Ensemble Avalon are three of Ireland's finest and most active soloists and chamber musicians who come together to explore and perform the piano trio repertoire in concert. Still in their first year as a group, the trio have already enjoyed a number of successes, including two critically acclaimed concert tours and a full concert broadcast on RTÉ Lyric FM. With a hugely diverse repertoire ranging from Haydn to Piazzolla already in place, the trio are committed to supporting contemporary music and look forward to commissioning a work in the near future. Ensemble Avalon are currently arranging their third concert tour, are looking forward to a BBC recording and broadcast later in the year and, following a successful performance at the Hugh Lane Gallery in Dublin, have been invited back to perform a concert series at the Gallery in the autumn of 2007. Ensemble Avalon are delighted to have been invited to join Music Network's Musicwide artist roster following the success of their latest tour, which was generously funded in part by Music Network's recently implemented Performance and Touring Award.

An Irish violinist of Romanian origin, Ioana Petcu-Colan is an established soloist and chamber musician travelling internationally to perform from her current home in Barcelona. Ioana's solo appearances with orchestra have featured Khachaturian, Shostakovitch, Bruch, Beethoven, Mozart and both Prokofiev Violin Concertos as well as works by Saint-Saens, Wieniaswki, Mozart and Sarasate and concertos by Bach performed both on modern and baroque violin. Ioana is soloist on two CDs released by RTÉ and was invited to premier 'Elastic Harmonic' for Violin and Orchestra by Irish composer Donnacha Dennehy on Irish national television. A keen chamber musician, Ioana is former first violin and founder member of the Callino Quartet with whom she enjoyed a full and varied performing career including concert tours, festival appearances and recordings. In duo partnership she has performed the complete Beethoven Piano and Violin Sonata cycle, she is a member of Ensemble Avalon and of the Irish Chamber Orchestra and is violinist with the Arum Chamber Ensemble who together explore lesser known works. Ioana's studies took her from Ireland through France, obtaining the Premier Prix a l'Unanimite at the age of sixteen, to the UK where she was awarded a first class Honours BMus degree from the London Royal Academy of Music before returning to Ireland to receive a firstclass MA in Performance from the Cork School of Music. Ioana plays on an Italian violin, built by Goffredo Cappa in 1695.

Gerald Peregrine is one of Ireland's leading young musicians. The youngest member of a well known Irish musical family, his mother is the violinist Sheila O' Grady, his uncle the late great tenor Frank Patterson. Gerald began studying violin at the age of 3, but quickly fell in love with the cello at the age of 6. Having studied in Ireland, Gerald began commuting regularly to London at the age of 15 for tuition with the late mentor William Pleeth, the former teacher to Jacqueline Du Pre. At 18 he was awarded a Foundation scholarship to study at the Royal College of Music, London, with the renowned American pedagogue Steven Doane. Having gained a 1st class honours degree, Gerald was awarded a prestigious Fulbright Scholarship to continue his studies at Indiana University, receiving tuition from Emilio Colon and Janos Starker. In 2007 he received a first class honours Masters from Limerick University, where he was RTÉ lyric fm Artist in Residence during his studies. In 1996 Gerald won the String Category of the RTÉ Young Musician of the Future. He was awarded many Arts Council Scholarships to assist with his tuition, as well as several college prizes. On his return to Ireland Gerald was awarded the prestigious National Concert Hall Dèbut Recital, which he gave to acclaim in 2003. Gerald has been busy building a career as a soloist and chamber musician. He has made many broadcasts in Ireland, for RTÉ and BBC radio and television. He has appeared as soloist with both Irish National Youth Orchestras, the National Symphony Orchestra, the RTÉ Concert Orchestra and the Orchestra of Saint Cecilia. He presented two successful recital series in the National Concert Hall, featuring the complete works for cello and piano by Beethoven, Bach and Brahms, broadcast by RTÉ lyric fm. Recent highlights have included performances at the West Cork Chamber Music Festival, the Camerata Ireland Clandeboy Festival, as well as trio recitals in France, London, Portugal, Spain, Italy and around Ireland. September 2007 saw the release of Gerald's first commercial cd, 'Heavenly', a collection of popular jazz standards. The release was accompanied by a National Tour.

One of the leading young Irish pianists of his generation, Michael McHale's playing has been described as 'instantly engaging' (The Times), with 'lucidity and elegance' (Daily Telegraph). After graduating from Cambridge University with a double first-class honours degree in Music, Michael went on to study piano with Christopher Elton at the Royal Academy of Music as holder of the EMI Music Sound Foundation Scholarship. A former student of John O'Conor and Réamonn Keary at the Royal Irish Academy of Music, he won the 2004 Camerata Ireland Musician of the Year, and was winner of the Brennan and Field Prizes at the 2006 AXA Dublin International Piano Competition. Michael was featured as a 'rising star' in International Piano magazine as a result of his performance of two Mozart concertos with the Halle Orchestra at the Piano 2006 festival in Manchester. He has performed throughout the UK and Ireland, France, Belgium, Germany, Hungary and USA, including several broadcast performances for BBC Radio 3 and RTÉ Radio, and has performed Beethoven Concertos 3 and 4 with the Ulster Orchestra and Mozart's Concerto for Two Pianos with Barry Douglas and Camerata Ireland. Future engagements include solo recitals in the Phillips Collection, Washington DC and National Concert Hall, Dublin, a concert tour of Ireland with Ensemble Avalon and performances of Beethoven's 'Emperor' Concerto with the Ulster Orchestra (for BBC Radio) and the National Youth Orchestra of Ireland (for RTÉ Lyric FM). Michael is grateful to Camerata Ireland / Accenture, the Musicians' Benevolent Fund, Countess of Munster Musical Trust, Making Music and the Arts Council of Northern Ireland Young Musicians' Platform for supporting his performing career.

Sample Programmes

Programme 1

Beethoven Trio in E flat Major, op 1 no 1
Piazzolla 'Cuatro Estaciones'
Brahms Trio in C minor, op 101

Programme 2

Haydn Trio in G Major 'Gypsy Trio', H15/25
Beethoven Trio in D Major 'Ghost', op 70 no 1
Shostakovich Trio no 2 in E minor, Op 67

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