Since 1980, Frankfurt-based Ensemble Modern has been considered to be one of the most important ensembles worldwide dedicated to the promotion of new music. Now, the SaVaSa Trio, formed by members of the Ensemble, will bring that legendary talent to Georgia Southern University on Tuesday – Valentine’s Day.

In addition to the performance, the trio will offer a lecture, master classes and an open rehearsal at the Department of Music at GSU on Monday, as well as a special workshop for younger students at Sallie Zetterower Elementary School, with the support of the Georgia Music Foundation.

On the Verge is a nonprofit music series based at Georgia Southern and dedicated to exposing local audiences to classical music. According to Dr. Martin Gendelman, artistic director for On the Verge, “there is a lack of opportunities for audiences to explore the musical worlds of classical composers working today.”

On the Verge has been attempting to fill that gap, he said.

“The opportunities to hear the work of the most influential composers and musicians of our time – the kind of work that is often studied and referenced for decades – are very slim outside of major metropolitan areas. And this limitation is ever more evident in our region,” he said. “The performers that we bring to Statesboro every year are the same performers that regularly tour the most exquisite stages around the world and they are always thrilled to share their talents with our students and, of course, with the audiences.”

Gendelman said it is important for people to experience classical music live.

“The people of today, particularly the younger generations, live with music like no other generation has ever lived before in the history of humanity. We listen to music many times during the day and, in some cases, all the time. And yet, the vast majority of the music we hear is in the form of recordings that are meant to be only a representation of the music,” he said.

He added that a performance of classical music, when experienced live, “possesses a richness in its construction that can stimulate our emotions and our intellect equally.”

The trio

SaVaSa Trio features Saar Berger on French horn, and both Valentin Garvie and Sava Stoianov on trumpet.

Berger has been a member of Ensemble Modern since 2007. He has studied at the University of Tel Aviv, the Academy of Music in Berlin and at the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts. He has performed with some of the best orchestras in the world, and released a double portrait CD on the label, Ensemble Modern Medien.

Argentinian Garvie started playing the trumpet at the age of eight, and studied in his hometown before moving to Buenos Aires, where he studied at the Universidad Católica Argentina. He continued his studies at the Royal Academy of Music in London. He has played with the London Sinfonietta, the Hallé Symphony Orchestra and German Brass, among others.

Stoianov dedicates himself to the authentic performance of traditional Bulgarian music, including the use of the cornet. He has been invited to perform as solo trumpet by major orchestras, including the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the SWR Symphony Orchestra Baden-Baden and Freiburg and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. He studied at the renowned Dobri Hristov Music School in Varna, and the Music Academy in Sofia.

Statesboro concert

Gendelman says he is excited to be able to bring the Trio to Statesboro.

“They are about as good a performer of new music as you can find anywhere in the world and they play and teach every week in a different country, so I am excited to see and hear what they have to share with us,” he said.

The audience can expect, Gendelman said, to hear during this performance several short pieces written especially for the Trio by some of the most talented composers from Europe, as well as some new playing techniques, and “a lot of virtuosity, combined with a good sense of humor.”

The concert will be held in the Carter Recital Hall at 7:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

Regular sponsors of the series include the Campus Life Enrichment Committee, the GSU Department of Music, the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences and the Center for International Studies. Local businesses and organizations offering support include Citizens Bank, Three Tree Coffee Roasters, Statesboro Properties and the Statesboro Herald.