Event Calendar & News: Faculty News

Nobilis Piano Trio Now In Residence At MSU

One of the most exciting trios on the musical horizon, NOBILIS piano trio joined the MSU School of Music as a resident ensemble in April 2004.

Suren Bagratuni, associate professor of cello at MSU and NOBILIS member, was instrumental in bringing the ensemble onboard. Other members are violinist Ruggero Allifranchini and pianist Stephen Prutsman.

NOBILIS’ repertoire ranges from early baroque and traditional masterpieces by Tchaikovsky, Schubert and Dvorak, to innovative original jazz arrangements by Dizzy Gillespie and John Coltrane; ballads by Irving Berlin; and colorful Russian and gypsy folk songs.

NOBILIS will partake in weeklong residencies each semester to teach master classes and private lessons, coach chamber music, and perform in concert. Throughout the summer of 2004, NOBILIS worked with MSU composition faculty and students, who composed some pieces specifically for the trio to perform during its October 18–24, 2004 residency.

Each member of NOBILIS has a distinguished career as soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician. Each has appeared individually and as part of the trio with major orchestras and chamber music series throughout the United States and Europe. Distinguished alumni of the Moscow, Peabody and New England Conservatories, the members are the recipients of numerous prestigious awards, including the Avery Fisher Career Grant and medals at the Tchaikovsky International competitions.

Ruggero Allifranchini is a violinist from Milan, Italy, and founding member of the Borromeo Quartet, which has appeared in major performing arts centers throughout the world.

Suren Bagratuni, associate professor of cello at MSU from Yerevan, Armenia, has performed a wide variety of music throughout the world as a soloist, recitalist and chamber musician, and has performed with major orchestras in the former Soviet Union, and around the world.