Celebrating Our Sixth Season!
Presented by the Happy Valley Cultural Center under the Artistic Direction of renowned harpist
Heidi Lehwalder.
Chamber On The Mountain honors the traditional
while celebrating the innovative and the intermingling of nascent talent with venerated masters.
How to Help
Would you like to make a Tax-Deductible Contribution to Chamber On The Mountain? You can make a donation online or by check. Click Here to Learn More
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
at 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's marvelously 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 players’ individual gifts, what impressed most was the group’s effortless musicianship and unity of thought and attack. The threesome even seemed to be breathing in sync."
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 marvelously 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 sync.” 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.
Heidi Lehwalder, Artistic Director for Chamber On The Mountain,
Receives the Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestra's (first-ever) 2018 Distinguished Alum Award
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
Met Opera’s New Concertmaster: The Canadian Violinist Nikki Chooi
The Metropolitan Opera announced Thursday that its next concertmaster would be the young Canadian violinist Nikki Chooi,
who performed for Chamber On The Mountain on May 1, 2016. Mr. Chooi, 27, who was offered a one-year contract
beginning next month,
will join the Met’s other concertmaster, David Chan. Read the Article that appeared in the New York Times, July 6, 2016
Congratulations Nikki!
The Real Star of the 2016 Grammys was Ji-Yong Kim, the Pianist from That Android Commercial
Ji, Pianist, performed for Chamber On The Mountain on Sunday, May 17, 2015. Wonderful News!!
Ji will be back to perform for us again on Sunday, September 23, 2018 at 3 pm.
Purchase your Advance Reservations now!
Watch his phenomenal performance in a commercial that aired during the 2016 Grammy Awards Show. WATCH VIDEO
Stay informed! Would you like to be on our email list to receive announcements about our upcoming Chamber On The Mountain performances?
Please email us at: ChamberOnTheMountain@gmail.com and ask to be added to our contact list.
