The dimming of the house lights followed by the tenor of a cello tuning offstage brought a hush to the audience in Goodwin music hall Saturday night.
At 7:30 p.m. the members of the Poinsett Piano Trio strode across the stage and, without introduction, launched into their first piece: Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Trio in E-flat major, Op. 1, No. 1, a four-movement work. The piece was nearly 30 minutes long. Upon completion, the performers bowed and left the stage.
A few minutes later, Deirdre and Christopher Hutton returned to perform Duo for Violin and Violoncello, Op. 7 by Zoltan Kodaly, a three-movement piece.
This was followed by a brief intermission during which the house lights came up and the performers retreated to rest before their final piece.
Angelyn Traylor, freshman in music education, was given the honor of turning pages for the evening. When asked how she landed the job, she said she had shown up for the concert and volunteered on the spot when she heard that a page turner was needed.
"I was nervous, especially on the fast movements," Traylor said.
The Poinsett Piano Trio consists of David Gross, pianist; Deirdre Hutton, violinist; and Christopher Hutton, cellist. All three teach at Furman University, where they established the group in 2008.
Traveling, however, is nothing new to the trio. David Gross and Christopher Hutton were born in Germany and New Zealand, respectively, and Deirdre Hutton holds dual American and European Union citizenship.
Jessica Evans, sophomore in chemical engineering, said she found out about the concert through her music appreciation professor, who posted a calendar of events in class.
"I really like strings, so I elected to come to this one," Evans said.
Evans said this was the first performance she attended at Auburn.
"I like it so far," Evans said. "It's been good."
Following the 10-minute intermission, all three performers returned to the stage for their finale, Piano Trio in C major, Op. 87 by Johannes Brahms. The four-movement piece was more than half an hour long and was met with enthusiastic applause, to which the performers bowed and left the stage.
Deirdre Hutton, said her favorite part of the program was the second movement of the Brahms trio, but added, "How can you not enjoy all of it?"
The Poinsett Piano Trio is expected to continue traveling and performing throughout this year, and is planning to return to Hutton's native New Zealand in the spring.
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