''Virtuosic'' Triple Helix Piano Trio at Wheaton College

The nationally acclaimed piano trio Triple Helix - named best Chamber Music in Boston for three consecutive seasons by the Boston Globe -- will perform at Wheaton College, Norton, in the Cole Memorial Chapel on Wednesday, March 31, 2004, 8pm.
On the program will be Beethoven's ''Ghost'' trio, Shostakovich's second trio, and Arlene Zallman's TRIO 1999 (Triquetra). Zallman is a Professor of Music at Wellesley College.
In addition to the concert, Triple Helix will present a lecture-recital on Wednesday, March 24th in the Beard Gallery, Watson Fine Arts at 7:30 p.m. In this presentation -- ''Can the Center Hold? Music Through A Time of Crisis and Beyond'' - the musicians will offer a discussion and partial performance of the music in the March 31st concert. The performance is sponsored by The Mary Bloor Loser '42 Musical Series, established in 1987 through the generosity of Thomas N. Loser and Ann Bloor, husband and mother of the late Mary Bloor Loser, Wheaton Class of 1942, to honor her love of music and of Wheaton.

''Emotionally charged, virtuoso playing,'' said the Boston Globe of Triple Helix. The Los Angeles Times noted the trio's ''splendid musical chemistry, virtually perfect dynamic balance, and firm collective sense of rhythm.'' Triple Helix is ensemble-in-residence at Wellesley College. The individual members of the trio serve on the music faculties of several Greater Boston colleges.

Triple Helix was established in 1995 by three award-winning musicians.

Violinist Bayla Keyes was a founder and long-time member of the Evian- and Naumburg-award-winning Muir String Quartet. She teaches at Boston University College of Fine Arts, and is artistic director of the Interlochen Chamber Music Festival and the founding director of the String Quartet Institute at Tanglewood. She is also an active performer with Musica Viva.

Cellist Rhonda Rider was the founding cellist of the Naumburg-award-winning Lydian String Quartet. She performs with the chamber players at Boston Conservatory, where she heads the chamber music program and is the founding director of the Cello Seminar. She has premiered works by contemporary composers Elliott Carter, Lee Hyla, Donald Martino and Steve Mackey.

Pianist Lois Shapiro has concertized as soloist and collaborative artist throughout the US and abroad in concerts ranging from 18th century period-instrument performances to premieres of pieces. A winner of the New York Concert Artists Guild Award, Shapiro has recorded on Afka, Channel Classics, Centaur, MLAR and Pierrot. She is on the faculty of Wellesley, Longy School of Music, and Brandeis.

At Wellesley College, Triple Helix is completing the third and final year of a Beethoven Festival. ''The runaway hit of the chamber music season,'' said the Boston Globe. Also at Wellesley, Triple Helix takes lecture-recitals directly into classrooms in which poetry, history of art, philosophy, Russian history, math, or astronomy is taught. The group ties the music to the particular curriculum being studied and thereby enhances students' grasp of the cultural and social aspects of a given period or country. The Triple Helix musicians are also regular guests on National Public Radio's WGBH-FM, where they offer performances and lecture-recitals.

In calling themselves Triple Helix, the artists were inspired by the double helix, the spiraling energies that generate life. They saw a parallel in the partnership of violin, cello and piano - each instrument entrusted by the composer with its own share of ''the genetic material'' of the music. Advocates for new music, Triple Helix has premiered 8 new works written especially for the group.
To reserve complimentary tickets, call the Loser Concert Line at 508-286-3515. For directions to Wheaton College, go to www.wheatoncollege.edu/About/Driving.html. For a complete online arts calendar, go to www.wheatoncollege.edu/arts. For more information and updates call the arts information line at 508-286-3300 or email arts@wheatoncollege.edu.