Experience the sound of 18th century Italy as only the Rawlins Piano Trio can perform it when the National Music Museum (NMM) in Vermillion, SD, kicks off their spring concert series at 2 p.m. on Sunday, January 28. This free concert will feature the music of Beethoven, Rachmaninoff and Colón played on some of the Museum’s most prized instruments, including a debut performance on one of the NMM’s recently acquired cellos. The performance will be held in the NMM’s Janet Lucille Wanzek Performance Hall.
The Rawlins Piano Trio is comprised of University of South Dakota music faculty members Susan Keith Gray (piano), Sonja Kraus (cello), and Ioana Galu (violin). Named in honor of the late Marjorie and Robert Rawlins, its principal benefactors, former NMM trustees, and graduates of the University of South Dakota, the Trio has been a concert favorite of NMM audiences for years.
The Rawlins Trio’s diverse repertoire ranges from standard works to new and undiscovered pieces deserving to be brought into the public light. Owing to its expertise as a preeminent interpreter of American music, the ensemble has recorded five CDs of these works. Attracting Opposites (Azica, 2013) celebrates commissions by Miguel Roig-Francoli, Stephen Yarbrough, James Lentini, Timothy Hoekman and Emma Lou Diemer. In 2009, American Discoveries (Albany) presented the Trio’s first commissioned composition--Volvic Maritim by New York based composer, Daniel Bernard Roumain. Reviewer J. Scott Morrison declared American Discoveries, “…another winner from the Rawlins Trio…they continue their work of bringing us American composers' music that is worth hearing…Their playing is artful, suave and pleasing.”
Following the January 28th concert, NMM Live! will continue throughout the spring with an exciting lineup of diverse music:
Friday, February 16, Noon Andrea Ross & Robbie Erhard - Music for voice and cello, from Broadway to Classical and Jazz
Friday, March 1, Noon Humbletown - Bluegrass duo, Morgan Carnes & Dylan Lewis
Friday, March 15, Noon Holly Haddad & Logan Wadley - Music for Clarinet and Tuba
Friday, March 29, Noon Jason Laczkoski & Brett Cooper -“Pardon our French,” featuring works by Eychenne, Canteloube, Bedard, Saint-Saens and Decruck
Friday, April 12, Noon Tatag Gamelan - Featuring the NMM’s Javanese Kyai Rengga Manis Everist
Sunday, April 14, 2:00 p.m. Marcia Hadjimarkos - Featuring the NMM’s Kraemer clavichord
Friday, April 19, Noon Twinflower - Traditional Scandinavian music for flute
Friday, April 26, Noon Erika Ribeiro & Francesca Anderegg - Images of Brazil
Friday, May 3, Noon The Wildwoods - Folk Americana Trio, featuring Noah & Chloe Gose and Andrew Vaggalis
Additional information on these and more events can be found on our event page at https://www.nmmusd.org/events
If you are unable to attend these concerts in person, they will be live-streamed on our website at https://nmmusd.org/nmm-live-video
NMM Live! is brought to you, in part, by the USD Student Government Association, and by the South Dakota Arts Council. SDAC support is provided with funds from the state of South Dakota, through the Department of Tourism, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
The exhibits at the National Music Museum are open Tuesdays through Fridays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and on Saturdays from noon to 4 p.m. The special exhibition, “High Strung: Five Centuries of Stringed Keyboard Instruments,” is scheduled to open on March 22, and will remain open through 2024.
About the National Music MuseumThe National Music Museum (NMM), located on the campus of the University of South Dakota, Vermillion, is one of the world’s finest collections of musical instruments, with some 14,000 instruments in its holdings. The NMM owns some of the most historically significant musical instruments in existence. Founded in 1973, the National Music Museum Inc. is a non-profit entity in partnership with USD.
