By John Rice
Columnist / Staff reporter
Daniel Gasse has promised the music that Opus 3 plays at this year’s concert will be “tasty,” i.e. representing many different cultural flavors. That’s because the Gasse family just spent a month “marinating” in his native Argentina, soaking up the music scene. Those rhythms and tunes from the Pampas contain elements of tango, jazz and folk.
Opus 3, though, doesn’t want Argentinian music to dominate. So they’re devoting the second half of the concert to some fiery flamenco music from Spain.
“These pieces have folk influences,” Gasse said, “with a lot of flair, very colorful.”
The concert will be held at St. John Lutheran Church, on March 6, starting at 4 p.m. In exchange for a free-will donation, audience members will be treated to 90 minutes of Latin-influenced classical music.
The lineup for the Opus 3 Piano Trio includes Gasse on cello, his wife Sarah on violin and Hulya Alpakin at the piano. Sarah Gasse is from England, Alpakin is from Turkey, and Gasse grew up in Argentina, so the group is certainly international in composition. All three are instructors at the Gasse School of Music.