo launched Chamber Music | OC — one of the most dynamic classical music projects in the country dedicated to advancing the art of chamber music through performance, education, and community outreach. In that same year they formed Trio Céleste with cellist Ross Gasworth and are currently Ensemble-in-Residence at the Claire Trevor School of the Arts at the University of California, Irvine where they also direct the annual Summer Chamber Music Festival.

A Korean-American adoptee and graduate of The Juilliard School in New York City, Kevin Kwan Loucks was mentored by Julian Martin, Henk Guittart, David Finckel, Wu Han, and Nina Scolnik. He is an alumnus of programs at the Aspen Music Festival, Music@Menlo, and The Banff Centre, and holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Stony Brook University where he served as Head of Piano for the Pre-College Division and Teaching Assistant for the Emerson String Quartet. He recently concluded a two-year position as Artistic Director of the International Arts Mentoring Program in South Korea, a program sponsored by the Education and Culture Association bringing music and arts education to underprivileged children throughout Asia. Loucks is an Executive Master of Business Administration candidate at the Argyros School of Business and Economics at Chapman University.

Learn more at kevinloucks.com.

Biography courtesy of the artists’ website.

*On-demand audio featured on this site may have been edited in order to comply with U.S. copyright regulations.

  • Piano Trio No. 4 in E minor, Op. 90 “Dumky Trio,” by Antonín Dvořák
    I. Lento maestoso – Allegro quasi doppio movimento
    II. Poco Adagio – Vivace non troppo
    III. Andante – Vivace non troppo
    IV. Andante moderato – Allegretto scherzando
    V. Allegro – Meno mosso
    VI. Lento maestoso – Vivace