Heida Competition alum pianist Stephanie Tang to return to Westport with the Paddington Trio: Don’t miss an evening of wonderful chamber music! Featuring works by Haydn, Mendelssohn and Schubert as well as exciting new works by Ellen Lindquist and Sam Perkin.
Sam Perkin: Freakshow (2016)
“Their youth does not remotely detract from their excellence – these are accomplished musicians by any standard, not only in technique but in rapport and nuance. In places, there was true beauty but never as an end in itself: everything served a higher conception of the music. I have rarely been so excited by performers new to me.” –Strings Attached
Seen as the one of the most exciting chamber ensembles of their generation, the Paddington Trio has been recognized in international competitions and live performances for their fresh interpretations and exuberant energy. As did the famous bear, Finnish violinist Tuulia Hero, Irish cellist Patrick Moriarty and American pianist Stephanie Tang have made London their home and emerged as an ensemble of an entirely unique and lasting entity. The trio is celebrated for its close and energetic communication, insightful and imaginative programming as well as its highly refined ensemble playing. The trio’s grand mission is to bridge the gap between new listeners and serious classical music enthusiasts by welcoming everyone into their living room of musical discovery and shared love of chamber music.
Having started their first adventure together at the Paddington Station in 2020, a year after they met, the trio won the First Prize in the 70th Royal Over-Seas League Competition for Strings & Piano Ensemble. Firmly committed to promoting new music, education and outreach in chamber music, they were also honoured with the First Prize of the NEW FORMATS Project Prize 2022 in Graz, Austria, and the First Prize at the Clara Schumann International Competition. In April 2023, they were the winners of the prestigious Parkhouse Award held in Wigmore Hall, and they are currently generously supported by the City Music Foundation, Kirckman Concert Society and GBZ Management. In the summer of 2023, the trio completed an Artist Fellowship programme at their alma mater, the Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London, and in 2023/24 continues to teach and inspire young ensembles as Chamber Fellows in the renowned Chamber Fellowship Programme at the Royal Northern College of Music.
In March 2023, the Paddington Trio made its concerto debut performing the Beethoven Triple Concerto with Jan Söderblom and the Jyväskylä Symphony Orchestra in Finland. They have appeared in prominent halls and series, such as Wigmore Hall, LSO St. Luke’s, Oxford Coffee Concerts, St. George’s Bristol and the BBC Total Immersion. Their most recent debuts saw them at the TivoliVredenburg and the Schiermonnikoog Festival in the Netherlands, the Edinburgh Fringe, Buxton International and Brighton Festivals, and Lake District Summer Music. The trio has appeared on YLE Radio (Finland) and BBC Radio 3 In Tune.
Tuulia, Patrick and Stephanie have had the privilege to work closely with internationally renowned musicians, such as Eberhard Feltz, Marc Danel, Gary Hoffman, Levon Chilingirian, Robert Levin, Johannes Meissl, David Dolan and members of the Ébène, Takács, Endellion and Meta4 quartets. They join the European Chamber Music Academy in 2023 and also receive mentorships from ChamberStudio and the Netherlands String Quartet Academy. The trio studied under Thomas Adès at the IMS Prussia Cove’s 50th anniversary masterclasses.
Tuulia plays on a 1707 Stradivarius violin, generously on loan from the Sibelius Academy, University of the Arts Helsinki.
Tuulia Hero is an award-winning concert violinist and chamber musician, as well as an accomplished improviser and educator currently based in London. Originally from Finland, Tuulia was trained in violin from the age of 4 and brought up at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, the Hanns Eisler School of Music in Berlin and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. Playing a Stradivarius violin from 1707, generously lent to her by the Sibelius Academy, University of the Arts Helsinki, Tuulia is the 2024 artistic grant recipient of the Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation in Finland. Tuulia gave her debut in 2012 at the Kauniainen International Music Festival and has since been invited to perform at the Presidential Palace in Finland, Wigmore Hall in London, Konzerthaus in Berlin, and numerous festivals and concerts around Europe, North America and Eastern Asia.
A native of Los Angeles, Stephanie Tang performed in Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall at the age of 12 and has since then performed in major venues such as Walt Disney Concert Hall (Los Angeles), Shenzhen Concert Hall, Himalayan Concert Hall (Shanghai), Sendai Concert Hall, venues throughout the Netherlands, Place Flagey (Brussels), Wigmore Hall, Barbican Centre, Milton Court (London), Banff Centre, and Koerner Hall (Toronto). Most recently, Stephanie won Guildhall School’s most distinguished award, the Gold Medal, and in the past she has won 1st prize at the Young Pianists’ Beethoven Competition, 2nd prize at Louisiana International Piano Competition and the Jury’s Discretionary Prize at the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s Bronislaw Kaper Awards.
Cellist Patrick Moriarty is one of Ireland’s foremost musicians and is in high demand as a soloist and as a chamber musician. Patrick has performed in venues across Europe such as Wigmore Hall, Barbican Hall, Victoria Hall, Muziekgebouw, Musiikkitalo, IMS Prussia Cove Open Chamber Music, West Cork Chamber Music Festival, and GAIA Music Festival. He has won numerous competitions and prizes such as the 70th Royal Over-Seas League Competition and the prestigious Parkhouse Award in Wigmore hall. Recording work includes working with The Abbey Road Studios Institute as well as multiple recordings for BBC3, RTE lyric FM, YLE and VPRO.