St. Clair Trio

Yehonatan Berick, violin; Marcy Chanteaux, cello; Pauline Martin, piano

Hailed as “magnificent” by Strad Magazine, The St. Clair Trio drew international attention with the release of “Hobson’s Choice”, its first compact disc in a series with Koch International Classics. The trio’s subsequent album “Old Acquaintances”, which features music by the celebrated composer Franz Waxman, won the prestigious Chamber Music America-WQXR-FM award for best releases of 2000. Since its 1989 debut at the Mackinac Island Music Festival, the Detroit-based ensemble has appeared at a host of regional series and festivals, with nationally broadcast performances in Washington and Chicago. Offering fresh interpretations of repertoire staples, the Trio is also a leading exponent of lesser-known contemporary works. City Sketches (a compact disc of works by James Hartway) earned a “Best Classical Ensemble” award in 1994 from the Motor City Music Awards Foundation, and the Contemporary Recording Society cited the Trio’s “sensitive and technically brilliant” performance of Montage by James Lentini (Preludio: Contemporary American Composers). As they salute retiring violinist Geoffrey Applegate, cellist Marcy Chanteaux and pianist Pauline Martin welcome acclaimed violinist Yehonatan Berick to the St. Clair Trio’s 2008-2009 season.

A prizewinner at the 1993 Naumburg competition and a recipient of the 1996-97 Prix Opus, Yehonatan Berick is in high demand internationally as soloist, recitalist, chamber musician (on violin as well as on viola) and pedagogue. His busy concert schedule has already taken him throughout North America, Europe and Israel. He has performed, among others, under Yoav Talmi, Mendi Rodan, Kees Baakels and Keith Lockhart, with the Quebec, Winnipeg, Windsor, Grand Junction, Jerusalem and Haifa Symphonies, and the Israeli, Cincinnati, Montreal and Manitoba Chamber Orchestras, Thirteen Strings and Ensemble Appassionata. He has presented numerous recitals with internationally renowned artists. Yehonatan Berick is a Professor of Violin at the University of Michigan. Cellist Marcy Chanteaux is a member of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and a graduate of the Cleveland Institute. Formerly a cellist in the Washington National Symphony, she began her tenure in the DSO as Orchestra Pianist, making her one of the very few musicians in the United States to have held two disparate titles in a major orchestra. Described as “absolutely hypnotic as a cello melodist” (Detroit News), Ms. Chanteaux’s solo performances are frequently broadcast nationally. She is on faculty at Wayne State University. Pianist Pauline Martin’s Washington performance in 1985 inspired the Washington Post headline, “Pauline Martin’s Dazzling Debut”. Inspired by her teacher and mentor at Indiana University, Menahem Pressler, she formed the St. Clair Trio in 1989. Ms. Martin has appeared as soloist with numerous North-American Orchestras, and her collaborations with leading instrumentalists and contemporary composers continue to earn praise throughout the U.S., Canada and Europe. Drawing from her experiences as performer and faculty member of Michigan State, Wayne State and Oakland Universities, she is authoring a book on “Peak Performance”. She holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts from The University of Michigan, where she was instructed by Theodore Letttvin, Gary Graffman and resident artist Andre Watts.

http://www.paulinemartin.com/stclair/StClair-Bio.htm