Why would three young classical musicians with successful solo touring careers form a trio as a side gig?
In 2015, pianist Conrad Tao, violinist Stefan Jackiw and cellist Jay Campbell launched Junction Trio for two key reasons: the music and the musicianship.
“There are so many astonishingly good pieces in the repertoire,” said Tao, now 29. “We wanted to play trios by Ravel and Beethoven. The piano-violin-cello combination has a very defined heterogeneous quality. It’s beautiful.”
Jackiw and Tao are acclaimed soloists who play with orchestras all over the world. While Campbell has won praise for his solo work, he is best known as a member of the intrepid JACK Quartet.
In the publicity for the trio’s Carnegie Hall concert this Friday, Junction Trio was billed as the “new-generation supergroup.”
Next Sunday, La Jolla Music Society will present Junction Trio at the society’s Baker-Baum Concert Hall. The trio’s members are no strangers to the hall. Each of them has performed there before at SummerFest and all three are in this year’s SummerFest lineup (although at separate times).
The idea for Junction Trio started when Campbell and Jackiw were on the same tour in South Korea. The cellist and violinist, now in their mid-to-late 30s, hoped to form a piano trio and contacted Tao through Facebook.
“We didn’t randomly message Conrad,” Campbell said. “We had played with a couple of other pianists, too. We loved Conrad’s playing. It made sense to get together to play, but not as our main job. It’s our passion project.”
The three American-born, American-trained classical musicians perform as Junction Trio when their schedules allow. Campbell called their short tours musical vacations. Tao agrees.
“It’s really nice that we all three have different things that we can draw on,” Tao said from a solo tour stop in Cincinnati. “We can ask each other for advice and hear each other’s perspectives. We firmly come from different places, but we share musical values.”
The group’s concert in La Jolla will begin with John Zorn’s Philosophical Investigations: Trialogue, which was written specifically for the trio by the famous avant-garde composer. Campbell has worked closely with Zorn and released two CDs of works he composed for the cellist, one in 2015 and the other in 2020.
Campbell described Philosophical Investigations as three distinct people having a conversation, but not always saying the same thing at the same time. It involves intricate timing and string-plucking, including on the piano.
“It’s in line with Zorn’s other work,” Campbell said. “It’s virtuosic and mercurial. A feature of his music is like jump cuts in movies or channel surfing on TV. There are these sudden interruptions to a musical thought.”
Tao explains it this way: “It almost has a bit of Looney Tunes, a rapidity sometimes. There’s a lot of playfulness along with dark, brooding expressions. It’s wonderfully exciting.”
Next up on the program will be Charles Ives’ Piano Trio, which the composer wrote in the early 1900s as a remembrance of his student days at Yale University. Tao, who is also a composer, believes Zorn and Ives to be kindred spirits.
“The second movement of the trio is a scherzo,” the pianist said. “Its title is TSIAJ, which stands for ‘this scherzo is a joke.’ Ives throws everything into that movement. I alternate between being a kind of bass drum and traveling marching band to being like a saloon pianist and then playing a dirge-like version of ‘My Old Kentucky Home.’ It’s an amazing, delightful over-the-top movement.
“The piece ends with a beautiful take on ‘Rock of Ages,’ played by Jay on the cello. We are left to wonder about Ives’ memories, our own memories and feelings evoked by this music.”
The closing piece of next Sunday’s concert is Beethoven’s Piano Trio in B-flat major, Op. 97, widely known as the Archduke Trio.
“Performing that piece is a joy,” Tao said, “because it’s written in such a way that we can surprise each other live on stage, which is always great.”
For Campbell, playing Zorn and Ives readjusts his ears to an expanded palette, which he then can bring into the Beethoven piece.
“My hope is that it comes off a little bit more radical than maybe people think it is,” Campbell said. “That’s the hope anyways.”
Campbell’s main commitment with the JACK Quartet regularly finds him exploring an expanded sonic palette. The ensemble focuses on collaborating with living composers.
“We also play medieval and Renaissance music,” he added. “Music of that time that was experimenting with different types of complexity.”
The JACK Quartet, presented by Art of Elan and ArtPower, will perform at the Loft at UC San Diego next Monday, the day after Junction Trio appears at the Baker-Baum.
After Sunday’s concert, the three members in Junction Trio will disperse to perform at various summer festivals and engage in other musical collaborations.
When in San Diego, Tao hopes to find time for a nonmusical activity — riding roller coasters.
“It’s a good hobby because I haven’t found a way to turn it into work,” Tao said with a laugh. “Anytime I’m reading a cool book, I start turning it into work in my brain. There is no space in your brain when you’re riding a roller coaster!”
Junction Trio
When: 3 p.m. May 5
Where: Baker-Baum Concert Hall, The Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center, 7600 Fay Ave., La Jolla
Tickets: $48-$83
Phone: (858) 459-3728
Online: theconrad.org
Prelude Lecture precedes the concert at 2 p.m.
Wood is a freelance writer.