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Merling Trio celebrates CD release Friday

March 27, 2006

KALAMAZOO--The Merling Trio, acclaimed strings and piano ensemble of the Western Michigan University School of Music, performs with bassist Tom Knific in a CD-release concert Friday, March 31, in the Dalton Center Recital Hall.

Copies of the trio's new CD, "The Music of Astor Piazolla and Frank Proto," will be available at the door for $15, which includes one admission to the concert. Tickets to the concert purchased separately are $10. Students and senior citizens will be admitted for $5.

A pre-concert reception in the Dalton Center lobby begins at 7:45 p.m., the concert begins at 8:15, and there also will be a post-concert reception.

The Merling Trio combines the sultry tangos of Piazzolla with the cutting-edge jazz-fusion of Proto in this exciting CD and concert. Works performed at the March 31 concert include Frank Proto's "Quartet for Piano and Strings." Joining the trio for the Proto composition will be WMU's virtuoso double bassist Tom Knific.

Known both for successful commissions of works by contemporary composers and interpretations of the standard repertoire, the Merling Trio has performed in 29 U.S. states, Canada and Great Britain. Their live concert performances have been broadcast widely on both radio and television. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution wrote of their musical artistry, "The three Merling musicians played with a sound that's attractive and substantive...their sweet, ripe tone, red-wine timbre, and expressive phrasing left a lasting impression."

The Merling Trio features WMU School of Music faculty members Renata Artman Knific, violin; Bruce Uchimura, cello; and Susan Wiersma Uchimura, piano.

"The Merling Trio with Tom Knific" at the Dalton Center is made possible through support by the Donald P. Bullock Music Performance Institute of the WMU School of Music. More information about the institute is available at www.wmich.edu/mus_bpi.

Distributed by Centaur Records, "The Music of Astor Piazolla and Frank Proto" by the Merling Trio, is available through amazon.com with a list price of $18.98.

Media contact: Kevin West, (269) 387-4678, kevin.west@wmich.edu

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