The Ensemble
Beginnings
When the award-winning and internationally known Triple Helix musicians — violinist Bayla Keyes, cellist Rhonda Rider, and pianist Lois Shapiro — joined together in 1995, The Boston Globe described the results of their union as “the livest live music in town,” with “wildly imaginative, emotionally charged, virtuoso playing” that was “sophisticated in musical detail, wholeheartedly interactive, uninhibited in emotion, and touched by a special grace.”
       Subsequently, the ensemble has become known as one of the best piano trios on today’s musical landscape. As the Los Angeles Times noted, “Triple Helix is clearly something special… the players have a splendid musical chemistry with virtually perfect dynamic balance, a firm collective sense of rhythm, and fervor and authority when needed.”

Breadth
In addition to presenting superb traditional concerts, the Trio offers engaging Musical EXPLORATIONS, informal discussion-recitals which offer listeners new perspectives and insights — on the music and more. As Artists-in-Residence at Wellesley College, the musicians take such programs into classrooms in which poetry, history of art, Russian history, math, and many other subjects are taught, thereby enhancing students’ grasp of the cultural and social aspects of the period or subject that they are exploring. In fact, these mind-expanding journeys are often incorporated into the MINI-RESIDENCIES which Triple Helix also offers.

Depth
Advocates for new music, the Helices have premiered several new works. In 2000, the group won a commissioning grant from Chamber Music America, which enabled Lee Hyla, co-chair of Composition at New England Conservatory, to compose the piano trio Amnesia Redux (2002) for them. Other premieres include David Rakowski’s Hyperblue (1992) and Attitude Problem (1996) — both of which were recorded on the CRI label; Ross Bauer’s Motion (1998); Richard Cornell’s Piano Trio (1998); Arlene Zallman’s Triquetra (1999); Andy Vores’ Dark Mother (narrated by Phyllis Curtin and performed to rave reviews in a “FleetBoston Celebrity Series” concert in April of 2000); and James Bolle’s Piano Trio (2000). And as part of an enriching cross-cultural program at Wellesley, in 2004-2005, they premiered another work which was written expressly for them — well, more specifically, for their piano trio and Korean pansori singer/percussion — Chan Hae Lee’s The Rabbit Story (2005).
       The Triple Helix musicians are also regular guests on National Public Radio’s WGBH-FM. And Gramophone magazine hailed the Trio’s recording, “Sense of Place” — which includes works by Ravel, Shostakovich, and Bright Sheng — as a “cherishable disc,” including it in a listing of best new recordings from North America.

The Musicians
Violinist Bayla Keyes, lauded as “a musician of expressive generosity and technical élan” by Cleveland’s The Plain Dealer, was a founder and long-time member of both the Evian- and the Naumburg-award-winning Muir String Quartet. She is an Associate Professor of Violin at Boston University, founding director of the String Quartet Institute at Tanglewood, and director of the Interlochen Adult Chamber Music Conference. Ms. Keyes has recorded for Ecoclassics, CRI, Musical Heritage, EMI-France, Koch, Bridge, and New World Records. She holds degrees from Curtis Institute and the Yale School of Music and currently serves as a board member of Chamber Music America.

Cellist Rhonda Rider — whom The Boston Globe calls “a glorious cellist,” remarkable for her “extraordinarily expressive and inventive playing” — was the founding cellist of the Naumburg-award-winning Lydian String Quartet, with whom she performed for over twenty years. Rider is currently Coordinator of Chamber Music and on the faculty of The Boston Conservatory. During the summer months, she is heard at various festivals including Music from Salem, Green Mountain, Tanglewood, and Token Creek. She is also the cello coach for the Asian Youth Orchestra in Hong Kong. An advocate of contemporary music, she has premiered works by such composers as John Harbison, Lee Hyla, and Steve Mackey. She holds degrees from Oberlin Conservatory and the Yale School of Music.

Pianist Lois Shapiro “conjures enchantment” and “produces and inspires musical magic,” notes The Boston Globe. A New York Concert Artists Guild Award winner and highly sought-after soloist and collaborative pianist, she has appeared throughout the U.S. and abroad in concerts ranging from 18th-century period-instrument performances to premieres. Shapiro has recorded on Afka, Channel Classics, Centaur, MLAR, and Pierrot. She teaches at Wellesley College and at the Longy School of Music. As an expression of her abiding interest in inspiring young people, Ms. Shapiro has created, in collaboration with the Longy School of Music Dalcroze Department, engaging and highly popular family programs in which she has performed as narrator and pianist. She holds degrees from Peabody Institute and the Yale School of Music.

The Name
In calling themselves “Triple Helix,” the artists were inspired by the notion of the double helix — the dynamic intertwining and interdependence of the spiraling energies that generate life. They saw a parallel in their partnership of violin, cello, and piano: each instrument, a potent force in its own right, is entrusted by the composer with its specific share of the music’s “genetic material.”