Zodiac Trio:  Vanessa Mollard, violin;  Kliment Krylovskiy, clarinet;  Riko Higuma, piano 

Representing three different nations – Japan, Russia and France – the Zodiac Trio met in New York in 2005. Since its formation, The Zodiac Trio has been awarded prizes at a number of national and international competitions such as the Yellow Springs Chamber Music Competition, FNAPEC Ensemble Competition (Paris), International Chamber Music Competition of Duchi D’Aqcuaviva (Italy), Val Tidone International Music Competition (Italy), the Cziffra Foundation (France), Joyce Dutka Foundation for the Arts (New York), International Peninsula Young Artist Festival in California and the ProMusica Ensemble Competition (France), among others. The young ensemble has also received a Recording Grant and Commission Grant from Co-Op press, and are laureates of the 6th International Osaka Chamber Music Competition in Japan. Individually and collectively, they have performed throughout the United States, South America, Western and Eastern Europe, Russia, China and Japan.

"The Folk Influence in Classical Music" - from Khatchaturian to Piazzolla