Ahn Trio brings fresh take on classical music
Feb. 8, 2011

This year’s Callaway Concert Series concludes Feb. 22 with an appearance by The Ahn Trio at 7:30 p.m. at Callaway Auditorium.

The trio is made up of three sisters – cellist Maria, pianist Lucia and violinist Angella Ahn. Born in Seoul, Korea, and educated at the Juilliard School in New York City, the sisters have been touring for more than 10 years and have recorded six albums. They achieved widespread recognition in the United States in 1987 when TIME Magazine featured them in a cover story about “Asian-American Whiz Kids.”

The trio's latest CD, “Lullaby for My Favorite Insomniac,” made No. 8 on the Billboard Charts for 26 weeks in the classical album category. Their first album, a recording of Ravel and Villa-Lobos trios brought rave reviews. The next recording of trios by Dvorak, Suk and Shostakovich won Germany's prestigious ECHO Award. An MTV appearance on Bryan Adams’ “Unplugged” led to the development of the “Ahn- Plugged” and “Groovebox” albums.  

The trio formed their own production company, L.A.M.P., (Lucia Angella Maria Productions), which self-produced “Lullaby For My Favorite Insomniac.” Their latest project was a joint album with the Czech Grammy-winning Tata Bojs.

The Ahn Trio performs and leads master classes and workshops across the United States and around the world.  A wider audience was introduced to their music in 2009 when their piece, “All I Want,” was featured on FOX’s “So You Think You Can Dance.” Kayla Radomski and Brandon Bryant delivered a powerful contemporary performance to the number choreographed by Stacy Tookey.

“They’ve really made a name for themselves in terms of blending their ‘groovy’ music with art, music and jazz,” said Dr. Toni Anderson, Chair of the Music Department. “They are known for very percussive rhythms and very clean, but cutting, music.”

Not only recognized for their talent, the sisters were named three of People Magazine’s 50 Most Beautiful People in 2003.

“As one reviewer wrote, these women ‘play as good as they look,’ ” Anderson said.

Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for students. For more information, call (706) 880-8107 or e-mail callawayconcertseries@lagrange.edu.