The Peabody Trio is currently serving their 13th year as resident faculty ensemble at the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, MD. In addition to two annual performances at Peabody, the trio teaches a weekly seminar for advanced chamber music groups. The trio's additional artistic contributions to the conservatory include bringing performance into the classroom, working with theory, history, and literature faculty to fashion ways to weave Peabody Trio performances and discussions into the fabric of their curriculum.

Every summer the Peabody Trio spends five weeks, from late June to early August, as Ensemble-in-Residence at the Yellow Barn Music School and Festival in Putney, Vermont, where they perform as a trio, teach, coach and present chamber music concerts with gifted students and young professionals from the US and abroad in the beautiful mountains of Southern Vermont.




The Peabody Trio offers outreach programs for audiences of all types: children, young adults, amateur musician, music students, and music lovers. Our programs involve varying degrees of audience participation, and each can be tailored to the needs and interests of a particular audience. What all of our outreach activities share is an emphasis on the importance of "active listening:" the notion that the listener is the necessary third part of the equation, along with the composer and the performer. We believe that a good piece of music never reveals all of its complexities and rewards in one hearing, and that the mark of a great work is that one can return to it again and again, each time finding new treasures.

Along with one or more concerts, some or all of these programs can be combined into a residency of several days. What follows is a list of outreach programs with a brief description of each.

1. Children's Concert: 1 hour

We present 3-5 contrasting works: single movements or excerpts from larger movements. This concert is an interactive one, particularly if the age and size of the audience permit.

One of the most popular parts of our program is "storytime". We choose a piece, divide it into five consecutive sections, and invite five children to the stage. Each child is assigned a given section of music and is asked to make up a story to his or her own section, continuing the story from where the previous child left off. The children come up with wonderful stories which in turn enrich our performance of the piece.

Another part of the program is a simple analysis of a section of music, where we separate out the harmony from the melody, or show how dynamics add expression to the work. We always include at least one contemporary work on the program, because we find that children listen with particularly open minds, and are often fascinated by the range of colors in a work and the various special effects that achieve them.

2. Pre-Concert Presentations: 1/2 hour

Lecture-Demonstration with or without outside lecturer, includes question and answer time.

Our lecture-demonstration on the program emphasizes the unique musical language of each composer and how he or she uses the instruments of the piano trio individually and as an ensemble to express his or her work. If the series already includes a pre-concert lecture with a musician and scholar, we would be present to answer questions about the program, our rehearsal techniques, and special interpretive or technical challenges in the program.

3. Post-Concert Chat: 15-30 min.

After the concert we would be available for a more informal discussion inspired by questions from the audience about the performance.

4. A Guided Tour: 1-1 ½ hours

How we arrive at an interpretation: A lecture-demonstration of a single work or movement from the concert program, illustrating our analysis of the work, and how our rehearsal techniques lead to a unified performance. This session includes a performance of the specific piece(s) and questions from the audience are invited.

5. Chamber Music Master Class: up to 2 hours, 30-60 min. per group

For serious music students or amateurs.
The Peabody Trio is deeply committed to the education of young chamber musicians. In residence at the Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore, we coach conservatory graduate and undergraduate students, and teach a weekly seminar in the performance of chamber music. Our summer residency at the Yellow Barn Music Festival and School in Putney, Vermont includes giving chamber music coachings, and performances as a trio and individually with other faculty and students.

Our master classes focus on rehearsal technique, and forming an interpretation as an ensemble. We can teach as a group or individually, with ensembles or solo instrumentalists.