Trio Céleste

Iryna Krechkovsky, violin
Ross Gasworth, cello
Kevin Kwan Loucks, piano

Please join us for an evening with
one of the most dynamic chamber music ensembles on the classical music scene today

in a program featuring

Vasyl Barvinsky’s Piano Trio No. 1 in A Minor
Frank Martin’s Trio sur des mélodies populaires irlandaises
Dmitri Shostakovich’s Piano Trio No. 2 in E Minor, Op. 67

Saturday, February 22, 2025 at 7pm

Artist biographies

Hailed as “lively and sensational” by Montreal’s Arts and Opinion, and “flawless” by New York Concert Review, prize-winning violinist Iryna Krechkovsky enjoys an international career as soloist, chamber music collaborator, educator, and arts executive. Celebrated for her tone, emotionality, and precision, she has performed in concert venues from Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall in New York City, to The American Church in Paris, Chicago Cultural Center, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto, and Seoul Arts Center in Korea. She has appeared on Classical KUSC, KABC-TV Los Angeles, the Korean Broadcasting System, National Public Radio, the Public Broadcasting Service, and as a speaker/performer at TEDxChapmanU. She was also a top prize winner at the Sorantin International Competition, the Canadian Music Competition, the Kocian International Violin Competition, the Beverly Hills International Auditions, and the Canada Council for the Arts Instrument Bank Competition which afforded her a three-year loan of the 1689 “Baumgartner” Stradivari violin. In 2023, she received a California Arts Council Individual Artist Fellowship to support an upcoming recording project featuring chamber music written by contemporary female composers.
            Krechkovsky has performed as soloist with the Lviv National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine, the Toronto Sinfonietta, the Seoul National University Virtuosi, the California Chamber Orchestra, the Warren Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Canadian Academy Chamber Orchestra. She has collaborated with artists including Colin Carr, Paul Coletti, Robert deMaine, Glenn Dicterow, Karen Dreyfus, Eugene Drucker, David Finckel, Gil Kalish, Kyung Sun Lee, Robert McDonald, and Philip Setzer, and has performed hundreds of recitals throughout North America, Europe, and Asia with her husband, pianist Kevin Kwan Loucks, as part of the award-winning Krechkovsky/Loucks Duo. In 2012, the Duo formed Trio Céleste with cellist Ross Gasworth and served as Ensemble-in-Residence at the Claire Trevor School of the Arts at UC Irvine, where they also directed the annual Trio Céleste Summer Chamber Music Festival.
            Born in Ukraine, Iryna Krechkovsky attended the Cleveland Institute of Music and holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Stony Brook University in New York where she was awarded the distinguished 40 Under Forty Alumni Award. She is Co-Founder and Executive Director of Chamber Music | OC - a non-profit arts initiative dedicated to promoting the art of chamber music through performance, education, and community engagement. As part of the organization’s educational division, Krechkovsky curates the nationally recognized Pre-College Program – a comprehensive mentoring program for exceptionally talented musicians throughout Southern California. Krechkovsky studied with David and Linda Cerone, Philip Setzer, Philippe Graffin, and Pamela Frank, and currently performs on a 2007 violin by Ryan Soltis and Samuel Zygmuntowicz.
 
 
          Pianist Kevin Kwan Loucks enjoys a multifaceted career as international concert artist, educator, and arts entrepreneur. He has been described as “impeccable” (La Presse, Montreal), “a shining talent” (Völser Zeitung, Italy), and “a pianist of exhilarating polish, unity and engagement” (The Orange County Register, California). He has earned ovations from Weill Recital Hall and Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall, to Prösels Castle in Italy, Herbst Theater, Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Kennedy Center, Kumho Art Hall and Seoul Arts Center in South Korea, Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, and Prague’s Lichtenstein Palace. He has been featured on National Public Radio, CBC Radio 2, Classical KUSC, the Public Broadcasting Service, KABC-TV Los Angeles, and the Korean Broadcasting System, and was a top prize winner at the Schlern International Competition in Italy, the International Chamber Music Ensemble Competition in Boston, the Beverly Hills International Auditions in Los Angeles, and the American Prize in Performance. 
            As a collaborative artist, Kevin Kwan Loucks has appeared in recitals with Rachel Barton Pine, Colin Carr, Paul Coletti, Robert deMaine, Glenn Dicterow, Karen Dreyfus, Eugene Drucker, Edgar Meyer, Johannes Moser, Kyung Sun Lee, and Carol Wincenc. He has been featured in collaborations with the Afiara, Alexander, Argus, Arneis, Cecilia, Jupiter, Lyris, Rus, and Thalea String Quartets, and has performed and recorded as a member of Gruppo Montebello, an all-star ensemble of acclaimed Banff Centre resident artists based in Canada. Loucks has performed hundreds of recitals throughout North America, Europe, and Asia with his wife, violinist Iryna Krechkovsky, as part of the award-winning Krechkovsky/Loucks Duo. In 2012, the Duo formed Trio Céleste with cellist Ross Gasworth and served as Ensemble-in-Residence at the Claire Trevor School of the Arts at UC Irvine where they also directed the annual Trio Céleste Summer Chamber Music Festival. Loucks presently holds faculty positions at Chamber Music | OC’s Pre-College Program and the Fischoff Chamber Music Summer Intensive.
            A Korean-American adoptee and graduate of The Juilliard School in New York City, Kevin Kwan Loucks was mentored by pianist Julian Martin. He is an alumnus of programs at the Aspen Music Festival and Music@Menlo, and holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Stony Brook University where he served as Head of Piano for the Pre-College Division and Teaching Assistant for the Emerson String Quartet. He is Co-Founder of Chamber Music | OC, which earned him recognition from Orange County Business Journal and OC Weekly who named him one of Southern California’s most influential people. In addition to his artistic training, Loucks holds an Executive Master of Business Administration from the Argyros School of Business and Economics at Chapman University where he studied entrepreneurship, finance, management, and strategy, and completed his Executive Education at Stanford Graduate School of Business. He previously served as Director of Business Development and Strategic Partnerships at the Philharmonic Society of Orange County, and Director of Innovation and Program Development at the Music Academy of the West. He currently serves as CEO of Chamber Music America in New York City, dividing his time between New York and Orange County.
 
 
Cellist Ross Gasworth has performed in iconic venues around the world, including Carnegie Hall, Tokyo’s Suntory Hall, The Ho Chi Minh Opera House, The Hollywood Bowl, The Sydney Opera House, The Seoul Arts Center, and Paris’ Radio France Concert Hall. Ross was selected by Michael Tilson-Thomas from to perform as Principal Cellist of the YouTube Symphony Orchestra in Sydney, Australia, and at Google's Zeitgeist festival in London, England. He has toured internationally as a member of Trio Céleste, and serves as Director of Artistic Planning for Chamber Music | OC.
            Ross has performed or recorded with artists such as Elton John, Ariana Grande, Barbra Streisand, Justin Bieber, Adele, Paul McCartney, Ozzy Osbourne, Carrie Underwood, Michael Bublé, Herb Alpert, Jessie J, Ben Platt, Seal, and Neil Young. As a session musician, his screen credits include Encanto, Super Mario Bros. Movie, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Frozen 2, Indiana Jones: Dial of Destiny, Avatar: The Way of Water, The Mandalorian, Star Trek: Discovery, and many more. As an orchestral musician, Ross has performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the San Diego Symphony Orchestra, the Houston Symphony, the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, the New World Symphony, and as Principal Cellist of the Waco Symphony Orchestra and Miami Symphony Orchestra. He has performed as a soloist with the Rochester Symphony, Birmingham-Bloomfield Symphony, Michigan Youth Arts Festival Orchestra, Detroit Symphony Civic Orchestra, UCI Symphony Orchestra, and California Chamber Orchestra. 
            A committed educator, Ross has served on the faculty of the University of North Texas, the University of California, Irvine, and currently serves on the Pre-College faculty of Chamber Music | OC. His private cello students have been accepted at institutions such as the University of Michigan, New England Conservatory, Oberlin Conservatory, Berklee College of Music, and McDuffie Center for Strings.
            Ross began playing the cello at age three. He earned his Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he studied with Richard Aaron and Stephen Geber. Other past teachers include Eugene Osadchy at the University of North Texas, and Michel Strauss at the Paris Conservatoire.

For more information about the Trio Céleste, please visit their website, www.trioceleste.com