Performer

Profile

Both versatile and genre-busting, NZTrio epitomises the relevance of live music in a digital age.

This group smashes preconceptions of classical music being stuffy and intimidating by engaging their listeners with intimate and dynamic performances.

Each concert is a unique experience. Mixing musical cultures and genres, and often involving collaborations with a diverse range of international artists, NZTrio inspires people of all walks of life to see classical music, both old and new as approachable, essential and meaningful.

Violinist Justine Cormack, cellist Ashley Brown and pianist Sarah Watkins first joined forces in 2002 and were Ensemble in Residence at The University of Auckland from 2004-2009. From the outset their artistry, intensity and approachability have captivated music lovers throughout New Zealand, Australia, Asia, South America, Turkey, the US and the UK. Recent international highlights include a tour to China and Taiwan in 2012, the 2011 City of London Festival, and a special concert at the Aurora Festival in Sydney, broadcast live on ABC Radio. Most recently the trio received rave reviews for their performance at the 2012 New Zealand International Arts Festival in Wellington, and for their Loft series at Q and Art3 in art galleries around the country.

The trio actively commissions works by leading New Zealand composers. Their trade-mark eclectic programmes regularly feature the likes of John Psathas, Jack Body, Gareth Farr, Dame Gillian Whitehead and Eve de Castro Robinson, as well as emerging composers, making NZTrio a driving force in the New Zealand music industry. More recently, their commitment to commissioning new music has expanded to include composers from Asia and Australia.

NZTrio regularly collaborates with leading artists from across the artistic spectrum. For instance 2013 will see the trio premiering a new commission by Victoria Kelly with taongo puoro (traditional Maori instruments) at the Auckland Art Festival. In the 2011 festival, the trio performed with three Cambodian folk musicians in O Cambodia, a collaborative performance of four new works by New Zealand and Cambodian composers, and at WOMAD 2010 NZTrio teamed up with Finnish Accordian/Bass duo Lepisto and Lehti.

Collaborations with theatre ensemble Massive Company and the New Zealand Dance Company add another exciting dimension to NZTrio’s creative stage presence.

Critical acclaim for the group’s performances extends to their ever-expanding catalogue of recorded work. Their CDs have each been nominated as a finalist for Best Classical Album at the NZ Music Awards, in 2006 (Spark), 2008 (Bright Tide Moving Between), and 2010 (Flourishes). In 2011 they recorded a CD of O Cambodia followed by a significant project recording Stuart Greenbaum’s chamber music at the Melbourne Recital Centre. Both discs are due for release in 2013.

Described as a ‘national treasure’, NZTrio celebrated their first decade together in 2012, and they continue to thrill both national and international audiences.