About the Trio

The Castillon Trio have been hailed as a “dynamic American Trio”  Having studied with the foremost names in chamber music - the Beaux-Arts Trio, the Amadeus Quartet, the Emerson Quartet, the Chilingarian Quartet, the American Quartet and the Cleveland Quartet - this international trio (with members from England, the US and Italy) formed as faculty at Valparaiso University in 2002. Individually, they have performed as soloists in Europe, America and China and appeared in recital for charities such as “World Hunger” and “Artists Against Aids” and at venues including the Dame Myra Hess Concerts, the Edinburgh International Festival, St. Martin-in-the-Fields, the British Music Information Center, the French Embassy, Paris, the Purcell Room, the US Coast Guard Concert Series, the American Liszt Society and the Fetzer Society. The Castillon Trio are ensemble-in-residence at the Stamford International Music Festival in the UK.

Since their formation they have been recognized for their "dynamic" interpretations of both classic and less familiar repertoire. Their concerts have been described as "outstanding musical events". English newspapers hailed their 2004 UK debut as “a veritable feast of sound from this dynamic American trio … these accomplished players rapidly displayed their superb technique … prolonged applause rewarded this trio’s superb performance”
(The Evening Telegraph).

The trio takes its name from the French composer, Alexis de Castillon, who died tragically in the early years of his career. His memory was held dear by a generation of young French composers, from Saint-Saëns and Fauré to Debussy and Ravel, who remembered him as the first composer of his generation to devote himself exclusively to chamber music. Echoing the music of Castillon, the trio's repertoire combines classic masters with contemporary and lesser-known composers: from Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven to Piston, Bridge, Shostakovich and Nyman.

The Players
Andrew Smith - violin
Andrea Mills - cello
Diego Tornelli - piano