This fortepiano trio was formed by seasoned baroque musicians (of the Wren Masters, Colonial Williamsburg’s Governor’s Musick, and others) to bring a historical sensibility to repertoire from the turn of the nineteenth century. The ensemble features a fortepiano that is a modern replica of an 1805 Walther instrument built by Paul McNulte. The violin and cello date to the nineteenth century and are played with reproduction “transitional” classical bows by Eitan Hoffer. This trio brings to life the sounds of the salons of Jane Austen’s Bath and Thomas Jefferson’s White House, featuring music by composers such as Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven. The audience is introduced to the sound of an early piano, as Mozart himself would have heard it. Trio Niche appears as part of the Touring Artist Roster for the Virginia Commission for the Arts.

 

Susan Via (violin) is a member of the Applied Music faculty at William & Mary where she teaches violin and directs the Gallery Players, a conductor-less chamber orchestra. Other faculty positions have included the Duke University String School and Virginia Governor’s School for the Arts. Ms. Via has held positions with the Virginia Symphony and Virginia Opera as associate concertmaster, principal second violin with the Greensboro Symphony, and assistant concertmaster with the Williamsburg Symphony. She has also performed with the North Carolina Symphony, Richmond Symphony, the Mallarmé Chamber Players, and others. She has served as a faculty and orchestra member of the Eastern Music Festival and has performed with the Colorado Music Festival. ​Ms. Via also has a keen interest in early music and historical performance practice. Performing on baroque violin, she is a founding member of the Wren Masters and has been heard in concert with the Norfolk Chamber Consort and the Governor’s Musick of Colonial Williamsburg. She is a graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music.

 

Sarah Glosson (cello) served on the performing artist faculty at William & Mary for ten years, teaching viola da gamba. She studied historical performance practice at Orvieto Musica, the Baroque Performance Institute at Oberlin, and the International Baroque Institute at Longy. She routinely performs on cello, baroque cello, and viola da gamba. She has performed with the Williamsburg Symphony, Richmond Symphony, Norfolk Chamber Consort, Governor’s Musick, Virginia Chorale, the Wren Masters, and Cavalier Consort, and can be heard on stage with popular swing band, Good Shot Judy. She holds a Ph.D. in American Studies and is the author of Performing Jane: A Cultural History of Jane Austen Fandom (LSU Press, 2020). Dr. Glosson serves as Director of the Graduate Center at William & Mary.

 

Tom Marshall (fortepiano) joined the music faculty at William & Mary in 1981, where he teaches organ and harpsichord performance. He was recently honored with the title University Organist. He holds performance degrees from James Madison University and from the University of Michigan. For over 25 years he was harpsichordist for the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation using their extensive collection of historic keyboard instruments. He has been featured on numerous CW recordings and issued a CD of the solo organ transcriptions of concerti by Vivaldi and Ernst as arranged by J.S. Bach. Mr. Marshall also plays harpsichord with many chamber ensembles, including the Wren Masters, and frequently performs with the Virginia Symphony. He served as organist for the Williamsburg Presbyterian Church for 27 years, and is now organist for the Williamsburg United Methodist Church.

 

The Instruments & Bows

Tom’s fortepiano is a modern replica of an 1805 Walther instrument built by Paul McNulty. Susan and Sarah use reproduction “transitional” classical bows by Eitan Hoffer based on historical examples with their nineteenth-century instruments.​

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This project was supported, in part, by the Virginia Commission for the Arts, which receives support from the Virginia General Assembly.​​ This performance is additionally supported in part by the Town of Haysi.

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Pro-Art partners with a variety of venues, for accessibility inquiries or general questions, call (276) 376-4520 or email contact@proartva.org. For weather related updates, patrons are encouraged to check proartva.org for real-time information.

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Pro-Art is supported in part by the Virginia Commission for the Arts, which receives support from the Virginia General Assembly. Pro-Art is additionally supported in part by the C. Bascom Slemp Foundation, The University of Virginia’s College at Wise, Smith Vicars Family Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts.