“The Fair Trade Trio brought exceptional enthusiasm, creativity and expertise to the Smith College composition seminar and were a delight to work with over the entire process, from fielding newbie questions and demonstrating solutions on the fly to performing their own rep and my students’ world premieres.” – Kate Soper, Smith College,

Committed to fostering the development of young composers, the Fair Trade Trio offers high school and college music students workshops on twentieth century compositional techniques including the demonstration of extended techniques for strings and an explanation of new compositional systems. They also offer young composers the opportunity to hear their music performed live by performing concerts of student compositions.

The Trio’s performances of contemporary music include works by Jessica Meyers, Kaija Saariaho, Missy Mazolli, Cheryl Frances-Hoad, Jennifer Higdon, Emily Doolittle and Alon Nechushtan, among others. All members of the trio have deep personal histories as teaching artists and have received training in renowned programs including Carnegie Hall’s Ensemble Connect, the Chicago Symphony’s Musicorps, and the Harmony Program in New York City.

EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES

EMERGING COMPOSERS:  Fair Trade Trio will read and workshop new works and works in progress by student composers. The Trio gives feedback on playability, clarity of notation, and thoughts on the composition as a whole. At the end, each composer leaves with a clear way to polish or proceed with their piece. Fair Trade Trio is also available to present a performance of the students’ works if requested.

RECENT EDUCATIONAL EVENTS

May 6, 2019, Smith College: The Fair Trade Trio presented the completed works for string trio by the student composers at Smith College as a culmination of their work together during the spring semester residency.

March 1, 2019, Smith College: The Fair Trade Trio traveled to Smith College to coach student composers on the best composition practices. Students heard their music come to life through experimentation during the workshop days culminating in a final performance of the students’ works on May 6, 2019. The Trio also presented a performance of works from their upcoming album including Cheryl Frances-Hoad’s “The Ogre Lover,” based on a poem by Ted Hughes about Smith College graduate Sylvia Plath.