Join us on Sunday, May 25 at 3:00 pm to hear a performance by Trio Rai, a Boston-based piano trio formed in 2019 at the New England Conservatory. This will be their second appearance at these concerts.
Program
| Composer | Work | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Aaron Copeland | Prelude (arr. Copeland) | 1934 |
| Gabriel Fauré | Piano Trio in D minor, op. 120 | 1923 |
| Mel Bonis | Soir et Matin, op. 76 | 1907 |
| Intermission | ||
| Johannes Brahms | Piano Trio No. 2 in C major, Op. 87 | 1882 |
About the Ensemble
Named after the Japanese kanji for “trust and reliance,” Trio Rai seeks to build meaningful relationships with audience members and with the music they perform. The piano trio was formed in 2019 at the New England Conservatory by violinist Tiffany Chang, cellist Mari Nagahara, and pianist Motti Fang-Bentov. In Fall 2023, cellist Leland Ko joined the trio.
During its first few years, Trio Rai received guidance from Miriam Fried, Kim Kashkashian, Donald Weilerstein, Areta Zhulla, Ayano Ninomiya, Lucy Chapman, Vivian Weilerstein, and Merry Peckham. Summer activities have included residencies at Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute, the Perlman Chamber Workshop, and the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival. The trio was awarded the Bronze Medal at the 2021 Fischoff Chamber Music Competition.
About the Artists
Tiffany Chang
Born in Arizona, Tiffany Chang began playing the violin at the age of three. Her teachers have included Miriam Fried, Chun-Yi Lu, Lan Qiu, the late William Magers, and Jing Zeng. Tiffany is a prize winner of various state and national competitions, including the Brevard Concerto Competition, Interlochen Concerto Competition, and the 2017 Dorothy Bates Violin Competition in which she was awarded a Guarnerius violin (1716) and Benoit Rolland bow for a year.
Tiffany has served as concertmaster of the New England Conservatory Philharmonia and Symphony under Maestro Hugh Wolff. An avid chamber musician, Tiffany has performed at chamber festivals across the country such as the Ravinia Steans Institute of Music, Taos School of Music, and Norfolk Chamber Music Festival. Tiffany has performed alongside Miriam Fried, Paul Biss, Nick Cords, and Melissa Reardon, and has been coached by members of the Brentano, Miro, Emerson, and Borromeo quartets.
Tiffany is currently finishing her Master’s degree at the New England Conservatory. She will be pursuing her Doctoral degree at the CUNY Graduate Center this fall. Tiffany plays on a 1768 Testore Violin on generous loan from the Ravinia Steans Institute.
Leland Ko
Chinese-Canadian cellist Leland Ko has performed as a soloist and chamber musician in venues such as Merkin Concert Hall and Weill Recital Hall in New York, Symphony Hall and Jordan Hall in Boston, and internationally in Belgium, Italy, Sweden, Israel, and Spain. He is a laureate of the Concert Artists Guild Louis and Susan Meisel Competition and the Walter W. Naumburg International Cello Competition.
Born and raised in Boston, Leland was a student of Kirsten Peltz, Ronald Lowry, and Paul Katz before attending Princeton University, where he graduated with an A.B. in German Literature. He went on to complete an M.M. at The Juilliard School under the teaching of Minhye Clara Kim, Timothy Eddy, and Natasha Brofsky, and then earned an Artist Diploma from the New England Conservatory under guidance of Laurence Lesser, Yeesun Kim, and Donald Weilerstein.
Leland performs on a Matteo Goffriller cello, Venice, c. 1707, ex-Lorne Munroe, which is on loan to him from Mr. Higgin Kim, Chairman of Byucksan Engineering Co. Ltd through Sejong Soloists. His professional development activities are generously supported by Marilyn G. and Joseph B. Schwartz.
Motti Fang-Bentov
Born in Beijing and raised in Tel-Aviv, pianist Motti Fang-Bentov hails from a multicultural, east-west background. He has performed as a soloist with orchestras such as the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra, the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra and the NEC Philharmonia, and under the baton of conductors such as Zubin Mehta and Vakhtang Kakhidze. He is the winner of the NEC Concerto & Honors Competition (‘18), the Pnina Zaltsman Piano Competition and the Ashdod Piano Competition.
A passionate chamber musician and collaborator, Motti was formerly the pianist of the Boston-based Eunoia Trio and has attended Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute (‘18, ’19). Motti has previously served in the Israel Defense Forces.
Motti completed his undergraduate and graduate studies at the New England Conservatory in Boston under the guidance of Alexander Korsantia. He is now pursuing an Artist Diploma at NEC under the guidance of Wha-Kyun Byun.