Formed in 2013, the Montrose Trio is a collaboration stemming from a long and fruitful relationship between pianist Jon Kimura Parker and the Tokyo String Quartet. Mr. Parker was the quartet’s final guest pianist, and a backstage conversation with first violinist Martin Beaver and cellist Clive Greensmith led to the Montrose Trio’s creation.
Named after Chateau Montrose, a storied Bordeaux wine long favored after concerts, with a nod to the Montrose Arts District of Houston and the street in Winnipeg where Mr. Beaver was raised, the Montrose Trio has quickly established a reputation for performances of the highest distinction. In 2015 the Washington Post raved about their “absolutely top-notch music-making, as fine as one could ever expect to hear…they are poised to become one of the top piano trios in the world.”
The Montrose Trio gave their debut performance for the Chamber Music Society of Detroit, with subsequent performances at Wolftrap, in Montreal, and at the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival. They have continued to perform on major series in cities including New York, Baltimore, Buffalo, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Houston, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, La Jolla, Menlo, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland, Seattle, Vancouver, at the Hong Kong Chamber Music Festival, and throughout Italy.
Pianist Jon Kimura Parker performs with major North American orchestras on a regular basis, including recent concerto performances with the orchestras of New York, Chicago, and Philadelphia. He also appears in Off the Score, an experimental group with legendary Police drummer Stewart Copeland. He is Artistic Director of the Honens International Piano Competition, Artistic Advisor of the Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival, and Professor of Piano at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University in Houston.
Violinist Martin Beaver has appeared as soloist with the orchestras of San Francisco, Indianapolis, Montreal, Toronto, and in Belgium and Portugal. A top prizewinner at the international violin competitions of Indianapolis and Montreal, he studied with Danchenko, Gingold and Szeryng. Mr. Beaver was a founding member of the Toronto String Quartet and Triskelion, and was the first violinist of the Tokyo String Quartet for eleven years. He is currently on faculty at the Colburn School in LA.
Cellist Clive Greensmith has perfomed as soloist with the London Symphony, the Royal Philharmonic, the English Chamber Orchestra, the Mostly Mozart Orchestra, the Seoul Philharmonic, and the RAI orchestra in Rome. He has worked with distinguished musicians including András Schiff, Claude Frank and Steven Isserlis, and won prizes in the Premio Stradivari held in Cremona, Italy. Mr. Greensmith was the cellist in the Tokyo String Quartet for fourteen years and is currently on faculty at the Colburn School in LA.
In 2018-19 the Montrose Trio performs in cities including Detroit, Houston, Joplin, Monterey, Portland, Tulsa, Rockport, and Wolftrap. For more information please see montrosetrio.com.
