Emily Bruskin, violin
Julia Bruskin, cello
Sophiko Simsive, piano
Lauded as “one of America’s finest young chamber groups” (Strad Magazine), the Claremont Trio is sought after for its thrillingly virtuosic and richly communicative performances. First winners of the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson International Trio Award and the only piano trio ever to win the Young Concert Artists International Auditions, the Claremonts are consistently lauded for their “aesthetic maturity, interpretive depth, and exuberance” (Palm Beach Daily News).
In May, 2025, the Claremont Trio and renowned tenor Paul Appleby will give the world premiere of a new work by Jessica Meyer at New York City’s Music Mondays. The Trio will also tour in 2024-25 with composer and clarinetist Kinan Azmeh, performing his powerful quartet and giving the world premiere of his trio “Gravitas”. The Claremonts’ upcoming season also includes a mini residency at Chamber Music Detroit, as well as performances at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, the Skaneateles Festival, Ashmont Hill Chamber Music, and Concerts at the Point.
In the fall of 2024 BMOP/sound will release the Claremont Trio and Boston Modern Orchestra Project’s recording of Eric Sawyer’s “Fantasy Concerto: Concord Conversations” for piano trio and orchestra, with conductor Gil Rose. In 2022 the Claremont Trio released Queen of Hearts, an album of music composed especially for the Trio, by six of today’s leading composers – Gabriela Lena Frank, Sean Shepherd, Judd Greenstein, Helen Grime, Nico Muhly, and Kati Agócs.
Highlights of recent seasons include engagements at Portland Friends of Chamber Music, the Polinger Artists of Excellence Series at the Bender JCC of Greater Washington, the Blue Hill Concert Association (ME), the Chamber Music Society of Bethlehem (PA), and Broward College (FL). Other recent engagements include Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, the Library of Congress, Boston’s Celebrity Series, the Dame Myra Hess Series, the Coleman Chamber Music Association, Johns Hopkins University, and Stanford Lively Arts, along with the Chamber Music Societies of Phoenix, Dallas, Sedona, San Antonio, Buffalo. The Trio has performed the Beethoven Triple Concerto with orchestras such as the Nashville Symphony, Virginia Symphony, Pacific Symphony, and Utah Symphony. The group also appears regularly at festivals including Ravinia, Saratoga, Mostly Mozart, Caramoor, Rockport, Bard, and Norfolk.
American Modern Recordings released the Claremont Trio’s recording of Robert Paterson’s works in 2016. Gramophone Magazine praised the Trio’s “poetry and… thrilling virtuosity” in their Beethoven “Triple” Concerto with the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra, released on Bridge Records. Of their Beethoven & Ravel CD, one reviewer raved, “These are some of the most impassioned, moving, and notable readings of these favorites that I have ever heard, bar none.” (Audiophile Audition). Their discography also includes Mendelssohn Trios, Shostakovich and Arensky Trios, and American Trios. A collaborative disc with clarinetist Jonathan Cohler received the Critic’s CHOICE Award from BBC Magazine.
In addition to the works on Queen of Hearts, the Claremont Trio has also commissioned new trios by Donald Crockett, Robert Paterson, Paul Chihara, Sharon Farber, Howard Frazin, Daniel Kellogg, and Hillary Zipper. The Trio has conducted master classes at Columbia University, Eastman School of Music, Duke University, New England Conservatory Preparatory Division, Peabody Conservatory’s Preparatory Division, and the Boston Conservatory.
The Claremont Trio was formed in 1999 at the Juilliard School. Twin sisters Emily Bruskin and Julia Bruskin grew up in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and they both play old French instruments. Emily’s violin is a Lupot from 1795; Julia’s cello is a J.B. Vuillaume from 1849. Sophiko Simsive grew up in Tblisi, Georgia. The Claremonts are all now based in New York City, near their namesake: Claremont Avenue.
For more information about the Claremont Trio, please visit www.claremonttrio.com.