The members of Aureole are Laura Gilbert, flute, Mary Hammann, viola, and Stacey Shames, harp.Their concerts and recordings also include a wide variety of popular and folk music from the Celtic, Latin, Indian, Baroque and Classical traditions. Inspired by the combination, some of the most imaginative and creative musicians and composers of our time -- Ravi Shankar, George Tsontakis, Jacob Druckman and Roberto Sierra-- have masterfully composed and arranged for Aureole. The repertoire also includes many significant and powerful works by Twentieth Century composers, including Claude Debussy, Sofia Gubaidulina, Sir Richard Rodney Bennett, Sir John Tavener, Toru Takemitsu, Harrison Birtwistle and Kaiji Saariaho.
Aureole's performances include concerts at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Guggenheim Museum, The National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC to celebrate the opening of the Barnes Collection, The Philadelphia Museum of Art, in conjunction with the Cezanne retrospective, and Weill and Merkin Halls in New York City.
In addition, the trio has toured extensively and has recently been
presented by the Saint Louis and Chicago Chamber Music Societies.
In the past few seasons Aureole has appeared on A&E Television
Network's "Holiday in New York", with soprano Heidi Grant Murphy, on
the Bravo Television Network, and on many "Performance Today"
broadcasts including a "Performance Today" special Christmas Eve
broadcast. Aureole's debut disc, "Aureole" was short listed for a Grammy Award in the best Chamber Music Performance category.
Reviews
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Celtic Grace: Airs, Dances and Ballads from Ireland
by Stephen Eddins | allmusic.com
The Auréole Trio consists of flutist Laura Gilbert, violist Mary Hammann, and harpist Stacey Shames, an instrumental combination ideal for Irish folk music. For a classical ensemble to keep its performances from sounding stilted and drained of spontaneity, it's crucial to stay close to the music's folk roots, and the self-effacing arrangements Auréole uses are completely successful at that, avoiding any fanciness and letting the music speak for itself more
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Chamber moms
by CLAIRE WHITCOMB | Victoria magasine
In the recording studio in Astoria Queens, a Mexican love song by classical composer Roberto Sierra has just breathed its way up to heaven. Take thirty-nine is over.The flute, viola and harp are low- ered. Three pairs of eyes-those of Laura Gilbert, Mary Hammann and Stacey Shames-turn to the glass- walled sound booth. Insides surrounded by a spaceship's worth of buttons, sits producer Susan DelGiorno. She switches on her mike and relays the news that in the second measure, indiscernible to most of humankind, a triplet played by the flute and the viola wasn't in time. more
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Heidi Grant Murphy - DREAMSCAPE
Lullabies from around the world
Aureole Trioby J.S.L. | Opera News
It's becoming the thing among singers with children to package lullaby albums (mezzo Angelika Kirchschlager, pop artist Shawn Colvin), and lullabies certainly represent the locus where being a singer and being a parent intersect. From the kid-friendly design and the program notes, it is clear that this collection is intended as a commercial product rather than a recital disc, so I decided to test drive it on my three year-old. He was out like a light by the fourth cut, but I found that the repertory and arrangements commanded my attention.
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Sweet, charming trio really dark, tragic
by Harold Duckett | Oak Ridge Times
One would think that an ensemble combining the sweet sounds, of the flute and harp, by a slightly somber viola , would be the focus of light, charming music.
But as the beautifully played concert in Oak Ridge on Sat- urday night by the well-known A ureole trio illustrated, music written for the combination of the three voices often explores dark, sometimes tragic and al- ways intriguing subject. more
