The Amatis Trio was founded in 2014 and is based in Salzburg, Austria. The violinist Lea Hausmann, cellist Samuel Shepherd, and pianist Mengjie Han are celebrated for their energy, insight, creativity, communication and passion. The trio is regarded as one of the leading ensembles of its generation.
The Amatis Trio has performed in 45 countries across 5 continents and has won many major international competitions and awards. They are former BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists and were selected as ECHO Rising Stars (European Concert Hall Organisation) by Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Köln Philharmonie, Festspielhaus Baden-Baden and Dortmund Konzerthaus. The trio has been awarded some of the most prestigious music prizes from around the world including the Kersjesprijs of the Netherlands and the Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship award.
In addition to performances in many of the worlds leading festivals including the BBC Proms, Verbier Festival, Switzerland and the Edinburgh International Festival, the trio are regularly invited as soloists in triple concerto repertoire, appearing with orchestras such as the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Wales and Frankfurt Museums Orchestra. They are currently 'Artists in Residence at Cambridge University and appointees of the Irene R Miller Piano Trio Residency at the University of Toronto, Canada.
The Amatis Trio released their debut CD on AVI Records featuring the music of Enescu, Ravel and Britten. The disc received high praise amongst critics and earned the ensemble inclusion in Gramophone Magazines 'Artists to Watch`.
Their strong commitment to contemporary music led the trio to form the ‘Dutch Piano Trio Composition Prize’, aimed at encouraging young composers to expand the piano trio repertoire. Since it's inception they have commissioned and premiered 15 contemporary pieces, most recently Moorlands, a work by Swedish composer Andrea Tarrodi.
The trio worked under the guidance of the Hagen Quartet, Wolfgang Redik, Hatto Beyerle, Claus-Christian Schuster and Menahem Pressler. They studied at institutions such as Mozarteum University, Hanns Eisler Berlin and are formers members of ECMA (European Chamber Music Academy). Since 2019 they are guest faculty at Cambridge University UK and frequently teach masterclasses across Europe and Asia.
Prize-winning accolades include the 2018 Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition, the 2018 International Joseph Haydn Competition in Vienna, the International Joseph Joachim Competition in Weimar, Germany.
Both Lea and Sam play on very fine Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume instruments kindly loaned by generous patrons through the Beares International Violin Society.
