Puget Sound Piano Trio: A Farewell Concert for Duane Hulbert

Sergei Rachmaninoff — Trio élégiaque No. 1 in G minor
Charles Ives — Piano Trio ("II. TSIAJ ("This scherzo is a joke"). Presto")
Johannes Brahms — Piano Trio No. 3 in C minor, Op. 101
Maurice Ravel — Piano Trio in A minor
Ludwig van Beethoven — Piano Trio No. 7 in B-flat major, Op. 97 "Archduke"

Duane Hulbert, piano
Maria Sampen, violin
Alistair MacRae, cello

Rachmaninoff – Elegiac Trio No. 1 in G minor
Ives – Scherzo movement from Piano Trio (“This Scherzo is a Joke”)
Brahms – Piano Trio in C minor, Op. 101, third movement (Andante Grazioso)
Ravel – Piano Trio, fourth movement finale
Beethoven – Piano Trio No. 7 in B-flat major, Op. 97 (“Archduke”)

A Jacobsen Series farewell concert and reception honoring Duane Hulbert.

Hulbert – pianist, teacher, composer, and admired public performer in Tacoma for 30 years – will give his final performance as a faculty member at University of Puget Sound in April. Hulbert will perform with the School of Music’s Puget Sound Piano Trio, before retiring from college teaching to pursue creative music projects of his own.

The Grammy-nominated musician and recording artist, and longtime head of the piano department, has helped countless students rise to the height of their talent, while sharing a remarkable artistry and love of music with the Tacoma community.

The evening’s performance will be an unusual one, in that the first half of the program will be a four-movement “hybrid” of music, combining drama, playfulness, and beauty. The second half will include a complete performance of Beethoven’s “Archduke” piano trio, a composition written for the German master’s piano student and patron, Archduke Rudolph.

The Puget Sound Piano Trio, which delighted Pacific Northwest audiences throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s, was revived five years ago, after a 15-year hiatus. Duane Hulbert was an original member of the group, together with the late Edward Seferian and retired cellist Cordelia Wikarski-Miedel.

This academic year, Hulbert and Maria Sampen welcomed new School of Music faculty member and Cordelia Wikarski-Miedel Artist in Residence Alistair MacRae into the trio.

Duane Hulbert, distinguished professor and chair of piano at Puget Sound, has toured the United States and Europe, winning rave reviews. The Minnesota native has won prestigious prizes at numerous competitions, including the Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition in Salt Lake City, and Paloma O’Shea International Piano Competition in Spain. Hulbert has appeared as a soloist with major orchestras, including the Minnesota Orchestra, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Tacoma Symphony Orchestra, Northwest Sinfonietta, and Seattle Symphony. He has performed as a recitalist at Merkin Concert Hall in New York; Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.; and at Benaroya Hall in Seattle.

Hulbert's CD recording of the complete piano works by Russian composer Alexander Glazunov was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2002. Classics Today magazine, in a critique of the recording, wrote, “Gorgeous sound sets the seal on a production that makes the best case for this excellent but sadly neglected repertoire.” In fall 2014 Hulbert released the four-CD collection Glazunov: Complete Works for Piano, a five-hour album that was the culmination of 15 years of work.

Hulbert’s students have won major competitions and held distinguished positions across the country. Hulbert received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from The Juilliard School and earned his doctorate from Manhattan School of Music.

Tickets: $15 ($10 youth/senior)

About Puget Sound Piano Trio

The Puget Sound Piano Trio is the ensemble-in-residence at the University of Puget Sound School of Music. Their celebrated performances on the Jacobsen Concert Series and in other Pacific Northwest venues reach the campus community and a large regional and national audience.

The three musicians come from distinguished musical backgrounds, bringing a rich variety of professional experiences to their work as an ensemble.

http://pugetsoundpianotrio.com/