String trio in concert

BY HOLLIE WATSON

The Lakeshore Chamber Music Society’s 46th season is edging towards its finale with a recital featuring three gifted musicians from the Montreal Symphony Orchestra.

Friday’s concert, the last for 2006-2007 (precluding the student concert Apr. 15), showcases the talents of Claire Segal (violin), Rosemary Shaw (viola), and Karen Baskin (cello). Segal is a Pointe Claire resident who has appeared for the LCMS on several occasions. Despite a busy performance schedule, she always welcomes the opportunity to be part of the lineup.

“It’s a very viable series. The society is serious about maintaining a high level of performance, and audiences are very enthusiastic. The venue’s intimate atmosphere (Adair Hall in Ste. Anne de Bellevue) makes it a lovely place for chamber music, and I always look forward to it,” said Segal, who last fall teamed up with Baskin in the Brome Beaux Arts chamber series, and with Shaw in the MSO series.

Segal has also appeared as a soloist with the McGill Chamber Orchestra and the Boston Pops, and Montreal ensembles Music Camerata and Groupe Baroque.

“What’s unusual about the upcoming concert is that there is a limited repertoire for this combination of instruments. There are not many works written for string trios,” she explained, adding the pieces in the program, by Mozart, Schubert, and Beethoven, “were all composed in the space of about 20 years in the late 18th and 19th centuries.”

Since its inception, the non-profit LCMS has prided itself on the exceptional quality and diversity of its concerts, which are frequently recorded by the CBC for future broadcast. In addition, next month’s student concert/competition is also highly regarded for providing aspiring young musicians from the West Island a chance to perform in public.

Friday’s concert will be held at 7:30 p.m. in Union United Church, 24 Maple Ave. Tickets will be available at the door, or for more information call 514-457-5280, or 514-695-0497.