(BRANCHBURG, NJ) -- The Raritan Valley Community College (RVCC) Arts & Design department will present its third selection in a virtual concert series launched to help defray the cost of private instructional lessons for RVCC music majors. The virtual concert featuring Trio Solace will be live-streamed from RVCC’s Nash Theatre on Sunday, January 10 at 2:00pm.
The performance will feature the artists who comprise Trio Solace: Jacob Savransky (piano), Yukiko Kuhara (violin), and Mark Serkin (cello) performing Piano Trio in D Major, Op. 70 No.1 by Ludwig Van Beethoven; Piano Trio in E flat Major, Opus 100, 2nd movement by Franz Schubert; and Dmitri Shostakovich’s Piano Trio No. 2 in E Minor, Opus 67.
To watch the Trio Solace performance, click here.
Formed in 2020, a period of turmoil, Trio Solace selected the program as a tribute to the many lives that have been lost this past year, and the people who continue to fight during such turbulent times.
The concert is part of the department’s MOZAIKA Concert Series, created to promote multicultural dialogue through the performance of music from the classical canon through the 21st Century.
Jacob Savransky is a New York City-based pianist and music educator who is currently on the faculty of the Manhasset School of Music. A finalist in multiple competitions, Savransky received honorable mention in the Puerto Rico International Piano Festival Competition 2017. In 2020 he co-founded the Janus Collective, a network of musicians based in New York, offering performance and employment opportunities to up-and-coming musicians. An avid solo and chamber musician, he has performed in several international festivals, including Castlenuovo di Garfagnana, Virtuoso Bel Canto and Adamant, as well as in venues in the U.S., Canada and Europe. Savransky received a Bachelor's Degree from the Mannes School of Music at the New School and a Master's Degree from McGill University.
Yukiko Kuhara, a native of Japan, won Art-Chef’s first-ever competition in 2014 and performed the Mendelssohn violin concerto with the Boston Chamber Orchestra during its Japanese tour. She also was a National Finalist of the 24th Japan Classical Music Competition in 2014. Kuhara has participated at such festivals and programs as the Youth & Muse Boston International Music Festival, Across Fukuoka Violin Seminar, the Okhotsk Monbetsu Music Seminar, the Nagasaki Ojika International Music Festival, the Nara International Music Seminar, Round Top Music Festival, and the Sarasota Music Festival. In 2018 Kuhara performed the Bruch violin concerto with the Queensboro Symphony Orchestra, and she appeared on WQXR radio’s Young Artists showcase in 2019. Kuhara received her Bachelor’s Degree from the Mannes School of Music at the New School, where she was a concertmaster during its 2019-2020 season.
American cellist Mark Serkin has performed at Alice Tully Hall, Carnegie Hall, Merkin Concert Hall, and at various other venues. His earlier achievements include second place in the Korean Radio Broadcasting New York International Music Competition and Gold in the National Young Musicians Showcase Competition (2013). Serkin has participated in such festivals as NY Phil Biennial, Meadowmount School of Music, Manchester Music Festival, Luzerne Music Center, and the National Orchestra Institute and Festival, where he recorded albums for the Naxos label in 2015 and 2016. Serkin is a cello and chamber music coach for the Face the Music program and cello faculty member for the Opus 118 Harlem School of Music, which are both affiliated with Kaufman Music Center in New York City. He received a Bachelor’s Degree with honors in Cello Performance and a Master of Music from the Mannes School of Music at the New School, where he was principal cellist of the Mannes Orchestra.
All MOZAIKA concerts are held on the second Sunday of the month at 2 p.m. A post-performance, online discussion with the musicians follows the program. The artists offer their interpretation of the works, sharing their thoughts on the composers’ diverse identities and unique artistic languages. The concerts are free of charge, but donations are accepted and will go to the RVCC Applied Music Fund to help the College’s music majors pay for private lessons on their primary instruments.
The Trio Solace concert also will be available for viewing after the initial performance date.
