MEET THE ENSEMBLE
Ayako Oshima, clarinet
Nurit Pacht, violin
Evelyne Luest, piano
Acclaimed for their exhilarating performances of old and new repertoire, Contrasts Ensemble is a group of three extraordinary virtuosi whose instruments include clarinet, violin, and piano. The group chose its name to describe the contrasting timbres of their instruments, as well as the variety of their repertoire. The ensemble performs a mix of duos, trios and quartets with guest musicians, presenting a broad range of programs from the Baroque through today's repertoire. The Contrasts Ensemble has worked with many living composers and has commissioned and premiered works of Aaron Jay Kernis, Michael Torke, Ned Rorem, Scott Johnson and Derek Bermel, among others. Their recording of Ned Rorem's Nine Episodes for Four Players was nominated for a Grammy Award.
The ensemble has been invited to perform in Europe and across the United States. Concert appearances have included performances at Carnegie's Weill Hall, Merkin Hall, Miller Theatre, Symphony Space, and live appearances on New York's WNYC Radio and the nationally syndicated St. Paul Sunday radio program. Their concert tours have taken them from San Francisco to Spain. The ensemble has also been invited to participate in many residencies, including Norfolk Summer Festival in Connecticut, the Atlantic Center for the Arts in Florida, Music in the Park Series in St. Paul, Minnesota, Detroit Pro Musica, Penn State/Erie, Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire, Bowdoin College in Maine and the Fitchburg Public Schools and Fitchburg State College in Massachusetts.
The group, on the Phoenix label, has recorded a CD of the works of Aaron Jay Kernis, all premiere recordings, and a CD of the works of Ned Rorem. The Ensemble has been honored with awards and grants from the American Composers Forum, Meet the Composer, the Fromm Foundation, the New York Foundation for the Arts, the Aaron Copland Fund for Music and Chamber Music America.
Nurit Pacht
Violinist NURIT PACHT was a top prize winner in international competitions including the Irving Klein International Music Competition in California and the Tibor Varga International Violin Competition in Switzerland. As a soloist she was featured in major world events such as the European conference for the inauguration of the Euro in Brussels and under the auspices of the European Commission and United Nations she toured the former Yugoslavia, during the cease-fire in 1996. In 2015, she performed for Pope Francis on his visit to New York and gave a State Department funded recital tour of Ukraine. She has collaborated with stage director Robert Wilson, choreographers such as Bill T. Jones and has worked closely with many of today's celebrated composers. She has toured as soloist with orchestras around the world including the Houston Symphony, the Pacific Symphony, the Rhode Island Philharmonic and the Israel Chamber Orchestra. The Israeli Composer Noam Sheriff dedicated the violin concerto "Dibrot" to her and she performed it in several prestigious venues of Israel. As a baroque violinist, she has a master's degree from Juilliard's Historical Performance program. Ms. Pacht has recorded for Nimbus Records and Toccata Classics.
Evelyne Luest
Pianist EVELYNE LUEST, is an accomplished soloist and chamber musician and has performed and toured in Europe, South America, Asia and the United States. She has won several competitions, including the Artists International Competition in New York as a soloist, in addition to many awards with the Contrasts Quartet. Ms. Luest has performed as soloist in Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall, the Spoleto Festival of Two Worlds in Italy and on the St. Paul Sunday National Radio Show. Recent performances include festivals and concert venues in Norway, France, Japan, Spain, California and Minnesota. Her list of premieres includes compositions by Joan Tower, Jing Jing Luo, Aaron Jay Kernis and Ben Weber. Ms. Luest's recent CD releases include solo and chamber works on CRI, Phoenix Records, North/South Recordings, and North Pacific Music. She studied with Gilbert Kalish at SUNY/Stony Brook, where she received an M.M. and D.M.A. in piano performance. She lives in New York City with her husband, Aaron Jay Kernis, and their two children.
Ayako Oshima
Clarinetist AYAKO OSHIMA, winner of numerous international competition including the 55th Japan Music Competition in Tokyo, the Winds and Percussion Competition in Japan, and the 17th International Jeunesses Musicales Competition in Belgrade, where she also received the “Golden Harp” award given to the favorite of the audience and critics, is one of the most popular clarinet soloists in Japan.
She performs on a regular basis both in recital and in concerto appearances with orchestra, highlights of which have included performances in Osaka, Nagoya, Kobe, Tanuma, at the Casals Hall, Keoi Hall, and Bunka Kaikan in Tokyo, and with the Hiroshima and Osaka Symphonies. She is quite active in chamber music festivals. Festivals at which Ms. Oshima has appeared include Kuhmo Festival in Finland, the Festival Consonances in France, the Sarasota Summer Music Festival, and in Japan the Mt. Fuji, Lilia International Chamber Music Festivals, and the Kirishima International Music Festival where in addition to performing and teaching she has produced innovative multimedia concerts for children on themes such as the composers Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and George Gershwin, two centuries of music in Vienna, and music in Paris and the international Exposition of 1899, combining live performance, spoken text and computer generated slides and images.
Ayako Oshima has recorded for Toshiba EMI, Victor Japan, Naxos, and with “Mozzafiato” for Sony Vivarte. She has recently recorded “Songs of Japan” for the Aurora label and her most recent recording “Bel Canto” music for two clarinets will be released in September.
In addition to her performing career, she maintains a high profile as a teacher and is on the faculties of the State University of New York at Purchase, the Juilliard School, and Hartt College. She has kept her connection with the Toho School and gives regular master classes there. She has also served on the juries of both the Japan Music Competition and the Japan Winds and Percussion International Competition. She has founded and is the Director of the Kita Karuizawa Music Seminar which attracts clarinet students from all over Asia. With her husband, Charles Neidich, she has written a book on the fundamentals of clarinet technique for the publisher, Toa Ongaku Inc. and writes a monthly column on music and the clarinet for Pipers Magazine.
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Recordings available on AMAZON MUSIC