The Guilford Trio

1998-present – The Guilford Trio consists of founding members Deidra Palmour Gorton, mezzo-soprano, Noel Lester, piano, and Noah Chaves, viola.

Engagements:

The Guilford Trio has performed at the following locations in the United States

• Lincoln Center – Alice Tully Hall, New York City, New York
• Los Angeles County Museum with the Los Angeles Chamber Chorale
• Artscape, Baltimore, Maryland for the Arts Festival
• Peabody Conservatory, Baltimore, Maryland
• Johns Hopkins Medical College, Baltimore, Maryland
• Hood College, Frederick, Maryland
• Baylor University School of Music, Waco, Texas
• Cailloux Performing Arts Center, Kerrvile, Texas

Recordings:

Forgotten Songs

 

Koch International Classics has produced two recordings featuring the music of American Impressionist, Charles Martin Loeffler. Charles Martin Loeffler – Forgotten Songs, features performances by the Guilford Trio, Deidra Palmour, mezzo-soprano, Noel Lester, piano and Noah Chaves, viola. This CD is the first recording of all the known works of this composer for voice, viola and piano and is therefore the benchmark recording for this music. The CD also includes two songs for Ms. Palmour and Dr. Lester alone and two songs with guest artist Rose Ann Markow, violin. You can listen to audio samples, and purchase this CD, at http://www.berkshirerecordoutlet.com/search.php?row=0&brocode=&stocknum=&text=loeffler+forgotten+songs&filter=all&submit=Search.

“…More’s the credit to the Guilford Trio for enabling us to hear some magnificent music …a major acquisition to the repertoire.” – Fanfare

“…a long overdue recording featuring Charles Martin Loeffler’s darkly brooding, beautifully wrought and grossly underrated songs.” – Fanfare

“This new recording restores a valuable period in the history of American music.” – Records International

“Fifteen (songs) are presented for the first time in this collection, and convince the listener of Loeffler’s compositional skills and of his original musical imagination. Deidra Palmour performs with deep feeling…and is well supported by the instrumentalists.” – Pluta, Klassik Heute (Germany)

“I just want to tell you how beautiful and gratifying I found your recording of Loeffler’s songs with obbligato instrument (as well as piano).  I just listened to it again—I do every few months!—and was struck anew by the variety of the songs and the acuteness of the performances.
Deidra Palmour has an amazing voice, solid up and down the range, and compelling artistry.  I’m very fussy about French pronunciation, but she really sounds like a native—she clearly understands what she’s singing!  The piano parts for some of the songs are, as you know, nearly orchestral, and I’m glad the recorded balance, for once, didn’t put the piano in a closet.  Yet one can hear the voice clearly—quite a feat, and my hat is off to the Koch engineers!  The other instrumental parts are beautifully knit into the whole.  I have written about Loeffler and his place in American music and studied some of these Loeffler songs closely—and listened to all available recordings of them.  But this is definitely the recording that I tell people to get hold of as their first point of entry into that special half-Debussy, half-Richard-Strauss world that
Loeffler and only Loeffler was able to create.”— Ralph P. Locke, Professor of Musicology, The Eastman School of Music

“As a violist with friends who are singers, I am always looking for new repertoire. I was delighted to find these songs by Loeffler!The recording is fantastic- playful and dramatic as the songs call for, with a first-rate ensemble. The interplay between all the members of the group, their musicality, and technique really made me love this music and search for the scores.” – Sonya Lawson, Amazon.com

“Exquisite! I, too, am a chamber musician. I first purchased this because I wanted to hear others’ interpretations of these songs, having read through them once. After I first listened to this CD I sat there simply stunned by the musicianship, the technical brilliance and the heart and soul these musicians gave to this gorgeous music. If I had to give up all CD’s but one, this would be the one I kept. As a result I have also been curious to know more about Mr. Loeffler, and purchased Ms. Knight’s biography. This CD clearly opened a door and I’m grateful to those involved.” —Susanna Branch, Amazon.com

A Dream Within a Dream

 

Charles Martin Loeffler – A Dream Within A Dream also features the Guilford Trio (Deidra Palmour Gorton, mezzo-soprano; Noel Lester, piano, Noah Chaves, viola) along with Jenny Hansen, viola d’amore; Steven Barta, clarinet; Edward Crafts, baritone; and the Hood College Chamber Singers under the direction of Patricia McKewen Amato. (Fun Fact: Jenny Hansen plays the viola d’amore on the movie Titanic!) You can listen to audio samples, and purchase this CD, at Amazon.com.

This title is now out of print; used copies may be purchased from Amazon.com
“…4 stars out of 4 ”… a wonderfully original sound. The performances captured here, featuring Noel Lester on piano, are warm and lively. They sparkle with the same excitement that Loeffer brought to the continent all those years ago.” – AltaVista.Shopping