Ellsworth Community Music Institute (ECMI) offers its next Midday Concert @ 1:00 on February 10th with the ECMI String Trio; comprised of ECMI faculty Richard Hsu, violin; Kevin Morse, guitar and Aija Kante-Cahn, cello.
The concert will be held at the Moore Community Center Theater at 125 State Street in Ellsworth, Maine. The series is sponsored by Ellsworth Community Music Institute (ECMI) with funding assistance from The City of Ellsworth. Admission is free to the public.
The concert program will include a variety of Early Spanish pieces as well as works by J.S Bach, Nicola Paganini, Manuel De Falla, Enrique Granados, Villa Lobos, Giovanni Pergolesi, Augustin Barrios and John Duarte.
Violinist Richard Hsu is an active soloist and chamber musician. Richard has performed with Orchestra of St. Luke's, Clarion Society, Early Music New York, American Classical Orchestra, and Concert Royal. He was formerly associate concertmaster of the Charleston Symphony Orchestra. He performed as violin soloist and concertmaster with the Moscow Ballet at Spoleto Festival USA. He holds a performer diploma and bachelor’s degree in violin performance from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. He furthered his studies at Manhattan School of Music, specializing in orchestral performance. Richard performs regularly with the Bangor Symphony Orchestra. He currently teaches violin and chamber music in Ellsworth and Bangor. Richard enjoys playing tennis, electric guitar, yoga, and making espresso drinks.
Kevin Morse has spent his life dedicated to the development and mastery of the classical guitar. He is the protégé of a legendary guitarist from England named Stanley Watson, whom he met when he was 13 years old in Rochester, New York. Since then, Kevin’s powerful technique and sound has earned him formidable recognition and acclaim. He continues to teach Watson’s methods. He has performed throughout the United States and Europe. He has been an artist in residence at numerous New England schools and is committed to the exposure and education of young people to the world of Spanish Guitar. In 1992 he was the winner of a prestigious International Competition sponsored by “Guitar Player Magazine”, where he was named the “Ultimate Classical Guitarist” from an extensive field of players from Europe and the United States.
Aija Kante-Cahn was born in Riga, Latvia and obtained her Bachelor’s Degree in Cello Performance from the J. Vitols Music Academy where she studied with Eleonora Testeleca, an important student of the great cellist Mstislav Rostropovich. Ms. Kante-Cahn completed her Master’s Degree at the Latvian Music Academie studying chamber music. After graduation she studied at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz in Cologne. She was a faculty member of several music schools in Riga, and at the Mahidol University in Bangkok. Ms. Kante-Cahn and Ms. Linde formed the Duo Rigensis in 2000, and they won major critical acclaim for a series of sold-out chamber concerts in Cologne. In addition to the Duo Rigensis, she performed with several orchestras and ensembles including the Elsberg Quartet. Ms. Kante-Cahn has participated in European festivals such as the “Musik in den Heusern der Stadt”, the Rostropovich Cello Festival, and Kuhmo (Finland) Chamber Music Festival.
Future concerts in the 2022-2023 series will be held on March 17 - Duo Mundi - Gulimina Mahamuti and George Lopez, piano duo and on April 14 - FORTY-FIFTH PARALLEL - Chris Nemeth, violin; Laura Gallucci, viola; and Timothy Garrett, cello
For more information, please call 207-664-9258 or email: info (at) ellsworthcommunitymusic.org.
Left to right: Richard Hsu, Kevin Morse and Aija Kante-Cahn - photos courtesy of the musicians.