We cannot thank our ensemble of Adam Millstein (violin), Emma Lee (cello), and Dominic Cheli (piano) enough for blessing us with an enchanting evening of classical music. Set in the intimacy of our amphitheater and hosted by KUSC’s Solomon Reynolds, the trio played a wide ranging set that started with Johann Sebastian Bach (b. 1685) and worked its way forward through the centuries chronologically.

We heard sweeping summer time melodies of Mendelssohn (b. 1809), rousing Russian marches from Rachmaninoff (b. 1873), and Shakespearean scores by Erich Wolfgang Korngold (b. 1897). We also heard from William Grant Still, representing the Harlem Renaissance (b. 1895) who wrote a song for Bing Crosby. Finally, we were treated to a modern composition by Reena Esmail (b. 1983). All throughout, our trio played with precision and fluidity.

The captivating performance successfully connected the past with the present while informing the audience of the social context under which these works were composed (world wars and religious persecution having profoundly impacted Rachmaninoff and Korngold). This was a musical adventure, a history lesson, and a time machine all in one.