Now for over a decade, the unique instrumental combination of Trio Fedele has offered fresh and varied repertoire to fascinated listeners in concert halls, on college campuses, and in a variety of outreach settings across the country from Maine to San Francisco. Their repertoire ranges from works of the baroque and classical masters (Bach, Mozart, Haydn, Hummel, Weber) to some of the most important music of our time. David Fedele, winner of the Young Concert Artists International Audition Award, founded Trio Fedele with friends and colleagues of long standing, cellist, Matthew Herren, and pianist, Robert Koenig, with the intention of exploring this rich and varied repertoire. With the recent commissions and subsequent world premieres of trios by Lowell Liebermann and Charles Hoag, the group shows a strong commitment to expanding the chamber music catalog. Graduates of The Curtis Institute and The Juilliard School, each has enjoyed an international career that spans North and South America, Europe and Asia, and virtually every major venue, including Lincoln and Kennedy Centers, The National Gallery and Library of Congress, Teatro Colon, The Louvre, Suntory Hall and The Victoria Theatre in Singapore. Festival appearances at Aspen, Tanglewood, Norfolk, and Ravinia, as well as broadcasts on NPR and frequent performances with The New York New Music Ensemble, American Composers Orchestra, Ensemble 21, The Orchestra of St. Luke's, and The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, among others, give them each a notable presence on the American music scene. Together, they have developed programs that provide intriguing new musical insights to listeners of all ages.
David Fedele
Nearly every superlative has been used to describe flutist David Fedele. He is a seasoned, dazzling, impressive and accomplished performer who plays with fluency, feeling, grace and vigor, critics say. After presenting his New York recital debut at the 92nd Street "Y" as winner of the Young Concert Artists International Audition Award, he was described by the New York Times as "the most impressive debut artist, whose virtues begin with a firm tone that is especially beautiful, mechanical facility, and a feeling for the rise and fall of a phrase." He has won many other honors including the Olga Koussevitsky Competition of the Musicians Club of New York, a grant from Arts International, a top prize in the Second Kobe International Flute Competition in Japan and first place in the New York Flute Club Competition.
Mr. Fedele has appeared as concerto soloist with the National Chamber Orchestra, the New York Symphonic Ensemble, The String Orchestra of the Rockies, the New Jersey, Charlotte, Knoxville, Green Bay and Cosmopolitan Symphony Orchestras, and in recital throughout the United States and abroad. Engagements have included performances at the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, Stanford University, Dartmouth College, the Krannert Center for Performing Arts, Philadelphia's Free Library and Academy Ballroom, and numerous other universities and concert series from Alaska to Florida.
An active international career has taken Mr. Fedele to Japan, where he made a critically acclaimed debut at Suntory Hall in Tokyo as part of a highly successful recital tour, and to France, South America, and Spain, where he was flute and piccolo soloist in the New York Chamber Soloists' presentation of Bach's complete Brandenburg Concerti and the Vivaldi Piccolo Concerto in C, and the Mozart Concerto in G. He has also performed recitals at the Rieti International Festival in Italy and the Festival de San Miguel de Allende in Mexico.
Mr. Fedele has performed as guest artist with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, The Group for Contemporary Music, Ensemble 21, The Steve Reich Ensemble, Bang on a Can, The Bronx Arts Ensemble, and The New Music Consort. Each summer since 1992, he has been a featured soloist at the Vermont Mozart Festival. He has performed at the Elan International Music Festival, Grand Canyon Music Festival, Chattanooga Riverbend Festival, May Music Festival in Charlotte, NC, and the Columbia Festival for the Arts in Maryland. Mr. Fedele created the role of "the cowherd," an on-stage flute, alto flute, and piccolo part in Bright Sheng's opera The Silver River, which premiered at the Spoleto Festival USA 2000 to critical acclaim. This work was presented on an international tour during the 2000-01 season and was featured at The Lincoln Center Festival in 2002. Mr. Fedele frequently performs in duo recitals with harpist Victoria Drake.
A native of Charlotte, North Carolina, Mr. Fedele is a graduate of The Curtis Institute of Music and The Juilliard School where he studied with Julius Baker. He has also studied with Jeffrey Khaner and contemporary flute specialist Robert Dick. Mr. Fedele has served on the faculty of Columbia University, Franklin and Marshall College, and The Pennsylvania Academy of Music. Currently, Mr. Fedele serves as Assistant Professor of Flute at The University of Kansas, and divides his time between Lawrence and New York City. He is affiliated with Astral Artistic Services of Philadelphia, and is the recent recipient of a grant from the Musical Fund Society of Philadelphia. He is featured on Koch International Classics' recording of Charles Wuorinen's New York Notes, a recording of the works of Oliver Knussen for Virgin Classics, a recent release of the works of SteveReich for Nonesuch Records, and the works of Zhou Long on Calla Records. Mr. Fedele can also be heard on Christmas with Paul Plishka on Naxos Records and the Grammy-nominated Joining Hearts and Voices, with the Holy Trinity Bach Choir on Augsburg Fortress.
Matthew Herren
Cellist Matthew Herren has appeared as chamber musician, recitalist and concerto soloist throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, Europe, and Asia. He has performed at the Norfolk, Ravinia, Red Lodge, Sarasota, Rutgers' Summerfest, and Caramoor festivals, as well as the Vermont Mozart Festival, where he is Principal Cellist. Mr. Herren has also been featured at Philadelphia's Mozart on the Square Series, Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center and The National Gallery in Washington. He has worked in collaboration with such distinguished artists as Menahem Pressler, Dawn Upshaw, Albert Fuller, Robert White, and The American String Quartet. Mr. Herren has received many awards, notably First Prize in Vienna Modern Masters' International Performers' Award Competition, resulting in the release of a compact disc recording, and the Louise Oberne Award from the National Federation of Music Clubs. His performances have frequently been broadcast on NPR's Performance Today and he has recorded for the Deutsche Grammophon, Sony, Atlantic, Archetype and London Decca Labels.
Mr. Herren performs regularly with The Orchestra of St. Luke's, The New York Virtuosi, The American Composers Orchestra, The New York Oratorio Society, The New York Concert Singers and the New Jersey Chamber Music Society. He has been heard with Metamorphosen Chamber Ensemble, and as guest cellist of The Eaken Piano Trio and The Strathmere Ensemble. He is a founding member of Concertante Chamber Players, The Boston Modern Orchestra Project and The Yellowstone Music Festival. Recent activities include premieres at The 92nd Street "Y" (with Regina Resnick) and Merkin Hall, recitals at The Helicon Foundation and St. Paul's Chapel in New York, and the premiere of Bright Sheng's chamber opera The Silver River in Singapore, as well as chamber music concerts throughout the country with The New York Chamber Soloists.
Mr. Herren was Chair of the String Department at the inaugural season of the Performing Arts Institute of Wyoming Seminary in Kingston, PA, and has been Acting Principal Cello of the Harrisburg Symphony. He has been artist in residence at both The University of Montana and Montana State University and has served on the faculty of The Pennsylvania Academy of Music in Lancaster, PA. He is a graduate of The Juilliard School.
Robert Koenig
Canadian pianist Robert Koenig has established a reputation as a much sought-after collaborative pianist and chamber musician. He performs regularly in major centers throughout the world and has appeared with many of today's leading artists, including Sarah Chang, Hilary Hahn, Pamela Frank, Ida Kavafian, Elmar Oliveira, and Aaron Rosand.
Recent engagements have included performances at Carnegie Hall in New York, the Kennedy Center in Washington, Suntory Hall in Tokyo, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, and the Louvre Musuem in Paris. Mr. Koenig has appeared at major festivals including Aspen, Ravinia, Banff, Saratoga, Caramoor, the Seattle Chamber Music Festival, the El Paso Pro Musica, the Campos do Jordao Festival in Brazil, and the Mostly Mozart Festival in New York. He is frequently heard on radio and television, including ABC's "Good Morning America" and CBS's "This Morning." From 1992 to 1999, Mr. Koenig was staff pianist at The Juilliard School and in 1999 he became a staff pianist at The Curtis Institute of Music. In the fall of 2000, he was appointed Assistant Professor of Piano and Piano Chamber Music at the University of Kansas in Lawrence. With the assistance of the University of Kansas Center Research, Mr. Koenig has commissioned renowned American composer Lowell Liebermann to write a new trio for flute, cello, and piano. Mr. Koenig has recorded for Artek, Ambassador, Biddulph, Cedille, CRI, Decca, Eroica, and Naxos. His most recent CD of the complete works for viola and piano by Henri Vieuxtemps with violist Roberto Diaz was released in June 2002 on the Naxos label.
Born in Saskatchewan, Canada, Robert Koenig began his formal training at the Vancouver Academy of Music with Lee Kum Sing and Gwen Thompson and later studied at the Banff School of Fine Arts and the Academie Musicale di Chigiana in Siena, Italy. During this time he received several awards from the Canadian Government, including a Canada Council Project Grant. He completed both his Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Accompanying at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where he studied piano with Dr. Vladimir Sokoloff and chamber music with Felix Galimir and Karen Tuttle.