The Kandinksy Trio teams up with guest artists for jazz-infused chamber music
The Moss Arts Center welcomes local favorite the Kandinsky Trio, along with jazz greats Kurt Rosenwinkel and Paul Langosch, for a performance that includes a mix of classical and jazz sounds on Saturday, Nov. 5 at 7:30 p.m.
The performance will be held in the Anne and Ellen Fife Theatre, located within the Moss Arts Center’s Street and Davis Performance Hall at 190 Alumni Mall.
The trio, which features Elizabeth Bachelder on piano, violinist Benedict Goodfriend, and Virginia Tech School of Performing Arts associate professor Alan Weinstein on cello, will open the evening with a performance of Beethoven’s Trio in C Minor, op. 1, no. 3.
Guitarist Rosenwinkel and bassist Langosch will play a set and join the trio for a performance of John D’earth’s “Natural Bridge,” which he wrote for the Kandinsky Trio in 2001. A composer and jazz trumpeter, D’earth has performed with the jazz bands of Buddy Rich, Lionel Hampton, and many others, and currently serves as director of jazz performance at the University of Virginia. Mixing classical and jazz idioms, “Natural Bridge” is a balance of through-composed and improvised sections in a five-part suite.
Langosch took lessons from the great jazz bassist Ketter Betts and has toured with Jon Hendricks, George Shearing, Rosemary Clooney, Mel Torme, Susanna McCorkle, and Conte Candoli. In 1985 he was invited by Tony Bennett to become a permanent member of his trio, and his association with Bennett lasted over 20 years.
Rosenwinkel is a jazz guitarist, composer, bandleader, producer, and educator who came to prominence in the 1990s. Recognized as an influential guitarist and composer around the world, he has collaborated with numerous musicians, including Brad Mehldau, Brian Blade, Mark Turner, Joshua Redman, and Chris Potter, as well as esteemed jazz elders like Joe Henderson, Paul Motian, and Gary Burton.
Now in its 29th season, the Kandinsky Trio continues one of the longest and most successful artist residencies in the United States, with more than 1,000 concerts performed in the U.S., Canada, and Europe. The trio’s recordings are aired regularly on WGBH in Boston, WFMT in Chicago, and the Maine, Georgia, Nevada, Wisconsin, and Minnesota public radio networks. Live performances have been featured on the MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour, National Public Radio’s “Performance Today,” and WNYC’s “Around New York.”
The ensemble is one of only six piano trios ever to win the prestigious Chamber Music America Residency Award and has received multiple awards from the Theodore Presser and Carpenter Foundations to extend its artistry and visionary residency ideas to underserved communities. In 2010 the National Endowment for the Arts awarded the Kandinsky Trio an American Masterpieces grant to perform and record the jazz-influenced chamber music of D’earth and Gunther Schuller.
During the performance, a group of Virginia Tech students will participate in a Tweet Seats Master Class, a Twitter-based educational dialogue led by Amber Smith, director of honors teaching and learning in Virginia Tech’s Honors College, and Tracy Cowden, chair of music and associate professor of piano and voice in the School of Performing Arts
Tickets
Tickets for the performance are $20-45 for general public and $10 for students and youth 18 and under. Tickets can be purchased online; at the Moss Arts Center's box office, 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday; or by calling 540-231-5300 during box office hours.
Parking is available in the North End Parking Garage on Turner Street. Virginia Tech faculty and staff possessing a valid Virginia Tech parking permit can enter and exit the garage free of charge. Limited street parking is also available. Parking on Alumni Mall is free on weekdays after 5 p.m. and on weekends.
If you are an individual with a disability and desire an accommodation, please contact Kacy McAllister at 540-231-5300 or email kmcallis@vt.edu during regular business hours at least 10 business days prior to an event.
