The Leo Trio
One of the least ecologically-responsible trios currently active, the three Leos live in three cities on two continents and follow wildly different career paths. Immanuel Davis is the professor of flute at the University of Minnesota, and is a busy soloist and chamber musician. Kenji Bunch, a “composer to watch” (says the NY Times), teaches viola and composition in the Juilliard Pre-College division and plays bluegrass fiddle. Park Stickney, a world-renowned jazz harpist, lives in Switzerland and Brooklyn, and teaches at the Royal Academy of Music in London and the Conservatoire Superieur de Lyon.
Although the members of the group have known each other since their days at Juilliard, after which their paths crossed many times in various ensembles, the Leo Trio was officially born in 2007 as part of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s Schools Program “Strings Attached.”
Since then, they’ve been exploring the repertoire for this combination, from its Debussy trio sonata origins, to living composers, with forays into jazz and bluegrass. The uniting theme of the Leo Trio, however, isn’t their repertoire but the complicity of the players. They perform together not because it’s logistically convenient, but because it’s consistently musically thrilling.
Finally, just so there’s no confusion: The Leo Triplett (M66) is a beautiful and photogenic cluster of stars. The Leo Trio is a flute, viola and harp ensemble featuring Immanuel Davis, Kenji Bunch and Park Stickney, all of whom were born between July 27 and August 18.