Black Oak Ensemble

A kaleidoscopic string trio that “fully inhabits the spirit of the works they are playing in the moment, with as ardent a flame as if they had written it themselves” (Fanfare), Black Oak Ensemble returns to Ravinia with the grand reveal of their latest laser-fine focus. “O Britannia”—also due to be released as their latest Cedille album—highlights works by living women composers in the United Kingdom, including new pieces by Shirley Thompson OBE and Errollyn Wallen CBE, who was recently named Master of the King’s Music to succeed Dame Judith Weir and become just the second woman to hold the honorary role.

The Black Oak Ensemble—comprising Lincoln Trio members violinist Desirée Ruhstrat and cellist David Cunliffe with violist Aurélien Fort Pederzoli, a founding member of the Spektral Quartet, each a Grammy-nominated group—earned immediate critical acclaim from the likes of Gramophone and Strings magazines with their debut album Silenced Voices, spotlighting music by Jewish composers who lost their lives or livelihood during the Holocaust. London’s Times has lauded the trio’s “fierce eloquence,” and their recordings have been featured on BBC Radio 3 and Sirius XM. Their most recent collection, 2022’s Avant l’orage, reached number one on the Billboard Classical chart, was an Album of the Week on Sirius XM’s Symphony Hall, and earned a 2023 International Chamber Music Award nomination.