Aspen Institute Hosts Peabody Conservatory Honors Ensemble Concert

Trio ex Animo members from L to R, Ethan Sandman, cello; Helen Wong, violin; and Timothy Jones, piano.

The Aspen Institute will host a concert on Sunday, April 23, at 3:00 PM at the Inn at River House on the Institute’s Wye River campus off Carmichael Road in Queenstown. The concert will feature Trio ex Animo, comprised of Helen Wong (Violin), Ethan Sandman (Cello), and Timothy Jones (Piano). The three musicians are currently pursuing studies at the Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore and were named an “Honors Ensemble” for 2016-2017 via audition. The concert program will include Anton Arensky, Piano Trio in d-minor, Op. 32 and Beethoven’s Piano Trio in B-flat Major, Op. 97. A reception will follow.

“We are excited to bring these three outstanding young musicians to the Aspen Institute’s Wye River campus,” said Judy Price, Aspen Wye Campus Manager. “These concerts are an important part of the Wye Fellows annual programming, complementing monthly dialogues with world thought leaders and opportunities to attend the Institute’s events in Washington, DC. We are pleased to host this event for friends of the Institute’s Wye campus and members of the public.”

Helen Wong began studying the violin at age six, has won several competitions in upstate New York, and has performed as a soloist with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. In addition, she was a member of Carnegie Hall’s National Youth Orchestra and toured across the United States and China under the batons of Maestro David Robertson and Maestro Charles Dutoit, respectively.

Ethan Sandman is a cellist from Southern California. He was a recipient of the Young Artists Foundation’s David Weiss scholarship and was named the Grand Prizewinner in the Los Angeles Violoncello Society’s Scholarship Audition. Ethan was a frequent guest on the Los Angeles Contemporary Museum of Art’s radio broadcast classical music series, Sundays Live. He has also been featured on Israeli Public Radio as part of a live broadcast at the Tel-Aviv Opera House, and was awarded a scholarship to participate in Kronberg Academy’s biennial cello mastercourse, Cello Without Borders, in Germany.

Pianist Timothy Jones has taken prizes and participated in a variety of competitions. He was a prizewinner in the 2012 Austrian International Piano Festival Competition. While on tour in Austria, he participated in a benefit concert playing Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody No. 6 in D-flat major, raising enough money for a young girl to receive a complex medical procedure. Timothy has performed and participated in many festivals, including Meadowmount School of Music, Southeastern Piano Festival and Summit Music Festival.

The talented members of this ensemble have appeared at numerous concert venues around the world, some of which include Stadthalle Kronberg, Carnegie, and Shenzen as well as the Hong Kong and Tel Aviv Cultural Centers.

The concert is sponsored by the Aspen Wye Fellows and the Friends of Wye, support groups of the Institute and its Wye River campus.

The event is free with a limited number of seats available to the general public. Seats may be reserved by calling Mary Ann Dodd at 410-820-5433. To learn more about the Aspen Wye Fellows Program, which features monthly discussions with diplomats, influential policymakers and world thought leaders, contact Judy Price at judy.price@aspeninstitute.org or by calling 410-820-5432.

The Aspen Institute is an educational and policy studies organization based in Washington, DC Its mission is to foster leadership based on enduring values and to provide a nonpartisan venue for dealing with critical issues. The Institute is based in Washington, DC; Aspen, CO; and on the Wye River on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. It also has offices in New York City and an international network of partners. For more information, visit www.aspeninstitute.org.