Recognized for its "lavish impeccable ensemble and golden tone," the Lanier Trio has performed throughout the United States and across Europe since 1979, maintaining its current membership since 1986.  The trio has enjoyed performances as far-flung as Hawaii and Warsaw, where the leading Polish critic exclaimed that they "overwhelmed the audience with excitement in a ravishing performance."  Little wonder that William Preucil has remained a member of the Atlanta-based trio while continuing as concertmaster of the Cleveland Orchestra.

Named in honor of the famous Georgia poet and musician Sidney Lanier, the trio has produced magnificent recordings.  Their two-CD release of Antonín Dvorák's Piano Trios has been hailed by Time magazine as one of the best of 1993.  The Lanier Trio has also made a superb recording of selected chamber works by American composer Stephen Paulus.  Many of these finely crafted, eloquently expressive pieces were written for these musicians, who approach them with sympathy as well as artistry.  Of their recording of the Mendelssohn trios, the prestigious Chamber Music magazine wrote "the Lanier Trio's sprightly style and emotive playing add freshness to these often-performed pieces."

The Lanier Trio, which has been featured on Public Radio International's Saint Paul Sunday broadcast, presents a rare blend of compelling artistry.  Following a performance in Atlanta, one reviewer was moved to comment, "Playing with a rapport as if they'd been concertizing together all their lives, with a spontaneity as if they were actively engaging these works for the first time, and a bravura that only comes when you've left any worries about note perfection far behind in the dust, theirs was direct emotional communication like you rarely witness between performers and audience."

William Preucil

William Preucil, violinist, has been concertmaster of the Cleveland Orchestra since 1995, having previously served for seven seasons as first violinist of the renowned Cleveland Quartet. With the Quartet he performed more than 100 concerts each year in the world's major musical capitals and recorded for Telarc International the complete cycle of Beethoven's string quartets, as well as chamber works by Haydn, Mozart, Schubert, and Brahms. He earlier served as concertmaster of the Atlanta Symphony, after holding the same position with the orchestras of Utah and Nashville.

Mr. Preucil teaches at the Cleveland Institute of Music and is a member of the artistic advisory board for the Interlochen Center for the Arts in Michigan. He has held faculty positions at the Eastman School of Music and University of Georgia. At the age of 16 he graduated with honors from the Interlochen Arts Academy and entered Indiana University to study with Josef Gingold. He was awarded a prestigious performer's certificate at Indiana University and also studied with Zino Francescatti and Gyorgy Sebok.

Dorothy Lewis

Dorothy Lewis, cellist, has toured extensively in Europe and the United States in recital with her husband, pianist Cary Lewis. They have participated in festivals in Montana, Colorado, Michigan, Hawaii, and Turkey, with additional concerts in Australia, southeast Asia, and South America.

Ms. Lewis received degrees from the University of Michigan and the Eastman School of Music, where she also earned her performer's certificate. At the Hochschule für Musik in Vienna, she was awarded a diploma "with distinction." Her teachers include Oliver Edel, Ronald Leonard, and Richard Krotschak, and she played in master classes for Pablo Casals. She has recorded for a number of labels, including Musical Heritage Society, Albany, ACA, and Gasparo.

Each summer for more than a decade, Dorothy and her husband Cary have been featured musicians at the Strings in the Mountains music festival in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

Cary Lewis

Cary Lewis, pianist, is in constant demand as a collaborative pianist for soloists and chamber music groups. With degrees from the University of North Texas, as well as a doctorate and performer's certificate from the Eastman School of Music, he was a Fulbright scholar for two years in Vienna. His teachers include Eugene List, Brooks Smith, and Dieter Weber. He has performed at Carnegie Hall, the Library of Congress, the White House, the Kennedy Center, and Wigmore Hall in London, as well as with the National Philharmonic in Warsaw and in other music capitals of the United States and Europe.

Dr. Lewis is recently retired from the faculty of Georgia State University in Atlanta, and currently resides in Portland, Oregon with his wife, cellist Dorothy Lewis. He appears in numerous festivals throughout the year. Dr. Lewis can be heard on the Turnabout, Vanguard, Musical Heritage Society, Albany, ACA, and Gasparo labels, among others.

Each summer for more than a decade, Cary and his wife Dorothy have been featured musicians at the Strings in the Mountains music festival in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

Friends

The Lanier Trio will appear with friends Jeff Bradetich on bass and Abigail Stoughton on Viola.