Adagio Trio

Today I'm bringing you a Q&A from a musical group called Adagio Trio. They have a Celtic CD out you might like to sample. 


From their web site:

The Adagio Trio was founded in 1985 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Their unique combination of harp, flute, and cello provides a fitting compliment for meditation or relaxation. Their CDs have been used in various venues such as massage clinics, yoga and meditation classes, retreat centers, music therapy, hospice, etc. Most of their arrangements, such as "Ashokan Farewell", "Shenandoah", Ave Maria", "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring", "Pachelbel Canon in D", and "On Eagle's Wings" are original arrangements. Adagio Trio has been featured on public radio stations throughout the country including Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Ohio, Virginia, New York, Oregon, and California, and featured numerous times on WHRO radio in Hampton Roads and WGUC-FM in Cincinnati. In the first six weeks, their debut album “Stillpoint” sold over 1000 copies. 





What led you to perform the Celtic music on Celtic Heart? And, how is this style of music uniquely suited to Adagio Trio?

We have always loved this style of music and wanted to learn more of how to play it. Kathy & Lin both have Irish ancestors and have loved Celtic music. We are not Celtic players, so we were all coached by local Celtic musicians so that our style sounded as authentic as possible. Our group of harp, flute and cello has a unique Celtic sound because the grouping is not typical. Unlike our other CDs, all of the pieces we arranged ourselves. We especially wanted to record this CD since our harpist, Lin had bought a William Rees Aberdeen Meadows Celtic harp in memory of her brother-in-law who was a lover of music and had died of cancer. The harp has such a different sound than the pedal harp. The flute and harp are traditional Celtic instruments, but the cello is not. I had to learn the fiddle style for some of the pieces on the CD.


Your music has brought comfort and relaxation to people who are recovering from medical problems as well as hospice patients. Did you set out to perform this kind of spiritually comforting music or did it happen by chance?

We did not intentionally try to create music for hospice or "spiritually comforting” music. However the type of music we chose was an expression of a variety of music that is uplifting and familiar. We tried to originally make a CD of music that we all enjoyed. When we started as a group in 1985, we were mostly a “gig” trio that played lots of weddings. Brides throughout the years had asked us about a CD, so we finally created our first recording “Stillpoint” in 1997. There are a few tracks on “Stillpoint” that are big requests at weddings such as “Pachelbel’s Canon” and “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring”. As the first few recordings started to sell, others shared that our music had a calming effect. Hospices, massage therapists, and yoga centers have all used our music. We didn’t really see that coming. That prompted us to record more CDs since people were requesting it.



Have you always been musicians?

Yes. We all have played our instruments for a living for many years. Kathy and I both graduated from the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music in the 80s. That is where we met Lin, our harpist, who had already been freelancing in Cincinnati and now also plays for hospice patients and teaches Suzuki harp. Kathy and I live in Chesapeake, Virginia where I am the principal cellist of the Virginia Symphony, and she teaches and performs also in the area.


Any upcoming performances or recordings you’d like people to know about?

We will be performing a concert in Lebanon, Ohio, August 19th, 7:00pm, at Resurrection Lutheran Church. We will also be performing in Cincinnati at Joseph Beth Booksellers on August 20th, from 11:30am to 1:30pm.  We usually play tunes from our 5 CDs, which are a mix of classical, folk, religious, and Celtic music. We hope to perform a few more times in the 2011-2012 season. Because we live apart from our harpist, we cannot perform as often as we would like. We would encourage anyone interested in attending our concerts to keep in touch via our website: www.adagiotrio.com .