Lincoln Trio Opens Music Institute Anniversary Season Today, 9/23

As the first of 10 musical performances celebrating 10 years at Nichols Concert Hall, 1490 Chicago Avenue in Evanston, the Music Institute of Chicago presents ensemble in residence and faculty members The Lincoln Trio today, September 23.

The celebrated, Chicago-based Lincoln Trio, made up of violinist Desirée Ruhstrat, cellist David Cunliffe, and pianist Marta Aznavoorian, has been praised for its polished presentations of well-known chamber works and its ability to forge new paths with contemporary repertoire. The Lincoln Trio performs frequently, including recent engagements with Chicago’s WFMT radio, Music in The Loft, NEIU Jewel Box Series, Fazioli Concert Series, and the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series. Champions of new music, the Lincoln Trio has performed numerous compositions written especially for them. The trio made its Ravinia Festival debut in 2009.

The 2012–13 season marks the 10th anniversary of Nichols Concert Hall, originally designed by noted architect Solon S. Beman as the architecturally and acoustically magnificent First Church of Christ, Scientist, located at 1490 Chicago Avenue in Evanston, in 1912 (celebrating its centennial). Restored in 2003, the building has become Nichols Concert Hall, a state-of-the-art, 550-seat performance space and music education destination, which annually reaches approximately 15,000 people and hosts a world-class chamber music series, workshops and master classes, student recitals, and special events. 

The Music Institute of Chicago believes that music has the power to sustain and nourish the human spirit; therefore, our mission is to provide the foundation for lifelong engagement with music. As one of the three largest and most respected community music schools in the nation, the Music Institute offers musical excellence built on the strength of its distinguished faculty, commitment to quality, and breadth of programs and services. Founded in 1931 and one of the oldest community music schools in Illinois, the Music Institute is a member of the National Guild of Community Schools of the Arts and accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music. Each year, the Music Institute’s world-class music teachers and arts therapists provide the highest quality arts education, reaching more than 10,000 students of all ability levels, from birth to 102 years of age, at campuses in Evanston, Highland Park, Lake Forest, Lincolnshire, Winnetka, and Downers Grove and through its longstanding partnership with the Chicago Public Schools. The Music Institute also offers lessons and programs at the Steinway of Chicago store in Northbrook and early childhood and community engagement programs throughout the Chicago area and the North Shore. The Music Institute offers lessons, classes, and programs through four distinct areas: Community School, The Academy, Creative Arts Therapy (Institute for Therapy through the Arts), and Nichols Concert Hall.