High-powered classical trio to play, teach at OU

Self-described as performers of “high-octane chamber music,” the New York-based PROJECT Trio with ties to Ohio will present workshops, clinics and concerts during a three-day residency from today through Saturday at Ohio University.

With musical influences as varied as Bach, Beethoven, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, Jay-Z, and Dr. Dre, this group has broad appeal to audiences of all ages, according to a news release. PROJECT Trio will end their stay in Athens with a concert Saturday at 8 p.m. in Memorial Auditorium. This concert is free and open to the public, though donations to the Athens Community Music School Scholarship Fund will be accepted at the door.

The members of the trio, Peter Seymour (bass), Eric Stephenson (cello) and Greg Pattillo (flute) met as students at the Cleveland Institute of Music in 1997. All had interests in music other than classical, so they ended up spending a lot of time playing music together. Although they went their separate ways after college, the three got back together in 2006 after flutist Pattillo posted a video of himself on YouTube playing his take on tunes like “Inspector Gadget” and “Super Mario Brothers,” which combined beatbox techniques with flute playing. To date, Greg and PROJECT Trio have nearly 60 million hits on YouTube, according to the release.

Dedicated to outreach and education, PROJECT Trio has performed across the country for more than 40,000 kindergarten through college-aged students. While at OU, they will present seminars such as “Arts in the Internet Era” and “Finding Your Voice: Creating a Non-Profit,” play for an improvisation session with the OU Hip-Hop Congress, and lead workshops at the fifth annual String Fling and first annual Flute Fest.

For details about times and locations of the events, go to www.ohio.edu/music.