We would love to hear from you.
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 formed in 2002. 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, Salle Gaveau, Weill Recital Hall. The Castillon Trio were ensemble-in-residence at the Stamford International Music Festival in the UK from 2004-2012.
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. His memory came to represent the forging of a new horizon based in the legacy of Beethoven's late chamber music. Echoing this legacy trio's repertoire combines the classic masters with contemporary and lesser-known composers: from Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven - to Piston, Bridge, and Shostakovich - to Michael Nyman, Jacob TV, Shulamit Ran and Kenji Bunch.........
skills that can astonish the ear and instruct the mind
"virtuoso playing"
WHAT THE PAPERS SAY
"three accomplished artists ...that should not be missed by any music lover."
"totally in sync, mentally and musically.""a chamber concert ... that turned out to be an outstanding musical event."
The Trio gave an impassioned performance of one of Beethoven's most happy and life-affirming works, the Archduke Trio .... the same excellent qualities of flawless ensemble and clarity of purpose were once more in evidence as they gave a refined and polished performance of Beethoven's early c minor trio"
ANDREA MILLS
cello
Andrea has studied with cellists Alan Harris, David Wells and Peter Stumpf, and ensembles including the Cleveland Quartet, the Emerson Quartet, and the American Quartet. She has participated in masterclasses with Orlando Cole, Irene Sharp and Yehudi Hanani and attended the Aspen Music School, the Yellow Barn Music Festival and the Spoleto Festival, SC. She currently teaches and performs each summer as artist faculty at the Stamford International Music Festival in England. Her playing has been hailed as “rich and eloquent” (The Evening Telegraph, UK). Andrea has held positions as principal cellist with the Waterbury Symphony Orchestra, the Wallingford Symphony Orchestra and the Cleveland Women’s Orchestra, with whom she performed as soloist. As an orchestral musician she has played with numerous orchestras including the Kalamazoo Symphony, the South Bend Symphony, the Illinois Philharmonic, Connecticut Virtuosi, the New Haven Symphony, the Greater Bridgeport Symphony, Youngstown Symphony, the Erie Philharmonic and the Cleveland Chamber Symphony. In 2003, she joined the orchestra of the Sarasota Opera Company. Andrea has a wide variety of musical interests from contemporary music to jazz cello and is a regular recording artist for film and television. In 1998, she studied jazz cello at the Henry Mancini Institute, CA., where she performed at the Hollywood Bowl. She has played with such familiar names as Andrea Bocelli, Luciano Pavarotti, Johnny Mathias, Yes, Diana Krall, Dave Gruisin, the Trans-Siberian Orchestra and the Turtle Island String Quartet. As a dedicated teacher of both traditional and Suzuki cello she has served on the faculty of the Ethel Walker School, Choate-Rosemary Hall, the Hartt Community Division and led the cello division of the Western Springs School of Talent Education. Her pedagogy training includes specialist work in San Francisco, Cleveland, Ithaca, West Hartford, and Chicago. Currently, she serves on the faculty at Valparaiso University where she teaches cello and chamber music and coaches orchestra. She recently assisted on a book on cello technique published by International Edition. She is the founding Director of Musici Entertainment and performs as cellist with the Castillon Trio described as a “dynamic American Trio” (Evening Telegraph, UK) “not to be missed by any music lover” (Herald Argus).
ANDREW SMITH
violin
Andrew's multi-faceted career combines performance, composition and artistic leadership. As an award winning violinist and champion of contemporary music Andrew has performed with Sir Peter Maxwell Davis, John Corigliano, David McBride, James Sellars, Peter Seabourne, Jacob TV, Kenji Bunch, David Shol, Paul Brust, Robert Carl, George Benjamin, Hans Werner Henze and Bruce Mahin among others, premiering numerous works. In addition to working with composers from the main stream of classical music, Andrew collaborates with commercial music composers. As one of the most prolific session musicians of his generation he can be heard on soundtracks for TV and Film, for Pop, Rock and Jazz and even on leading Gaming platforms such as Xbox, producing albums in multiple genres from classical to rock, pop and film. Andrew has extensive experience in early music. After winning the Royal Academy of Music's award for 16th century counterpoint he led the European Chamber Concert and was concertmaster of the Bach Institute with Helmuth Rilling.
At the age of 20 Andrew became Artistic Director of the Rubicon Ensemble, with musicians from the London Symphony, Royal Opera House, BBC Symphony and English National Opera. He was later director of the European Chamber Opera and artistic advisor to London Musici, collaborating with the dancers and choreographers of the Ballet Rambert, London's leading modern dance company. During this time he started to arrange and compose. He has commissions from the BBC, the Heart of England Opera and the European Chamber Opera and most recently his music has been published by Faber Music and released on the Gothic Storm and Minim Labels.
In 1996 Andrew ran the international string quartet program at the Hartt School, for the Grammy winning Emerson String Quartet. In 2000 the University of Hartford and Bushnell Theater invited him to lead “The Copland Festival” - a multi-faceted arts festival celebrating the influence of Aaron Copland on American arts, with partners that included Connecticut Opera, Connecticut Ballet, the Hartford Symphony, the Bushnell Theater, the Hartford Stage Company, the Wadsworth Atheneum and Boosey & Hawkes. Andrew has served as Executive and Artistic Director of the Stamford International Music Festival in the UK from 2004-2010 where he programmed over forty chamber music works each season. He is currently Executive Director of the Connecticut Guitar Festival and the Suzuki Music Schools, one of the largest independent non-profit Suzuki schools of its kind in the US, where he works with young children.
While maintaining a profile as an artistic leader he has forged an independent career as a unique voice on the violin. His recording of the complete Beethoven violin sonatas received rave reviews - "a deeply considered interpretation", "finesse and poise are the hallmarks of this cycle", "a special distinction of artistic merit" and received a special commendation from the American Prize for Chamber Music. At the same time as performing the Beethoven cycle around the country he was working on scores for big picture releases in scores by Lorne Balfe, "Churchill" by Jonathan Teplitzky with stars Miranda Richardson and Bryan Cox " and the epic "King Arthur Legend of the Sword" by Guy Ritchie. On Television Andrew can be heard on Ron Howard's 2017 series "Genius" with Geoffrey Rush, the BBC series "Class" for Blair Mowat, the award winning, "Marcella" with Anna Friel and the wonderful scores of Jasha Klebe "The Challenger Disaster: the Lost Tapes" and the award winning "Winter on Fire".
AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS
2018 Innovation & Technology Grant
2016 American Prize for Chamber Music Special Commendation
2001 Alumni Award
2001 CELT Award
1991 Farjeon Prize
1991 Clothworkers Foundation Award
1991 The Powers Biggs Award
1991 The Drapers Foundation Award
JOSHUA PIERCE piano
Grammy-nominated Joshua Pierce is one of today's most dynamic pianists, His technical mastery has afforded him the ability to move easily from the concerti of Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven, to the big works of Brahms; Liszt, Tchaikowsky, Rachmaninov, to the provocative sounds of John Cage, Charles Ives, Ivan Wyschnegradsky, Harry Partch, Teo Macero, Karl Stockhausen, La Monte Young, Toru Takemitsu, Swen Sandstrom, Maurice Ohana, Ben Weber, Sofia Gubaidulina and many others. His impressive array of reviews draws from to a career of performances in the worlds major concert halls "Joshua Pierce possesses an arsenal of pianistic talents that can astonish the ear and instruct the mind." (Robert D. Cummings, Classical Net).
Mr. Pierce grew up in New York City, studying at the Juilliard School of Music, pre-College Division where for seven years, he was the recipient of the Heckscher Foundation Award, as well as awards from the Manhattan School of Music, and Columbia University. He also studied at the Cleveland Institute where he received the Victor Babin Award. Many more awards would follow during his career. His principal teacher and mentor has been Dorothy Taubman; he also did extensive chamber music work with Bernard Greenhouse, Joseph Seiger and Artur Balsam.
Mr. Pierce has performed internationally as solo recitalist, in chamber music performances, with Russia's famed Leontovich String Quartet, as well as with many of the major orchestras of Western and Eastern Europe, the U.S. and Latin America. He has given historic performances of works by Charles Ives and John Cage in Russia where he received outstanding reviews and audience acclaim. Pierce's 2003 World Premiere performances of Michael Harrison's "Revelation" absolutely stunned audiences in New York. His performances in April and May of that year were sold out and greeted with standing ovations. Allan Kozinn of The New York Times described Joshua Pierce performing this work as an "eloquent new-music pianist." He has since performed the work in Los Angeles and the European premiere at the American Music Festival in Wroclaw, Poland. His performance of Revelation was recorded for webcast through American Music Center's NewMusicBox webmagazine.
In broadcast, Mr. Pierce has been heard nationally on NPR and PRI International, in New York on WQXR-FM, WNYC-FM, as well as on WFMT/Chicago at the Dame Myra Hess Concerts, Morning Pro Musica on WGBH/Boston, plus radio and television across Western and Eastern Europe and Asia. He has also been heard on such nationally syndicated programs as John Schaefer's New Sounds, George Jellinek's First Hearing, Peter Schickele's Schickele Mix, National Public Radio's All Things Considered and David Dubal's American Century and Reflections From the Keyboard. Mr. Pierce's November 2001 concerts in Bratislava, Slovak Republic, produced the first simulcast performances in Europe of George Gerswhin's complete and restored Rhapsody in Blue and the Concerto in F for the European Broadcasting Union via Radio Slovenska. The concert was simulcast in 19 countries throughout Europe.
A highly prolific recording artist, Mr. Pierce has recorded over 200 works including numerous World Premieres as a soloist and with orchestra for MSR Classics, EMI Classics, Carlton Classics, Helicon, Koch International Classics, MMC, Pro Arte, Sony Classics, PITCH, Vox, Varese Sarabande and other labels. He has recorded more than 40 solo concertos including works by Tchaikowsky, Khachaturian, Rachmaninov, Prokofiev as well as the complete piano concertos of Beethoven, Brahms, Liszt and Gershwin. Other recordings include works by Schubert, Hummel, Czerny, Reinecke, Weber, Chopin, Mendelssohn, Franck, Strauss, Casella, Respighi and Ellington.
His 20-year association and work with the late innovator-composer John Cage, is legendary. Mr. Pierce's landmark series of recordings of Cage's keyboard music for the German label Wergo: John Cage, Works for Piano and Prepared Piano Volumes I, II, III, IV and Sonatas and Interludes for Prepared Piano have received many prizes, much critical acclaim and in 1991 won the Prieses Der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik.
In May 2000, Mr. Pierce made music history by becoming the first pianist ever to perform John Cage's Sonatas and Interludes for Prepared Piano, Daughters of the Lonesome Isle and the Three Page Sonata by Charles Ives at the Alternitivo Festival of Contemporary Music 2000 in Moscow, Russia and at the 4th ISCM Festival Europe/Asia 2000 in Kazan, Russia to great critical acclaim. Mr. Pierce continues his association with the American Festival of Microtonal Music, Inc. (AFMM), having been the organization's official pianist and Artistic Advisor. In 1996, Johnny Reinhard brought his realization of Charles Ives' Universe Symphony to Alice Tully Hall with Mr. Pierce as pianist. They have performed together throughout Russia, Europe and the United States since 1983, presenting a wide variety of composers including many important works by John Cage, Harry Partch, Phillip Corner, Charles Ives and Ivan Wyschnegradsky.