Coming Attractions: Busy Intersection

Instrumental trio performs Tuesday at Crescent Elk

Members of the instrumental trio will play piano, violin and cello Tuesday at Crescent Elk Auditorium. Submitted

Intersection will perform at the Crescent Elk Auditorium at 7:30 p.m., launching the Del Norte-Curry Community Concert Association’s season.

Tuesday night’s concert will include pieces by Bizet, Debussy, De Falla, Mendelssohn, Gershwin and Henry Mancini.

Violinist Laura Frautschi, cellist Kristina Reiko Cooper and pianist John Novacek as Intersection have forged a powerful connection with audiences worldwide.

Formed in 1998, (when it was called Kristina & Laura), the group’s numerous recordings have been best-sellers in Asia and have topped the classical and crossover charts. In Japan alone, album sales have surpassed 100,000.

In addition to its best-selling CDs, Intersection has released more than half a dozen DVDs. Intersection has become a familiar presence in the popular media, through numerous magazine covers, high-profile appearances on television (including CNN International), and even through its much-loved cameos on TV commercials.

An essential component of its concert activity has been guest appearances, often televised, with major orchestras such as the Tokyo Metropolitan Orchestra, the Osaka Symphony, the Yomiuri Orchestra, and the Tokyo Philharmonic. In addition to Asia, the group has toured Europe and the United States.

A typical evening with Intersection may center on a Ravel, Dvorák or Brahms trio, but will veer into previously unexplored byroads. A Hungarian thread present in the Brahms may be further spun into a sequence of Gypsy tunes, Dvorak into Slavic dance forms, Ravel into the ethereal world of a sensuous French song.

American music, crucial to Intersection’s repertoire, is presented in musical forms spanning the most avant garde of compositions to lighter fare such as excerpts of film music and popular theater and song. Various solos and duos add to the aural variety.

Violinist Laura Frautschi has established a reputation as a versatile musician with a strong commitment to contemporary as well as classical repertoire. She regularly performs as a soloist and chamber musician throughout the United States and Asia, and collaborates frequently with composers. She has given world premieres of violin concerti by leading American composers Lee Hyla and Augusta Read Thomas. In addition, she is a concertmaster of the New York City Opera Orchestra and has toured internationally as a concertmaster of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. Frautschi studied applied mathematics at Harvard College and violin performance with Robert Mann at The Juilliard School.

Hailed by The New York Times as “sensational in concert” and as a “stunning virtuoso” by the Los Angeles Times, cellist Kristina Reiko Cooper has performed as a soloist, recitalist and chamber musician throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia. An enthusiast of contemporary music, Kristina has premiered many works and is also a much sought-after chamber musician.

She has been featured on CNN, CBC Television, CBS and “60 Minutes.” Kristina studied with Joel Krosnick at the Juilliard School where she earned her DMA. She plays on a 1786 William Forster cello.

Grammy-nominated pianist John Novacek regularly tours the Americas, Europe, and Asia as solo recitalist, chamber musician and concerto soloist. He’s been a featured performer on many television shows including “The Tonight Show” and “Entertainment Tonight.” A much sought-after collaborative artist, Novacek has played with Yo-Yo Ma, Joshua Bell, Emmanuel Pahud, Truls Mork, Julius Baker, and Leila Josefowicz. He’s given numerous world premieres and worked closely with composers John Adams, George Rochberg, John Williams, John Harbison, Sebastian Currier, and John Zorn. He studied piano with Peter Serkin, Bruce Sutherland, and Jakob Gimpel.

The Del Norte-Curry Community Concert Association has been bringing internationally acclaimed artists to the Crescent City and Brookings areas since 1948.