Trio Voronezh

Origin

Trio Voronezh is a musical ensemble that produces arrangements of classics across a variety of musical styles, all played upon Russian folk instruments. Trio Voronezh attempt to alter the way audiences experience classical, folk and contemporary repertoire. The diverse repertoire of the Trio includes the works of Vivaldi, Bach, Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky, Shostakovich, and Rachmaninov, as well as Russian folk songs, Argentine tangos, gypsy dance music, bluegrass and popular songs by Gershwin. The ever-expanding concert material is arranged by the members of the Trio, and is performed entirely from memory. The musicians of Trio Voronezh have been playing and performing since they were young children, around the age of six. They continued their classical training and pursued further study at the Conservatory in Voronezh, Russia. Vladimir Volokhin went on to win the title of National Champion in the All-Russia Domra Competition in 1988. Valerie Petrukhin has performed with many famous Russian folk orchestras and ensembles and currently is being an honored member of the Sierra Nevada Balalaika Society. Sergei Teleshev won many regional and international accordion competitions and was an award-winning finalist in the 1995 World Accordion Competition, held in Klingenthal, Germany. Vladimir Volokhin, Valerie Petrukhin and Sergei Teleshev formed the Trio in 1993. The folk trio named themselves after the working-class city from which they studied and perfected their craft, a city of over a million people, and approximately 350 miles south of Moscow. In 1995, Trio Voronezh sprang onto the international stage after they were discovered playing classical favorites and folk tunes in a Frankfurt, Germany subway station.

Debut

The band made its U.S. debut in 1996 at the Oregon Bach Festival. Since that concert, the trio's career has continued to rise, with live concerts in Europe, a music video filmed in the USA, and their return to the Oregon Bach Festival in 1997 and 1999.

Prior to their 1998 U.S. tour, Trio Voronezh made an appearance on public radio's A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor. The trio went on to perform at Houston's Society for the Performing Arts; the cities of Ann Arbor, Chicago, Portland, and St. Louis; and the Universities of Arizona, Georgia, Illinois, Nebraska, and Los Angeles, as well as Amherst, Dartmouth College, New York's Rockefeller University and Stanford.

Recent times

In 2003, the trio made its debut in the orchestral persuasion with the Phoenix Symphony in a highly successful collaboration with Doc Severinsen. During the 2003-2004 season, Trio Voronezh performed with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, the Minnesota Orchestra, and in numerous recitals across the country. Since then the Trio has performed with major symphony orchestras throughout the U.S., Canada and Russia. In addition to five Albums released in the following years, the Trio was featured on a 2007 release of “Peter and the Wolf”, along with the London Symphony. It was selected by Dr. Toy, Stevanne Auerbach, as one of 2007’s “10 Best.” Stevanne Auerbach is one of the nation’s and world’s leading experts on play, toys, and children’s product. The recording was also selected by National Parenting Publication Awards “NAPPA Gold Award.”

The band's moniker

Trio Voronezh is named due to its founders all being graduates of the Academy of Music in Voronezh.

Other collaborations