Root River Trio
March 2nd, 2024
Christ United Methodist Church
March 2nd, 2024
Christ United Methodist Church
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Featuring
Garret Ross, piano Robert Hanford, violin Ruth Marshall, cello Program Piano Trio by Rebecca Clarke and more! |
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Garret Ross
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Pianist Garret Ross enjoys an active career as a soloist, chamber musician, and teacher. With a perpetual interest in chamber music, Ross is the founder and artistic director of The Apollo Chamber Music Festival in Houston, Minnesota. Most recently Ross has appeared on concert series and stages across the United States including Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series in Chicago, The Roerich Museum in NYC, the Courtroom Concert Series in Saint Paul, Music Northwest in Seattle, and the Young Masters Recital Series in Valley Cottage New York. Ross performs often as “Artu Duo” with cellist Ruth Marshall across the United States, as well as in Canada and the UK.
As a soloist, Ross gave the world premiere of Gregory Vajda’s “Czardas Obstine” with the Texas Festival Orchestra and the Music in the Mountains Festival Orchestra. Other solo appearances with large ensemble include repertoire by Rachmaninoff, Grieg, and Hindemith. Ross was the winner of competitions including the Bruce Carlson Memorial Scholarship Competition and First Prizes in the Bethel University Concerto and Solo Performance Competitions. Ross has attended numerous festivals including the Aldeburgh Festival, Banff Centre, International Festival-Institute at Round Top, International Keyboard Institute and Festival, and PianoSummer at New Paltz, New York. He also performed in masterclasses with pianists Menahem Pressler, Robert McDonald, Vladimir Feltsman, Thomas Sauer, Jerome Rose, Pavlina Dokovska, and Alexander Slobodyanik, among others. Currently, Ross is attending the University of Minnesota for doctor of musical arts studies with Alexander Braginsky. Ross also attended NYU’s Steinhardt School where his principal teachers were Alexander Braginsky and Eteri Andjaparidze. Both Braginsky and Andjaparidze studied at the Moscow Conservatory where their teachers, Teodor Gutman and Vera Gornostaeva, respectively, were students of Heinrich Neuhaus. Ross hopes to continue this tradition of piano playing through his performances and teaching. An active teacher, Ross teaches students throughout the Twin Cities and conducts masterclasses around the United States. He is the co-founder and co-director of Florestan Chamber Music. |
Robert Hanford
Ruth Marshall |
Robert Hanford is concertmaster of the Lyric Opera of Chicago and a member of the Rembrandt Chamber Players. He has also served as concertmaster of the Music of the Baroque, the Chicago Philharmonic, and Ars Viva. Previously, Mr. Hanford was the associate principal second violinist of the Minnesota Orchestra, a member of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and a member of Chicago's Grant Park Symphony. He has appeared as soloist on numerous occasions with the Minnesota Orchestra, the Milwaukee Symphony and many other midwestern orchestras. Mr. Hanford graduated with first prize from the Orpheus Conservatory in Athens, Greece. During the summers, he serves as concertmaster and violin instructor at the Birch Creek Music Festival in Wisconsin, participates in the Aspen Music Festival, and performs in the Roycroft Chamber Music Festival in New York.
In addition to his professional career as a violinist, Robert has studied and performed on the theremin, one of the first electronic instruments. Robert is also an amateur artist blacksmith, having attended courses of study in Wyoming and Illinois. Mr. Hanford lives in Evanston, Illinois, with his wife Sheila, also a violinist. They have three sons. |
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Cellist Ruth Marshall enjoys a varied career split evenly between teaching and performing. She is the cellist of Artu Duo, a collaborative ensemble with pianist Garret Ross, which has performed extensively across the United States, including a debut at Carnegie Hall in 2016.
Ruth is also active as a soloist, and has played concertos with the Wartburg Community Symphony, Winona Symphony Orchestra, Illinois Symphony Orchestra, Wind Ensemble Society of New York City, and the Kokomo Symphony Orchestra. From 2012 to 2016, she performed extensively as an orchestra player, simultaneously playing as principal cello of the Illinois Symphony Orchestra, as an associate member of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra in Ohio, and as a permanent sub in the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. From 2015-2022, she was the cellist of the Mill City String Quartet, during which time she performed for thousands of students through multiple residencies with Minnesota Public Radio. Ruth is a committed cello instructor, working with students of all ages and levels at her home studio, and teaching cello students at Winona State University and Hamline University. She holds graduate degrees in cello performance from DePaul University, and undergraduate degrees in the humanities from the University of Washington. |
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