Born in Ukraine, cellist Elizabeth Grunin grew up in Sacramento and performed there and in the Bay Area. Award-winning pianist Jelena Dukic was born in Serbia and taught and performed widely in South Florida. A native of Venezuela, flutist Nicaulis Alliey won prizes in Latin America and Europe. They met while pursuing advanced degrees at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and formed the relatively new Lancaster Trio.
Their scheduled program at HSU features Vox Balaenae, or Voice of the Whale by contemporary American composer George Crumb, who was inspired by the first recordings of humpback whale songs in the late 1960s. Crumb, who won both a Pulitzer Prize and a Grammy, requested that performers wear masks and be bathed in blue light.
The concert begins with the lively and haunting Trio for Flute, Cello and Piano by Bohuslav Martinu. A Czech composer, Martinu fled from the Nazis to America, and wrote this piece influenced by the sounds of the New England countryside.
Carl von Weber’s highly melodic Trio also emerged from a bucolic setting, the composer’s summer home outside mid 19th century Dresden in Germany.
The Lancaster Trio performs Thursday, March 26 at 8 p.m. in Fulkerson Recital Hall on the HSU campus. Tickets are $10 general/$5 seniors, children and students, and are available from the HSU Box Office (826-3928) or at the door. This Guest Artist Series concert is produced by the HSU Music Department. More information is available online at http://HSUMusic.blogspot.com.