On Friday, April 28 at 7:30pm ArtsFarmington presents The Nordica Trio consisting of Graybert Beacham, Violin; Karen Beacham, Clarinet; and Martin Perry, piano. They will be performing the works of Alan Hovhaness, Bela Bartok, Aram Khatchaturian, and Alexander Arutiunian at the Nordica Auditorium in Farmington. Suggested price is $20 for Adults (more if you can, less if you can’t– everyone welcome, nobody turned away), UMF students and youth 18 and under free.

The Nordica Trio brings together three outstanding musicians who have performed internationally. Since its debut in 1993, the trio has been enthusiastically received by audiences in Maine and beyond. Grants received by the trio include those from the Maine Arts Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts. Following a performance at the University of Southern Maine, the Portland Press Herald wrote in its review: “Both the individual playing and the total ensemble were virtually flawless in every work, no matter how difficult. Better still, the musical character of each was shaped with taste and imagination.”

In addition to performing, the members have all been active as educators in the state of Maine. The Nordica Trio has performed numerous concerts for students across the state and sponsored a student composer’s competition in 2004. Recordings of live performances have been broadcast by Maine Public Radio. The trio takes its name from the American operatic soprano, Lillian Nordica. Born Lillian Norton in Farmington, Maine, Madame Nordica made her operatic debut in Brescia in 1879. Her fame quickly spread, and she made appearances in all the principal capitals in Europe and America. She was known in Europe as the Yankee Diva. The recital hall at the University of Maine at Farmington is named Nordica Auditorium in her honor. This was the venue where the members of the trio first met to rehearse and discuss the idea of forming a chamber music ensemble, whose mission includes introducing audiences to the many wonderful compositions for this somewhat unique combination of instruments (violin or viola, clarinet and piano). It was therefore fitting for the ensemble to adopt the name Nordica Trio and thus carry on the name of one of Farmington’s most famous natives.

Most recently, the Managing Director of Somm Recordings in the United Kingdom, after hearing a live recording of the Nordica Trio’s performance of Bela Bartok’s “Contrasts”, approached the trio to record a CD for its label. The CD will include works by Armenian composers and the Bartok “Contrasts”. Recording sessions are planned for August, 2023.