Tristan Trio
Hailed as “a startlingly subtle and visionary pianist” with “a rare blend of charm and mastery”, Croatian pianist Aljoša Jurinić has established himself as a laureate of the world's most prestigious piano competitions. Following his win at the 2012 International Robert Schumann Competition in the composer’s hometown of Zwickau, he was a laureate at the 2016 Queen Elisabeth Piano Competition and the 2018 Leeds International Piano Competition, as well as a finalist at the 2015 International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw.
Aljoša has appeared as a soloist and with orchestras at prominent venues in around 40 countries across five continents, including New York's Carnegie Hall, Wiener Musikverein, Salle Cortot in Paris, Gasteig in Munich, Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall, Osaka Symphony Hall, La Sala Verdi in Milan, BOZAR in Brussels, Lisinski Concert Hall in Zagreb, and many others. Further highlights include a 35-day solo recital tour across China and five sold-out performances in a row of Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in Croatia.
His music is featured on six albums, including three solo releases: Chopin Alive (CristoforiumArt, 2016), Correspondances (KNS Classical, 2020), and Chopin: Sonatas No. 2 and No. 3 (Longplay Classical, 2025). A sought-after chamber musician, Aljoša has collaborated with world-renowned musicians such as Kian Soltani (cello), Luka Šulić (cello), Petrit Çeku (guitar), and Krešimir Stražanac (bass-baritone), to name a few. In 2019, the president of Croatia awarded him the Order of the Morning Star for outstanding achievements in culture and the international promotion of his country.
Aljoša's artistic development has been shaped by renowned pianists and pedagogues in his native Croatia, Austria, Italy, Germany, and Canada, where he obtained a Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) degree from the University of Toronto. Currently based in Boston, USA, he is a Visiting Artist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's (MIT) Immersion Lab where he collaborates on research projects investigating the biomechanics of piano playing.
A violinist with “absolute conviction and glimmering silver thread of tone,” (Boston Musical Intelligencer), Thomas Lee Cooper has established himself as one of the most dynamic young musicians of his generation. A three-time winner of New England Conservatory’s Entrepreneurial Musicianship award, Cooper is the founder and Artistic Director of Fermata Chamber Soloists, an award-winning collective of young artists performing innovative concerts.
Previously, Cooper has appeared as soloist with several orchestras, including the Colorado College Festival Orchestra, the Coeur D’Alene Symphony Orchestra, the Credo Baroque Orchestra, the Bar Harbor Music Festival Orchestra, the Du Bois Orchestra, and the Middlesex Chamber Orchestra among others. He is a laureate of the 2017 Naftzger and 2019 Cremona International Competitions, and was a semi- finalist at the 2018 Washington International Competition. He has performed as a soloist in venues such as Carnegie's Weill Recital Hall, the Giovanni Arvedi Auditorium at the Stradivari Museum in Cremona, and the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.
With a love of conductor-less ensemble playing, Cooper has appeared as a guest musician with many of the finest chamber orchestras in the country, including the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, A Far Cry, and the Cape Cod Chamber Orchestra. He has spent his summers performing at Keshet Eilon in Israel, the Mozarteum Summer Academy in Salzburg, Nagold Sommermusik in Bavaria and Festival Orford Musique in Quebec.
As a chamber musician, Cooper has had the fortune of sharing the stage with such groups and individuals as the Oberlin Trio, the Jupiter String Quartet, David Bowlin, Amir Eldan, Evgeny Sinaiski, and Per Ennokson. An avid performer of new music, Cooper has appeared on the Boston Symphony Orchestra's "What I Hear" concert series, showcasing works of living composers commissioned by the BSO.
As an educator, Cooper is on faculty at Credo Music in Ohio, Project STEP in Boston, and was a guest faculty member at Music Adventure in Spannocchia, Italy. A native of the Boston area, Cooper received his formal training at New England Conservatory and Oberlin Conservatory.
Cooper performs on a 1751 Gennaro Gagliano, on generous loan from a private collection.
Lauded as performing “like a gladiator” and with a “phenomenal color palette” (Radda Rise), cellist Tyler Michael James stands out as an ebullient artist of his generation. He is a top prize winner at the Radda International String Competition and regularly performs as an international chamber musician and soloist for several series including “Date Night” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Fermata Chamber Solists, Red Door Chamber Music, Lyrica Boston, Analog by Choice, FPAC Harbor Harmonies, and Hornby Island Music Festival. He is currently assistant faculty at the Boston University Tanglewood Institute Cello Workshop, and is a regular guest artist at the Peabody Conservatory and New York University.
Tyler premiered Benjamin Shbarber’s Concerto “The Wolf” with Orchestra Flex in 2021 and was a guest soloist with the New York University Percussion Ensemble’s performance of the Tan Dun Concerto for Cello and Percussion. After winning the New York University Concerto Competition he performed the Elgar Concerto in Skirball Hall under Maestro Adam Glaser.
Tyler is a founding member of the Lyrica Boston String Trio and the Opus87 Piano Quartet. He has had the pleasure of concertizing with the Horzowski Trio, Castle of Our Skins, Peter Zazofsky, and Doris Stevenson. A champion of new music, Tyler received the recording rights for “Loisaida, My Love” upon the composer Jessie Montgomery heard his and Nina Casper’s performance of the work. This was recorded on the Monday Music Label.
He has been a guest principal cellist with orchestras including the Handel Society, Middlebury Opera, the Du Bois Orchestra, Fermata Chamber Soloists, Kendall Square Orchestra, and was principal cellist of the National Tour of Miss Saigon.
Tyler is currently on faculty at the Boston String Academy, Project Step and the Boston University Tanglewood Institute. He has had the pleasure of teaching at festivals including Point Counterpoint, Four Strings Academy, and the Montecito International Music Festival.
Born in Virginia, Tyler did his initial studies at the Governor’s School for the Arts under the tutelage of Leslie Frittelli. Tyler received his Bachelor’s degree from New York University’s Steinhardt School on full scholarship under esteemed pedagogue Marion Feldman. Tyler was awarded a prestigious joint Master’s Degree and Artist Diploma with Terry King on full scholarship from the Longy School of Music of Bard College. He has studied at festivals with several cello influences including Ko Iwasaki, Bonnie Hampton, and Michal Schmidt. Tyler is currently a fully-funded M.B.A. Candidate at the College of William &. Mary studying how to rethink classical music education for financially underprivileged students.