Trio Gaia, New England Conservatory's graduate piano trio in residence, formed in 2018 and is dedicated to offering audiences dynamic, personally relevant experiences inside and outside the concert hall. Recently, the trio won 1st prize at the 2022 WDAV Young Chamber Musicians Competition, as well as prizes in the 2022 Premio Trio di Trieste International Music Competition, 2021 Chamber Music Yellow Springs Competition, and the 2019 Plowman National Chamber Music Competition.
Recent seasons have included appearances on stages nationally and internationally, including recitals for the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concerts, Davidson College Concert Series, and Core Memory Music, as well as performances in Osaka, Japan as part of the Osaka International Chamber Music Competition. The trio has also been presented in recitals in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Virginia, and Panama City, Panama, with summer appearances at the Chamber Music Workshop of the Perlman Music Program and Yale University’s Norfolk Chamber Music Festival. In the 23/24 season, Trio Gaia debuts at the Artist Series Concerts of Sarasota, the Harvard Musical Association, the Shouse Institute of the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival, and has been awarded a Creative Residency at the Perlman Music Program to bring new life to its integrative programming of works beyond the classical piano trio canon. In 2020, during the onset of the pandemic, Trio Gaia gave virtual performances for Music for Food, Massachusetts Peace Action, NEC's Black Student Union, and Opus Illuminate, a series dedicated to music by composers underrepresented in classical music. In their programming, the trio is equally passionate about reviving standard works and championing new works, while also experimenting with original arrangements and compositions.
Dedicated to sharing classical music in the community, Trio Gaia is sought-after for its educational programming for students, seniors, and everyone in between. The trio has crafted weeklong residencies for both the Panama Jazz Festival and the Virginia Arts Festival in support of its mission to invite students into the experience of creating chamber music. Previously, Trio Gaia served as Community Performance & Partnership fellows at NEC, and most recently they were invited to perform and teach at PRIZM International Music Festival in Tennessee.
Over the years, the trio’s mentors have included Vivian Weilerstein, Don Weilerstein, Kim Kashkashian, Yeesun Kim, Ayano Ninomiya, Merry Peckham, Max Levinson, Laurence Lesser, Itzhak Perlman, and members of the Brentano Quartet and Horszowski Trio. Each member is a graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music.