UPCOMING PERFORMANCE

The Busch Trio

Piano Trio

Photo by Blake Ezra

Omri Epstein, piano
Mathieu van Bellen, violin
Ori Epstein, cello
 

Sunday, May 5, 2019
3:00 pm / Logan House

(adjacent to the Beatrice Wood Center for the Arts)
8585 Ojai-Santa Paula Rd. (in Upper Ojai)
Ojai, CA 93023
Detailed map and directions

Program
Piano Trio in G Major, KV 564 - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Slow Pavane; Fast Stomp; & Short Procession - Mark-Anthony Turnage
Piano Trio in B Major, Op. 8 - Johannes Brahms

Meet the Artists!
Reception will follow the performance.

General Admission $25.00

BIOGRAPHY

Busch Trio

Photo by Blake Ezra

Omri Epstein, piano
Mathieu van Bellen, violin
Ori Epstein, cello

THE WASHINGTON POST:
"In a Sunday afternoon recital presented by the Phillips Collection and the Belgian Embassy at the International Student House of Washington, D.C., this young piano trio demonstrated both technical chops and remarkable musical maturity...the virtuosic achievement was thrilling, and the audience’s enthusiastic response elicited a Dvorak encore, the second movement of the “Dumky” trio.."

THE TIMES (U.K.):
"The Busch Ensemble is a piano trio bursting with far more than promise. [...] All players are within their twenties [...] but the group already plays as though musically joined at the hip - something to be expected with Epstein and his older brother Omri, the group’ marvellously sensitive pianist. Even during the modest curtain raiser, Schubert’s Sonatensatz of 1812, I quickly lost count of his nimble and subtle variations in touch, though the range only grew wider with the extra firepower summoned for Tchaikovsky’s epic Piano Trio or Beethoven’s D major trio, the ‘Ghost’. [...] Beyond the playsers’ individual gifts, what impressed most was the group’s effortless musicianship and unity of thoughtand attack. The threesome even seemed to be breathing in synch."
 

Named after the legendary violinist Adolf Busch, this young piano trio has emerged as one of the leading piano trios among the new generation, receiving enthusiastic responses from audiences and critics across Europe. Omri Epstein “the group’s marvellously sensitive pianist”, Mathieu van Bellen, whose “silvery gleam darted eloquently”, and Ori Epstein, with whom “you felt in the grip of a warm hug”, have all won prizes in solo international competitions. Brought together by a shared deep passion for chamber music and inspired by Mathieu’s possession of the “ex-Adolf Busch” G.B. Guadagnini violin (Turin, 1783), they have been recognized for their achievements and their playing with “incredible verve”.

Since its formation in London in 2012 the trio has developed an extensive performing schedule across Europe’s leading concert halls and festivals. Their recent Wigmore Hall appearance was received to critical acclaim, The Times commenting: “…what impressed most was the group’s effortless musicianship and unity of thought and attack. The threesome even seemed to be breathing in synch.” Recent seasons included a tour of China, collaborations with Michael Collins, Bruno Giuranna and recitals in London’s Purcell Room, King’s Place, Brussels’s Bozar and Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw. Their recent performance in Brussels of Beethoven’s Triple Concerto with the Warsaw Symphony Orchestra and Karina Canellakis was broadcast live on Belgium’s Musiq3, and they frequently perform on BBC Radio3, Dutch Radio4, Radio France and Germany’s Deutschlandfunk, NDR and WDR.

In 2016, the trio released their debut CD of Dvorak’s trios to critical acclaim, receiving a 5-stars review in the Diapason magazine and remarked upon by the Gramophone as: “…the youthful Busch Trio can boast one of the most notable features of their namesake: a pooled decision to put the music, and only the music, first.” The CD is part of a 4-CD project of the complete chamber music for piano and strings by Dvorak, after French record label Alpha Classics engaged the trio in 2015. Part of the success of their debut CD saw it being selected as CD of the week by several radio stations across Europe and helped win the trio the 2016 Kersjesprijs, the Netherlands’ premier chamber music award. The second CD, featuring Dvorak’s piano quartets with violist Miguel da Silva, was hailed by the Sunday Times as “an outstanding disc”.

Winners of the 2012 Royal Overseas League Competition, the trio went on to win several prizes at international competitions including the Salieri-Zinetti Competition and the Pinerolo Competition in Italy as well as at the International Schumann Chamber Music Award in Frankfurt. Receiving guidance from distinguished artists such as Eberhard Feltz, Andras Schiff and the Artemis Quartet, the trio are currently based at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Brussels, where they are trio in residence.

Highlights of 2018 include the release of their third CD featuring Dvorak’s piano quintets with violist Miguel da Silva and violinist Maria Milstein, a return to Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw and debut performance at the Phillips Collection in Washington.

The Busch Trio is represented by Dispeker Artists, Inc.

Tomer Gewirtzman, Pianist
Photo by Christian Steiner

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Tomer Gewirtzman, Pianist

3:00 pm, Logan House
(adjacent to the Beatrice Wood Center for the Arts)
8585 Ojai-Santa Paula Rd. (in Upper Ojai)
Ojai, CA 93023
Detailed map and directions

Additional Information

Arianna String Quartet

Michele Levin, Pianist

Sunday, December 8, 2019

Arianna String Quartet
and Michele Levin, Pianist

3:00 pm, Logan House
(adjacent to the Beatrice Wood Center for the Arts)
8585 Ojai-Santa Paula Rd. (in Upper Ojai)
Ojai, CA 93023
Detailed map and directions

Additional Information

Grigoryan Brothers, Guitar Duo
Photo by Simon Shiff

Sunday, January 19, 2020

Grigoryan Brothers, Guitar Duo

Leonard and Slava Grigoryan, Guitarists 

3:00 pm, Logan House
(adjacent to the Beatrice Wood Center for the Arts)
8585 Ojai-Santa Paula Rd. (in Upper Ojai)
Ojai, CA 93023
Detailed map and directions

Additional Information

Hanzhi Wang, Accordianist
Photo by Matt Dine

Sunday, October 4, 2020

Hanzhi Wang, Accordianist

3:00 pm, Logan House
(adjacent to the Beatrice Wood Center for the Arts)
8585 Ojai-Santa Paula Rd. (in Upper Ojai)
Ojai, CA 93023
Detailed map and directions

Additional Information

Former SYSO musician Heidi Lehwalder is an internationally renowned harpist who has performed and taught around the globe. In recognition of Lehwalder's remarkable career and her ongoing dedication to coaching young musicians, SYSO is thrilled to present her with their first-ever Distinguished Alum Award at The Power of Music Benefit Luncheon, April 22, 2018.

Heidi Lehwalder's career highlights include:

• First recipient of the prestigious Avery Fisher Prize (now the Avery Fisher Career Grant)
• Only harpist to ever tour with the famed Marlboro Music Festival in Vermont
• Served as Professor of Harp at the School of Music at the University of Washington
• Appeared on Leonard Bernstein's Young People's Concerts on CBS at age 14
• Performed as guest artist with more than 65 orchestras including: New York Philharmonic, The Cleveland Orchestra, Montreal Symphony, and, of course, Seattle Symphony where she has appeared 55 times