(Posted April 12, 2004)

HUNTINGDON, Pa. -- Playing violin, cello and piano, the Ahn Trio brings instrumental virtuosity combined with the intuitive playing that only familial closeness can inspire to its classical music concert at 8:15 p.m., Sunday, April 18 in Rosenberger Auditorium in Oller Hall on the Juniata campus.

For tickets and information about the Juniata College Artist Series, please call (814) 641-3605 or visit the Web site www.juniata.edu/arts. General admission tickets for single performances are $20. Single-show tickets for seniors over age 65 and children age 18 and under are $12. Juniata College students are admitted free with a student ID.
The Ahn (pronounced "ON") Trio is comprised of three sisters, Maria, Lucia and Angella Ahn. Maria, a cellist, and Lucia, a pianist, are twins and Angella, a violinist, is two years younger than the twins.

The sisters, who are from Seoul, Korea, formed their musical ensemble in 1979 after an appearance on Korean television. All three enrolled in the Julliard School of Music in New York City in 1981.

Originally, all three girls started out as pianists, but their family insisted each sister play a different instrument. After graduating from Julliard, the sisters started touring. Currently they perform about 100 concerts per year in the United States and internationally. In 1992, they won the Alliance Northeast Competition for Chamber Ensembles and won the Coleman Chamber Music Competition the same year.

The signed a recording contract with EMI and released their first CD in 1995. The released a CD of the Ravel and Villa-Lobos Piano Trios in 1995. Their most acclaimed CD, titled "Ahn-Plugged," (1999) features the "Ahn-Plugged" concerto, written specifically for the trio by Kenji Bunch. Several prominent composers, such as avant-garde jazz musician John Zorn and film composer Michael Nyman, have written compositions specifically for the Ahn Trio.

In addition to performing Eric Ewazen's "The Diamond World" and Kenji Bunch's "Concerto for Piano Trio and Orchestra," the Ahn sisters also play such pop favorites as the Beatles "Hey Jude" and the Doors' "Riders on the Storm."

Their latest CD, "Groovebox," features compositions by Nyman, Maurice Jarre and Astor Piazziolla. The highlight of this CD includes Bunch's "Swing Shift: Music for Evening Hours," which describes the sounds and activities on New York City streets from dusk to dawn.

The music critic of the Washington Post wrote, "Their technique was impressive and they balanced unanimity and individuality in a spirit that is at the heart of chamber music." The Philadelphia Inquirer critic wrote, "They share high-energy playing and soloist gifts that polish each of these works."


Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.