It's been a record season in more ways than one, musically speaking, at Tillett Gardens. And there's every reason to believe the last concert — coming up Wednesday — will be one of the best.
Until last year, the Tillett "season" consisted of four Classics in the Garden performances. Last year, three non-classical offerings were added to the mix, making a total of seven concerts. This year, they upped the offerings to four classical and four non-classical, for a total of eight.
And this year attendance has been better than ever — with full-houses at all but one concert to date.
The 1998-99 series concludes Wednesday with a return engagement of the Eroica Trio, an all-female chamber music ensemble. The group made its Virgin Islands debut four seasons ago at Tillett Gardens. This time, it's performing as well on St. John, Tortola and St. Croix.
"We couldn't ask for a more exciting finale than bringing the Eroica Trio back," Classics director Tom Lloyd says. He says his advice is, "Get your tickets early, because I'm pretty sure we're looking at another sell-out."
The trio was formed in 1986 when the musicians were studying at the prestigious Juilliard School in New York. Five years later the group won the prestigious Naumburg Chamber Music Competition. Since then they have performed to critical acclaim across the nation and throughout the world.
A New York Times reviewer said, "There is an edge-of-the-seat intensity to every note they produce." And a Los Angeles Times critic hailed them for "technique, temperament, interpretive savvy, good looks and a winning stage presence."
For its Virgin Islands tour, the trio is presenting a program of three works — piano trio pieces by Joaquin Turina and Antonin Dvorak and three piano preludes by George Gershwin arranged for piano trio by Raimundo Penaforte.
Here's the performance schedule:
St. Thomas — Tillett Gardens, Wednesday, March 10, at 8 p.m. Tickets are
$25 with pre- concert dinner in the garden available for an additional $30.
For reservations, call 775-1929.
St. John — St. John School of the Arts, Thursday, March 11, at 8 p.m.
Tickets are $25 for adults and $10 for children. For reservations, call
779-4322.
Tortola — The Atrium at H. Lavity Stoutt Community College, Friday, March
12, at 8 p.m. Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 at the door. For outlets,
call (284) 494-4994.
St. Croix — Island Center, Saturday, March 13, at 8 p.m. Tickets are $20
in advance, 425 at the door. For reservations, call 778-5272.
For more information about the Eroica Trio, check out their web page. The
address is easy to remember: www.eroicatrio.com.