Carnegie Hall

The crystalline voices of Trio Mediæval have captivated audiences since the group was founded in Oslo in 1997. The Grammy-nominated group’s core repertoire features sacred monophonic and polyphonic Medieval music from England, Italy, and France; contemporary works written for the ensemble; and traditional Norwegian, Swedish, and Icelandic ballads and songs. The group’s fruitful relationship with the legendary ECM Records, collaborative spirit, and touring schedule has earned it worldwide renown.

Trio Mediæval made its US debut in 2003, performing two sold-out concerts at New Haven’s International Festival of Arts and Ideas. The group has since embarked on multiple North American tours. Highlights include concerts at Carnegie Hall, Brooklyn Academy of Music, National Cathedral, The Kennedy Center, San Francisco Performances, and Spivey Hall, and broadcasts on American Public Media’s Saint Paul Sunday and Performance Today. In Europe, the group has performed in a variety of venues: churches, cathedrals, monasteries, farms, clubs, industrial spaces, and museums, as well as prestigious halls such as Oslo Concert Hall, Bozar, Concertgebouw, Wigmore Hall, and Vienna Konzerthaus. The group has also toured to Japan, Australia, Hong Kong, Macau, and South Korea.

The trio has collaborated with a multitude of contemporary composers, including Anna Clyne, Gavin Bryars, Anders Jormin, William Brooks, Ivan Moody, Sungji Hong, Oleh Harkavyy, Bjørn Kruse, Trygve Seim, Sinikka Langeland, and Andrew Smith. In 2005, the group teamed up with Bang on a Can composers Michael Gordon, Julia Wolfe, and David Lang for Shelter, the ensemble’s biggest multimedia, contemporary music project to date. Shelter premiered in Cologne, Germany, and was fully staged the same year at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Wolfe was so fascinated by the group’s voices that she wrote a piece for them entitled Steel Hammer. Together with the Bang on a Can All-Stars, the trio premiered Steel Hammer at Carnegie Hall in 2009, and recorded it in 2011. In 2013, Steel Hammer was performed in Bruges, Uppsala, and London. Trio Mediæval and the Norwegian Radio Orchestra premiered David Lang’s reason to believe in Oslo in 2011. It has also been soloist with the Oslo Philharmonic as well as Stavanger Symphony Orchestra and Norwegian Chamber Orchestra.

Catalina Vicens is one of today’s most versatile and sought-after performers of historical keyboard instruments. She is the director and curator of the San Colombano Museum of Keyboard Instruments in Italy and has served as guest professor at prestigious institutions such as Oberlin College and Conservatory, Royal Conservatory of Brussels, and University of Music and Performing Arts Graz. A graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, Ms. Vicens has given master classes at more than 10 major universities and conservatories worldwide. Her award-winning recordings feature performances on antique keyboards, including the oldest playable harpsichord at the National Music Museum and one of Europe’s best-preserved Gothic organs. Renowned for her expertise in Medieval and Renaissance music, she has also produced documentaries, composed film scores, and created sound installations. She frequently collaborates with contemporary composers to revitalize historic instruments and has performed with Trio Mediæval since 2022. She is the founder and director of Ensemble and Social Project Servir Antico.