Crosswinds Trio presents a unique sound in chamber music. The concert will include music from many genres, presented with professionalism, originality, humor, and the highest quality musicianship.
This event is sponsored by the Friends of the Bridgewater Library.
The Crosswinds Trio performance will have a diverse program of music that will be engaging and entertaining.
Christopher Sumner (Clarinet), Lawrence Kursar (horn), and Michael Toth (piano) draw on their diverse musical backgrounds and experiences from the orchestral stage, the jazz club, and the recital hall to create a refreshing new sound. Their expressive and inspiring playing, coupled with diverse programming infused with humor, has led to rave reviews and standing ovations.
The establishment of the trio (clarinet, horn, and piano) as a new chamber music ensemble has been the mission of Crosswinds Trio. They have written over two hundred and fifty arrangements during the past twenty-one years and have performed them all over North America and Europe and have inspired composers to write for this new and unique ensemble.
Lawrence Kursar is widely acclaimed as both performer, conductor and composer. He performs regularly with the Allentown Symphony, Garden State Wind Quintet, Appalachian and Main Street Brass Quintets and is the Music Director and Conductor of the Hunterdon Symphony Orchestra and Princeton Symphonic Brass. He has performed in such prestigious venues as the Academy of Music in Philadelphia and the Wang Center in Boston where he conducted a stage orchestra for the Bolshoi Ballet.
Pianist Michael Toth, who began his training at the age of 7 with Marjorie Haimbach. Michael made his concert debut at age 14 at Carnegie Recital Hall. After studying with Frank Glazer and Artur Balsum at the Eastman School of Music, he has gone on to perform both in the United States and abroad as a soloist and accompanist. As a founding member of Satori, a non-profit chamber music organization, Michael has performed an extensive list of the major chamber music repertoire. With experience performing on all types of keyboards, Michael Toth is one of the most versatile pianists available today. Currently, Michael is the pianist in residence with the Allentown Symphony.
Dr. Christopher G. Sumner; In addition to being the Instrumental Music Director at Piscataway High School, Chris is also an active professional musician both as a conductor and clarinetist. He has been the artistic director and conductor of the Raritan Valley Symphonic Band since 2014, and the principal clarinetist with the Riverside Symphonia, as well as their contractor, since 2000. He has also performed with numerous other orchestras and jazz bands across the country, including the American Repertory Ballet Orchestra, Allentown Symphony, Princeton Symphony, and Aspen Jazz Ensemble, as well as with Linda Ronstadt and Aaron Neville on their East Coast Tour.