Roche Artists Series opens with CAN-AM Trio chamber music ensemble

(EDITOR’S NOTE: Monday’s concert has been canceled due to one of the performers testing positive for COVID-19. It will be rescheduled. We apologize for the inconvenience.)

As good friends and colleagues, Sarah Hamilton, Geralyn Giovannetti, and Anna Mattix will bring their long musical association as the CAN-AM Trio to Mercyhurst University on Monday, Sept. 12, at 8 p.m. in Walker Recital Hall.

Their performance opens the annual Roche Guest Artists Series for 2022-2023, announced Dr. Nathan Hess, the Mary A. Spadafor Endowed Chair of Music. He noted the event is free and open to the public, made possible by the generosity of the Terry and Margaret M. Roche Family.

The CAN-AM Trio was created in 2019 by oboists Giovannetti of Brigham Young University, and Hamilton of The State University of New York at Fredonia, along with Mattix, the English hornist with the Buffalo Philharmonic. Both Giovannetti and Hamilton are Canadian citizens and Mattix is American, hence the name.

This type of chamber music ensemble has been in existence since the 1800s when Beethoven famously wrote two notable works for this combination of oboe and English horn. Since then, composers have delighted in experimenting with the rich orchestral sound of this ensemble. The CAN-AM Trio's performances include both historical and contemporary works, focusing especially on those written more recently by Canadian, American, and British composers.

The performance will be livestreamed via YouTube.