Professional string trio performs on campus at Concordia
The Concordia String Trio will perform on campus at Concordia University, Nebraska Monday, Feb. 22, 2016, at 7 p.m. in the Recital Hall of the Music Building. The trio includes Karen Becker, Marcia Henry Liebenow and Leslie Perna, playing the cello, violin and viola, respectively.
The concert will include “String Trio in C Minor, Op. 36” by John Harbison, “String Trio in D Minor” by Richard von Perger and “Trio Sonata” by Julius Zellner.
The Concordia String Trio explores and expands the eclectic repertoire of an under-appreciated genre—the string trio. This versatile ensemble has built a reputation for its exciting performances and innovative programs, juxtaposing pieces from the standard string trio repertoire with new compositions and little-known works of great composers. This spring, the Concordia String Trio will be presenting seven concerts throughout the Midwest.
Formed in 1999, the trio has performed recitals and educational programs and has given lecture/demonstrations in Boston, Vermont, Kentucky, Texas, Utah and California. They were featured on WTVP public television in a program entitled “Marcia and Friends” as part of the Peoria Symphony’s Sound Bites series. The trio has also been a resident ensemble at the Warebrook Contemporary Music Festival, recorded a capstone CD entitled “90’s Timeflow – Chamber Music of Alan Schmitz” and has plans to record two Viennese string trios this year on the Centaur Label.
Karen Becker is an active soloist and avid chamber and orchestral player. She has performed throughout the United States as well as in Europe, Mexico and Puerto Rico. Becker is a faculty artist with the Red Lodge Music Festival in Montana and the Omaha Conservatory of Music Institute, and she often serves as faculty artist for the Ameropa Chamber Music Festival in Prague, Czech Republic. She tours regularly as a soloist and chamber player. Becker has presented at numerous conferences, including international conferences of the College Music Society and nationally for the American String Teachers Association (ASTA), as well as the Midwest Band & Orchestra Clinic in Chicago. She has served as president of both the Nebraska and Missouri chapters of ASTA and on national committees. She has received the ASTA Citation for Leadership & Merit and the Private Studio Teacher Award from the Nebraska chapter. As professor of cello in the Glenn Korff School of Music at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Becker coaches chamber music and directs the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Public Schools String Project. She also serves as principal cellist of the Lincoln Symphony. She is an avid cyclist who enjoys endurance cycling and participating in century rides.
Marcia Henry Liebenow leads a multi-faceted career as a recitalist, chamber musician and soloist. She is concertmaster of the Peoria Symphony Orchestra and professor of violin, viola and chamber music at Bradley University. Marcia recorded the Grieg Violin Sonatas with internationally acclaimed pianist Antonio Pompa-Baldi; appeared as soloist with the Samara Philharmonic Symphony in Russia; served as primo violino at Orvieto Musica in Italy; and performed in Germany, Ireland and Wales. In addition to the Concordia String Trio, she is a founding member of Peoria Lunaire chamber ensemble and the River City String Quartet. Marcia is a faculty artist at the Red Lodge Music Festival in Montana, Birch Creek Music Festival in Wisconsin, and has performed at festivals in Vermont and Alaska. She also has taught at the ARIA International Summer Academy. Her work has been recognized with the Outstanding Studio Teacher Award from Illinois ASTA and the Distinguished Alumni Award from Ohio University. She earned her graduate diploma in violin performance from the New England Conservatory.
Leslie Perna, violist, is a respected artist and teacher whose performances have been broadcast internationally on radio and television, including the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Brazil's Radio and TV MEC and the ABC Nightly News. She has recorded the music of some of today’s most important composers, including Samuel Adler, James Willey and Andrew List for the Albany, Centaur, Capstone, New World and CRI labels. Her performances have taken her to Europe, Japan, Russia, Brazil, Canada and many major American cities, where she is frequently invited to perform and teach viola and chamber music. She has given presentations at numerous national conferences, including the American String Teachers Association (ASTA) National Conventions in Kansas City, Louisville, Kentucky, and Salt Lake City. She was awarded the Outstanding Alumni Award from Baldwin-Wallace University and the “Artist Teacher of the Year” and “Outstanding Collegiate String Educator” awards from the Missouri Chapter of the American String Teachers Association. She is currently Professor of Viola and Chamber Music at the University of Missouri-Columbia, violist of the Esterhazy Quartet, Director of the Missouri String Project and a founding member of the Concordia String Trio.
