In commemoration of Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day, the program will include:

Alexander Arutiunian (1920-2012)Suite for Trio (Violin, Clarinet, and Piano) (1992)

Alan Hovhaness (1911-2000) Lake Samish, Op. 415 (Trio for Violin, Clarinet, and Piano) (1988)

Aram Khachaturian (1903-1978) Trio for Clarinet, Violin, and Piano (1932)

This concert will additionally feature a world premiere of an exciting new work, inspired by Armenian folk music, written for the Nordica Trio by Maine composer and PCM Jazz Studies Director Titus Abbott.

The Nordica Trio brings together three outstanding musicians who have performed internationally. Since its debut in 1993, the trio has been enthusiastically received by audiences in Maine and beyond. Grants received by the trio include those from the Maine Arts Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts. Following a performance at the University of Southern Maine, the Portland Press Herald wrote in its review: “Both the individual playing and the total ensemble were virtually flawless in every work, no matter how difficult. Better still, the musical character of each was shaped with taste and imagination.”

In addition to performing, the members have all been active as educators in the state of Maine. The Nordica Trio has performed numerous concerts for students across the state and sponsored a student composer’s competition in 2004. Recordings of live performances have been broadcast by Maine Public Radio. The trio takes its name from the American operatic soprano, Lillian Nordica. Born Lillian Norton in Farmington, Maine, Madame Nordica made her operatic debut in Brescia in 1879. Her fame quickly spread, and she made appearances in all the principal capitals in Europe and America. She was known in Europe as the Yankee Diva. The recital hall at the University of Maine at Farmington is named Nordica Auditorium in her honor. This was the venue where the members of the trio first met to rehearse and discuss the idea of forming a chamber music ensemble, whose mission includes introducing audiences to the many wonderful compositions for this somewhat unique combination of instruments (violin or viola, clarinet and piano). It was therefore fitting for the ensemble to adopt the name Nordica Trio and thus carry on the name of one of Farmington’s most famous natives.

Most recently, the Managing Director of Somm Recordings in the United Kingdom, after hearing a live recording of the Nordica Trio’s performance of Bela Bartok’s “Contrasts”, approached the trio to record a CD for its label. The CD will include works by Armenian composers and the Bartok “Contrasts”. Recording sessions are planned for August, 2023.

Martin Perry has distinguished himself as a consummate interpreter of contemporary classical piano music, with appearances across the United States and abroad from the Boston Pops to the Moscow Philharmonic. His three recent CDs on Bridge Records featuring the works of Carter, Bartók, Ives and Hindemith have drawn raves from the critics, calling his playing “supremely assured” (International Piano), “commanding and virtuosic” (Clavier) and “quite dazzling!” (American Record Guide). In a lighter vein, as musical director and pianist for Stephen Sondheim’s musical Marry Me A Little, he can be heard on the best-selling RCA Red Seal cast recording. Closer to home, Mr. Perry has appeared as concerto soloist with the Portland Symphony Orchestra on many occasions, served on the piano faculties of Bowdoin and Bates Colleges, and enjoyed numerous collaborations with the DaPonte String Quartet and the Nordica Trio (member since 2008). A native Californian and proud Armenian American, Martin Perry is a graduate of the Juilliard School, where he studied with the renowned pedagogue Adele Marcus. Mr. Perry joined the Nordica Trio in 2012.

Karen Beacham has held the position of Principal Clarinet with the Mexico City Philharmonic, Orquesta Sinfónica de Minería in Mexico City and the Tulsa Philharmonic Orchestra. She has appeared as soloist with the Tulsa Philharmonic, the Maine Chamber Ensemble, Colby Symphony Orchestra and the University of Maine at Farmington Orchestra. An active orchestral musician as well as soloist and chamber music artist, Karen has performed with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the internationally touring New Sousa Band, and appears regularly with the Portland Symphony Orchestra. Dedicated to education as well as performance, Karen has served on the music faculties of Colby College, University of New Hampshire and University of Maine Farmington (where she was also conductor of the concert band). In her role as conductor/music instructor at Mt. Blue Regional School, she was awarded Maine Music Educator of the Year for 2014. Karen Beacham received a Bachelor of Music from the Philadelphia College of the Performing Arts where she studied with Donald Montanaro of the Philadelphia Orchestra. While there, she performed with the PCPA Orchestra as a winner of the Helen P. Neuman Solo Competition. Karen received her Master of Music Degree at the New England Conservatory of Music as a student of Harold Wright, Principal Clarinetist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

Graybert Beacham has been an active orchestral and chamber music performer throughout the United States and Mexico. He holds a Master’s degree in performance from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he was the recipient of the Dr. Jerome Gross Prize in Violin. Orchestral affiliations have included the Mexico City Philharmonic, Tulsa Philharmonic, Orquesta Sinfónica de Minería, Kansas City Philharmonic and Portland Symphony Orchestra. He has served as Acting Concertmaster of the Vermont Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Jaime Laredo, and as Concertmaster and soloist for the Cascade Festival of Music in Oregon. As a violist, he has been a guest artist with the Portland String Quartet and served as Principal Violist with Opera Boston. Faculty positions have included the Cleveland Institute of Music Preparatory Department, Colby College, University of Southern Maine, Oklahoma Summer Arts Institute, Sunriver Institute for Strings, Music Festival of Arkansas, Bay Chamber Concerts Next Generation Program, the New England Suzuki Institute and the Southern Maine String Academy. He has held the position of conductor with the University of Maine at Farmington Community Orchestra, has guest conducted the Midcoast Symphony Orchestra, and is an active conductor/clinician at various educational festivals throughout New England.

Titus Abbott is a composer and saxophonist who performs and records in the US, Canada and Europe with his ensemble the Titus Abbott Collective and as side person in jazz and new music ensembles. Notable collaborators include Frank Carlberg, Curtis Clark, Mary Anne Driscoll, Marilyn Lerner, Michael Sarin, Sean Conly, Jamie Saft and the late Oud master Al Gardner.