This event is FREE!

For their Bop Stop performance, the NOA Trio which features Beiyao Ji, piano; Victoria Lewis, violin; and Carlyn Kessler, cello, will be joined by special guest violist Matthew Ross. The program will include works by Poulenc, Mendelssohn, Bloch, and Brahms.

Founded in 2014, The NOA Trio is a dynamic new piano trio that has been praised for their “stunning” interpretation and “performing with a single mind” (ClevelandClassical). The trio members met through their graduate studies at the Cleveland Institute of Music, where they were selected to participate in the Advanced Piano Trio Program under the direction of acclaimed cellist Sharon Robinson of the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio. Most recently, The NOA Trio participated in a weeklong residency with the Chamber Music Society of Detroit. Gaining a reputation for their exuberant playing and lively personalities, the trio’s name means “motion” and “movement” in Hebrew. Dedicated to outreach and educational programming, their mission is to engage new audiences in classical music. The group performs regularly in both concert halls and non-traditional venues throughout the Cleveland community, ranging from the Cleveland Clinic to local art galleries and frequent performances with Classical Revolution Cleveland at the Happy Dog. The NOA trio has been coached by Sharon Robinson, Kathryn Brown, and Anita Pentremoli and has performed in master classes for Ani Kavafian, Joel Krosnick, Philip Setzer, Jaime Laredo, Noah Bendix-Balgley, and Keith Robinson, among others.

Violist Matthew Ross hails from Johnstown, PA, where he started playing at the age of 10. Matthew received his Bachelor’s Degree from Pennsylvania State University and will receive his Master of Music Degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music with Jeffrey Irvine this coming May. He will be continuing his studies at CIM with Lynne Ramsey in the Professional Studies program. Matthew also enjoys reading, cooking, and going on culinary adventures.