(BRANCHBURG, NJ) – The Arts & Design Department at Raritan Valley Community College (RVCC) will present a concert featuring performers from Comfort Trio: Jacob Savransky (piano), Edward Li (violin) and Mark Serkin (cello), Sunday October 17 at 2 p.m. The event, which is open to the public, will be held at the Welpe Theater on RVCC’s Branchburg campus and will also be broadcast live on their Facebook page. Masks are mandatory at all RVCC facilities and social distancing will be respected.

The concert will feature the following program: Piano Trio Pale Yellow by Jennifer Higdon; Piano trio in D minor by Gabriel Fauré, op. 120; and Piano Trio No. 1 op. 3 in C minor by Ludwig van Beethoven. The show is part of the department’s MOZAIKA concert series, launched in fall 2020 to help defray the cost of private lessons for RVCC music majors. The series is designed to promote multicultural dialogue through the interpretation of music from classical canon to the 21st Century.

Formed in 2020 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Trio Solace made their debut on RVCC’s MOZAIKA concert series in early 2021. Shortly thereafter, the musicians were named Ensemble Forward Grant recipients. by Chamber Music America, made possible by the New York community. Confidence.

Pianist and music teacher Jacob Savransky is a faculty member at Riverdale Music Studio. It also has a private studio. Finalist in several competitions, Savransky received an honorable mention at the Puerto Rico International Piano Festival Competition (2017). Passionate about soloist and chamber musician, he has performed in festivals such as Castlenuovo di Garfagnana, Virtuoso Bel Canto and Adamant, and has performed in the United States as well as in Canada and Europe. He has participated in masterclasses with artists such as Richard Goode, Robert McDonald, Evelyn Crochet, Ann Schein, Boris Berman and Wei-Yi Yang. He received a BA from the Mannes School of Music at the New School and an MA from McGill University.

Mark Serkin is a cellist, music teacher and chamber musician who has performed at Alice Tully Hall, Carnegie Hall and various other venues. His love of chamber music has led him to perform at numerous festivals including Meadowmount, Taconic Music, NOI and Manchester Music Festival. A graduate of the Mannes School of Music, where he studied with cellist Jeffrey Zeigler, Serkin is pursuing a doctorate in musical art (DMA) at Rutgers University, under the tutelage of Jonathan Spitz.

Edward Li is a violinist and interdisciplinary artist specializing in historically informed performance and new music. He has performed as a soloist at Carnegie Hall and was principal violin in orchestras at Lincoln Center and New York City Center. A recent member of Juilliard415, Li has collaborated with the Martha Graham Dance Company, the Lincoln Center Theater Directors Lab, the New York Public Library, the New School of Jazz, and with various Grammy-winning artists. Previously a mathematician and published pastry chef, Li received his master’s degree in music from the Mannes School of Music and the Juilliard School.

A post-performance discussion with the artists will follow the program. Concerts in the MOZAIKA Concert Series are free, but donations are accepted and will go to the RVCC Applied Music Fund to help college music majors pay for private lessons on their main instruments.

The concert will also be available for viewing online after the initial performance date. The MOZAIKA concert series is made possible by funds from the Somerset County Cultural & Heritage Commission, a partner of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts.

Raritan Valley Community College (RVCC) is located at 118 Lamington Road in Branchburg, New Jersey.