About

Thoreau Piano Trio performances are praised as powerful, imaginative, fearless, engaging and often, with a nod to their namesake Henry David Thoreau, transcendent. The interaction between musician and listener is a key element of their artistic philosophy. As one audience member commented, “I wasn’t just listening to the music – I felt like I became one of the group and was taking part in the musical conversation.”

The members of the Thoreau Piano Trio, violinist Susan Jensen, cellist Darry Dolezal and pianist Paul Jacobs, are virtuoso soloists and superb chamber musicians in their own right, and together their chemistry is extraordinary. Drawing from diverse backgrounds – Susan’s work in Los Angeles with stars of opera, film and popular music, Darry’s extensive chamber music and modern music encounters, Paul’s dabblings in jazz, experimental improvisation and the study of different states of mindfulness – they thread intriguing connections between concert art music of many periods, creating evocative programs played with inventiveness and passion.

One recent collaboration of note was a Boston-area performance of Martin Boykan’s Rites of Passage paired with the artwork by Susan Schwalb which inspired the piece. Boykan commented, "the dramatic and emotionally rich reinterpretation of a single idea struck a powerful chord in me, and for once it seemed possible to repond to a visual work of art with music." An upcoming project is the commission of a new piano trio by the adventurous American composer William Pfaff. The world premiere will take place in New York in October, 2016.

Formed in 2011 at the Warebrook Contemporary Music Festival, the Thoreau Piano Trio is currently an Ensemble-in-Residence at the White Lake Chamber Music Festival in Michigan, where they are involved in the full spectrum of musical activities: performing concerts and solo recitals, presenting open rehearsals and lecture recitals, and offering “coffeehouse” events incorporating light musical fare, coffee and wine, food and informal banter between Trio members and listeners.

The Thoreau Piano Trio is committed to cultivating chamber music and the development of young musicians through workshops, master classes, residencies and outreach events. The collective teaching and mentoring experience of the trio includes appointments and residencies at the Brookline Music School, the Concord Conservatory, Boston College, the Berklee College of Music, Florida State University, Georgia State University, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the University of Iowa, the University of Missouri, Cy Fair College in Houston, the University of Denver Lamont School of Music, Chico State University; National Endowment for the Arts Residencies through the Amory Center for the Arts in Pasadena and the Arts Experiment Station in Tifton, Georgia; in Italy at the Avellino Conservatory, in Southern China at Heng-Yang Teachers’ College and in Brazil at the Carlos Gomes Conservatory, the Federal University of Para and San Ursula University.

Ms. Jensen, Mr. Dolezal and Mr. Jacobs bring together a world of classical music experiences. Their sense of adventure and love for all types of music is the impetus for the Thoreau Piano Trio’s inspired performances in styles ranging from classical to avant-garde.

Music

Beethoven Allegretto, WoO 39
Beethoven Trio in C Minor, Op.1, No.3
Haydn "Gypsy" Trio, Hob. XV:25
Mozart Trio in Bb Major, K. 502
Martin Boykan Rites of Passage
Jennifer Higdon Pale Yellow
Astor Piazzolla Libertango
William Pfaff commissioned work*
Schubert Nocturne, D. 897
Brahms Trio in B Major, Op. 8
Mendelssohn Trio in C Minor, Op. 66
Ravel Piano Trio
Schubert Trio in Eb Major, D. 929
Shostakovich Trio in E Minor, Op. 67
Beethoven Archduke Trio

Videos

Programs

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