Debussy, Shostakovich highlight Neave Trio concert

BRIDGEWATER — On Sunday, at 3 p.m., the Neave Trio (Anna Williams, violin; Mikhail Veselov, cello; Eri Nakamura, piano) performs on the Promisek Salon Concerts series in St. Cecilia’s Music Room at Three Rivers Farm, 694 Skyline Ridge Road in Bridgewater. The program includes Debussy’s Trio in G major, Piazzolla’s Estaciones Porteñas, Augusta Read Thomas’ Triple Marionette, and Shostakovich’s Piano Trio No. 2 in E minor according to a news release from organizers. Attendees are invited to a champagne reception following the performance.

Neave Trio releases two albums in 2018 featuring selections from this performance. On June 1, the Neave Trio released their sophomore album, “French Moments” — following their 2016 debut album “American Moments” — on Chandos Records which includes the Debussy, along with trios by Fauré and Roussel. This fall, Neave Trio releases an all-Piazzolla recording on Azica Records, with Estaciones Porteñas and new arrangements and an original song by Argentinian composer Leonardo Suarez Paz featuring mezzo-soprano Carla Jablonski.

Since forming in 2010, Neave Trio — violinist Anna Williams, cellist Mikhail Veselov, and pianist Eri Nakamura — has earned enormous praise for its engaging, cutting-edge performances. WQXR explains, “’Neave’ is actually a Gaelic name meaning ‘bright’ and ‘radiant’, both of which certainly apply to this trio’s music making.” The Boston Musical Intelligencer included Neave in its “Best of 2014” and “Best of 2016” roundups, writing, “it is inconceivable that they will not soon be among the busiest chamber ensembles going,” and “their unanimity, communication, variety of touch, and expressive sensibility rate first tier.”

Neave has performed at many esteemed concert series and at festivals worldwide, including Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, 92nd Street Y, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center/La Jolla Music Society, Rockport Chamber Music Festival, Norfolk and Norwich Chamber Music Series (United Kingdom), and the Samoylov and Rimsky Korsakow Museums’ Chamber Music Series in St. Petersburg (Russia). The trio has also appeared frequently as soloists for Beethoven’s Triple Concerto with orchestras across the country and held residency positions at Brown University, ArtsAhimsa Chamber Music Festival, San Diego State University as the first ever Fisch/Axelrod Trio-inResidence, the Banff Centre (Canada), among many other institutions. In the fall of 2017, the Trio will join the faculty of the Longy School of Music of Bard College as Alumni Artists, Faculty Ensemble-in-Residence.

Neave Trio strives to champion new works by living composers and reach wider audiences through innovative concert presentations, regularly collaborating with artists of all mediums. These collaborations include performances with the Blythe Barton Dance Company, which earned “Best Dance Production” at the 2015 San Diego International Fringe Festival; projection artist Ryan Brady, who has added visual components to Neave’s performances of standard repertoire; the interactive concert series “STEIN2.0,” launched in collaboration with composer Amanuel Zarzowski; Klee Musings by acclaimed American composer Augusta Read Thomas, which was premiered by Neave; and the upcoming short film, 4Seasons, a genredefying short film based on the tango music of Astor Piazzolla, in collaboration with filmmaker Pablo Berron and the Blythe Barton Dance Company.

Concert highlights for the 2017-18 season include Charleston Chamber Music Society, Rochester Institute of Technology’s Performing Artists Concert Series, Harvard Music Association, Concerts at the Point (Westport, Mass.), Beethoven’s Triple Concerto with the Desert Community Orchestra, Ridgecrest Chamber Music Society, Norfolk and Norwich Chamber Music Series (United Kingdom), Brightwaters Library Chamber Series, and Promisek Salon Concerts, among many other performances.

Centered on the 300-acre Three Rivers Farm in Bridgewater, Promisek is a Catholic educational and environmental association, a part of whose mission is caring for the land and restoring its buildings to their original beauty and to new uses serving the public good. Promoting the fine arts is a high priority, particularly classical music in the form of Salon concerts taking place in the music room overlooking the historic formal garden. The concert series has been operating for close to twenty years, with three concerts a year on average, offering programs of excellence with a unique opportunity to meet the artists at a reception following the concert.