About the Trio

Trio Gaia offers dynamic, personally relevant experiences inside and outside the concert hall and serves as New England Conservatory’s graduate piano trio in residence. Recently, the trio won 1st prize at the WDAV Young Chamber Musicians Competition and top prizes in the 2021 Chamber Music Yellow Springs and 2019 Plowman National Chamber Music Competitions.
Dedicated to sharing classical music in the community, Trio Gaia has performed in recital halls, schools, and community centers across the US and has presented educational residencies for the Panama Jazz Festival and Virginia Arts Festival. The trio’s current mentors include Vivian Weilerstein, Yeesun Kim, and Kim Kashkashian. When not rehearsing, you can find Grant, Yi-Mei, and Andrew cooking together or writing original arrangements and compositions.

Grant Houston, violin
Grant Houston connects with listeners through performances of unbridled energy and emotional magnetism. Known for drawing in audiences with a uniquely compelling musical voice, he has been described as playing “as ethereally as mist… the audience kept so quiet that it seemed we were holding our breath throughout.” (Yale Alumni Magazine). Particularly devoted to chamber music, recent appearances have included the notable festivals of Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute, Yale University’s Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, the Perlman Music Program, Yellow Barn Young Artists Program, The Moritzburg Festival Academy and the Music Academy of the West.

Nathan Ben-Yehuda

Nathan Ben-Yehuda is a pianist, arranger and composer based in Los Angeles. He has gained notability for his proficiency in a wide array of genres and different keyboard instruments, as well as his impassioned and probing performances. Nathan has been a winner of the Yamaha Young Performing Artist award, and has also received 3rd prize in the Seattle International Piano Competition. He has worked closely with such composers as George Lewis, Kaija Saariaho, Oliver Knussen and Thomas Ades. Nathan has held a fellowship at the Tanglewood Music Center, where he performed in a variety of new music and chamber music groups, and took part in a complete performance of Olivier Messiaen’s Catalogue d’Oiseaux alongside pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard, and performed Nancarrow Studies on two pianos with composer/pianist Thomas Adès. He has been featured in live broadcasts on BBC Radio 3 “In Tune” as well as on WMHT Radio. He has appeared on Musiqu3 TV in Beligium as a competitor in the 2021 Queen Elisabeth competition. He recently was one of two pianists invited to the Taos School of Music, directed by Robert McDonald, and perform as part of their young artist chamber music series. He is also the pianist for the Victory Players, a recently formed new music ensemble based in Holyoke, MA. Most recently, Nathan became a permanent member of Los Angeles based music collective Astral Mixtape, who perform original music and arrangements inspired by a myriad of styles. Nathan completed his Undergraduate study at the Royal Academy of Music in London, with Professor Hamish Milne, and his masters degree at the Juilliard School with Joseph Kalichstein and Jerome Lowenthal. He continued studies with Shai Wosner and Richard Goode at Bard College as part of their Advanced Performance Fellowship.