“Contemporary Narratives” with the Zodiac Trio: New Works for Clarinet, Violin and Piano

New York, NY – The NYC Contemporary Music Symposium presents the Zodiac Trio in a musical journey through six bold, contemporary works for clarinet, violin, and piano.  Heralded by Radio France as “A breathtaking ensemble of virtuosity and sensitivity,” the Zodiac Trio has established itself over the past decade and a half as the leading international trio of its kind.  

The ensemble continues its commitment to new music with an evening of fresh and exciting takes on the timeless tradition of musical storytelling, featuring five world premieres written for the Zodiac Trio. Tickets include a post-concert wine reception with the performers and composers.

Concert & Ticket Details

Wednesday October 27 2021 at 7:30 PM EDT • The DiMenna Center for Classical Music, Benzaquen Hall 450 W 37th St, New York, NY 10018 • Tickets available now at tinyurl.com/zodiactrio • General Admission $20 - Livestream and Student $10

About the Program

The program includes new works from an esteemed group of composers, with five world premieres written for the Zodiac Trio.  Reflecting the composers' diverse backgrounds and influences - ranging from the classical canon to electroacoustic music to jazz - the program offers a compelling look at contemporary approaches to musical storytelling.

Unfurl (2021) - Zach Gulaboff Davis
(World Premiere, Written for the Zodiac Trio)

The Thread You Follow (2021) - Patrick Andrew Thompson
(World Premiere, Written for the Zodiac Trio)

You. Just a Person Made of Plastic (2020) - María del Pilar Miralles Castillo
(World Premiere, Written for the Zodiac Trio)
1st Prize Winner of the 2020 Zodiac International Music Competition (Composition Category)

Shocked Quartz (2021) - Greg Simon
(World Premiere, Written for the Zodiac Trio)
1st Prize Winner of the 2021 Zodiac International Music Composition (Composition Category)

Rive (2002) - Douglas Knehans

Dance Mix (2020) - Chiayu Hsu
(World Premiere, Written for the Zodiac Trio)

About the Zodiac Trio

The Zodiac Trio is recognized as one of the foremost clarinet-violin-piano ensembles performing today. The group has been praised for their “impeccable technique” (Fanfare Magazine), "remarkable musicality of rare intensity" (La Tribune, France), “seemingly effortless ease” (San Angelo Standard Times), “truly exceptional and sublime talent” (Nice-Matin, France), and declared by the French newspaper La Marseillaise as “one the best chamber ensembles of its generation.” 

Its extensive touring schedule has brought it to many premiere international venues such as Ottawa Chamberfest,  Festival Radio France Montpellier, International Colmar Festival, Beijing Performing Arts Center, Izumi Hall in Japan, and Lincoln Center in New York.  The trio’s live performances have been broadcast by France 3 Television, Radio Classique, Beijing’s CCTV News, Canada’s CBC Radio and Television, NBC, New York’s WXQR and WNYC, Chicago’s WFMT, Boston’s WGBH, Italy’s RAI and Radio France in Paris. 

The Zodiac Trio has carried the torch for new music since its debut concert which featured a world premiere of a work written for the then newly-formed group.  Since, the Zodiac Trio has commissioned over three dozen new works, including from Grammy-award-winning composer Richard Danielpour, and has had over 100 works written via call-for-score.  Their 2015 album DREAMTIME featured 3 works written for the ensemble, and received accolades from the new music community with Sequenza 21 writing “the Zodiac Trio excel at bringing new compositions to life.”

The Zodiac Trio is represented exclusively by Latitude 45 Arts (www.latitude45arts.com). You can find out more at www.zodiactrio.com

COMPOSER BIOGRAPHIES:

Zach Gulaboff Davis

Described as “beautiful, lyrical” and brimming with “unexpected harmonic shifts” (International Trumpet Guild), the music of Macedonian-American composer Zach Gulaboff Davis centers on the expressive and dramatic possibilities of compositional narrative. Winner of the 2019 American Prize in Composition, Zach maintains an active schedule as a composer and collaborator across the globe. His works have been performed at venues including Carnegie Hall, Columbia University, University of Pennsylvania, Bulgaria’s National Palace of Culture, Norway’s Arctic Cathedral, Hamburg’s Zinnschmelze Cultural Center, the DiMenna Center, and New York University Steinhardt and Shanghai, with recognition from the National Endowment for the Arts, ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Awards, National Federation of Music Clubs, the Zodiac International Composition Competition, Kwidzyn Classical Music Awards, and Flute New Music Consortium, among others. A multidisciplinary collaborator, Zach has partnered with a plethora of organizations and performers ranging from the Space Science Telescope Institute and New York City’s Apotheosis Opera to timpanist Jonathan Haas, violinist Peter Sheppard Skaerved, baritone David Wakeham, the Beo String Quartet, Bergamot String Quartet, Aletheia Piano Trio, Colorado Piano Trio, Chamber Music Amici, NYU Steel, and the Canton, Willamette Valley, and Salem Symphonies. As a composer and pedagogue, Zach has completed residencies at the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts, Atlantic Center for the Arts, Hambidge Center, Brevard Institute, Bowdoin International Music Festival, and Canada’s Arcady Ensemble, most recently serving as the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation Creative Fellow for Composition at Millay Arts. Also active as a pianist and conductor, Zach has appeared as a concerto soloist, chamber musician, and champion of young composers’ works at the keyboard and podium. Zach holds a D.M.A. in composition and M.M. in music theory pedagogy from the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University, where he studied under Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Kevin Puts; an M.M. in composition from Mannes College of Music in New York City; and a B.A. in piano performance and composition/theory, summa cum laude, from Linfield College, Oregon. www.zgulaboffdavis.com

Chiayu Hsu:

Born in Banqiao, Taiwan, Chiayu is an associate professor of composition at UW-Eau Claire.

She was thewinner of Lakond prize from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, San Francisco Choral Society commission contest, Left Coast Chamber Ensemble composition contest, grand prize from Symphony Number One, Suzanne and Lee Ettelson Composer’s Awards, Zodiac Composition competition, Kaleidoscopes and Elevate ensembles call for scores, 2019, 2016 and 2013 IAWM Search for New Music, Copland House Award, Lynn University international call for scores, the 2010 Sorel Organization recording grant, music culture 2009 International Competition for Composers, the Sorel Organization’s 2nd International Composition Competition, the 7th USA International Harp Composition Competition, ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer’s Awards, the Maxfield Parrish Composition Contest, the Renée B. Fisher Foundation Composer Awards among others. Her work has been performed by the London Sinfonietta, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony, the Nashville Symphony, the Toledo Symphony, the American Composers Orchestra, the Cabrillo Festival Orchestra, the Flagstaff Symphony Orchestra, the Lynn Philharmonia Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra in Taiwan, Aspen Music Festival Contemporary Ensemble, Eighth Blackbird, Ciompi Quartet, and Prism Quartet. She has received her Ph.D. at Duke University, Master of Music at Yale University School of Music, and Bachelor of Music at the Curtis Institute of Music. More information: www.chiayuhsu.com

Douglas Knehans:

Douglas Knehans has received awards from the American Music Center, the NEA, the Australia Council Performing Arts Board, Yale University, the MacDowell Colony, Opera Australia, The Cannes Film Festival, Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, The National Symphony Orchestra, The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, Meet the Composer and a host of others.

His music has been praised by The Washington Post as “beautiful” and that “tells an exciting story;” by The Miami Herald as “wildly inventive;” by The Australian as “brilliantly catchy and eerily bright;” and by Fanfare Magazine as “...effective...incisive... and hauntingly beautiful.”

Knehans’ music is available on ERM Media, Crystal Records, Move Records, New World Records and ABLAZE Records.

Website: www.douglasknehans.com

Pilar Miralles:

Pilar Miralles (1997) is a Spanish composer set in Helsinki. She studied a double instrumental specialty in flute and piano, and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Composition from Granada, Spain. In 2020 she completed a Master’s Degree in Electroacoustic Composition at the Higher Center of Musical Education “Katarina Gurska” of Madrid, tutored by Sergio Luque. She is currently at her second year of the Master of Music in Composition at the Sibelius Academy of Uniarts Helsinki. She has composed for different ensembles in Spain, Czech Republic, France, Sweden, Lithuania, USA and Finland. Her main concern at the moment is the inescapable role of music within society and the reflection about the understanding of the musical language, feeling especially attracted to the Russian musical culture in the XX century and its historical context. Her compositional practice features not only instrumental composition, but also sound synthesis through SuperCollider programming language.

Patrick Andrew Thompson:

Patrick Andrew Thompson is a composer of dramatic musical narratives. Described as “a musician bursting with ideas,” (Atlanta Journal Constitution) he strives to carefully craft works of great emotional breadth and immediacy, marked by colorful, poignant harmonies, rich textures, and constant evolution. His works draw on a broad range of disciplines, from poetry and visual art to his background in math and science.Patrick’s pieces have been performed by a wide range of ensembles including the Sinta Quartet, Pure Winds, the Beo String Quartet, the Khaos Wind Quintet, and the Peabody Symphony Orchestra. Current projects include pieces for the Zodiac Trio, Rogue Two, and the Aletheia Piano Trio.  Recognition for his work includes the Macht Prize, P. Bruce Blair Award, and prizes from the Foundation for Modern Music, Third Millennium Ensemble, and the American Prize.  He has also received honorable mentions from New York Youth Symphony’s First Music, the Minnesota Orchestra Composer Institute, and the Riverside Symphony, as well as a runner up mention in the 2019 Sinta Quartet composer competition.Patrick has a master’s degree in composition from the Peabody Institute, where he studied with Kevin Puts, and a degree in mathematics from Princeton University.  He lives in Jersey City, NJ.  Website: www.patrickandrewthompson.com

Greg Simon:

Greg Simon (b. 1985) is a composer and jazz trumpeter from California, by way of Oregon and Colorado. His works have been performed by ensembles and performers around the world, including the Nu Deco Ensemble, the Cavell Trio, Alarm Will Sound, the Fifth House Ensemble, and the Playground Ensemble. He has won awards for composition from the Zodiac International Music Festival, NACUSA, the Esoterics, and others; and was a second-prize winner in the Moscow Conservatory’s New Classics Competition. Greg studied jazz improvisation and composition with Bill Lucas, Ellen Rowe, and Brad Goode, and is an active freelancer in the Omaha-Lincoln area.

            Greg is Assistant Professor of Composition and Jazz Studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and he teaches at the Brevard Music Center. He received a D.M.A. in composition from the University of Michigan. When he’s not composing, Greg enjoys hockey, bourbon and short stories.

Website: gregsimonmusic.com