POINT LOOKOUT, MO. — On Wednesday, Feb. 25, guest artist Fuse Trio will perform in Newman Recital Hall, located in the Gittinger Music Center at College of the Ozarks, at 7 p.m. as part of the College of the Ozarks 2025-26 featured guest artists series.

The concert is free and open to the public. Seating is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Fuse Trio formed in 2014 with the purpose of commissioning, premiering and performing “crossover” works for saxophone, clarinet and piano. The group made its debut at the 2014 North American Saxophone Alliance Conference at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, premiering Upon Finding Absence by Christian Ellenwood. In 2015, Fuse premiered pieces written for them by Phil Woods and Paquito D ’Rivera at the 17th World Saxophone Congress in Strasbourg, France. Other performances have taken the group throughout the Midwest and to the International Clarinet Association’s Clarinet Fest 2017 in Orlando, Florida. Future projects and concerts include new commissions by Victor Goines of Jazz at Lincoln Center and David Bixler of New York City. For more information, visit fusetrio.com.

“We play premieres of composers that write pieces for us. Almost everything that we play is written for us,” pianist Clara Christian said. “Our group likes to mix classical and jazz music. ‘Upon Finding Absence,’ the final piece will incorporate the hymn “Amazing Grace.’”

Program 

“Capriccio” (2015), John Heins (b. 1956)

“Postcards from Silver Lake” (2010), Mark Carlson (b. 1952)

I. “Full Moon over Mt. Baldy”

II. “Late at Night”

III. “The Good Life”

“Chasing after Mist” (2020), David Bixler

(World Premiere)

“Concision” (2020), Carlson (b. 1983)

(First Performance)

“Upon Finding Absence” (2014), Christian K. Ellenwood (b. 1970)

More about the artists of Fuse Trio

Saxophonist Matthew Sintchak has performed throughout North America, Asia and Europe. As an avid supporter of contemporary music, Sintchak has commissioned and premiered more than 100 new works for the instrument, including pieces by Libby Larsen, Joan Tower, Jacob TV, Phil Woods, David Amram, Yehuda Yannay, Roscoe Mitchell, David Dramm, Gunther Schuller and Yoshihisa Hirano. Besides solo performances, he is a member of the Ancia Saxophone Quartet, Fuse Trio (saxophone, clarinet and piano), Vent Trio (saxophone, flute and clarinet), Sonict Duo (saxophone, electronics and video), and Present Music. As an orchestral musician, Sintchak has worked with the Hartford, Portland (Maine), Rochester, Milwaukee and Madison symphonies. Sintchak studied at the Eastman School of Music (DMA, MM, performer’s certificate), the Paris Conservatory and the New England Conservatory of Music (BM). He is professor of saxophone at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and is a Conn-Selmer and Vandoren artist and clinician. He has recorded for the Naxos, Innova, Albany, Zimbel and the University of Iowa Composers’ labels.

David Gould is bass clarinetist with the American Ballet Theatre Orchestra in New York City. He has performed with the American Symphony Orchestra, the Baltimore Symphony, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Dallas Symphony, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Metropolitan Opera, the National Symphony Orchestra, the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, the New York City Ballet, the New York Philharmonic, L’Orchestre National de France and the Philadelphia Orchestra. He has played clarinet, E-flat clarinet, basset clarinet, basset horn, bass clarinet and contrabass clarinet. Gould has given master classes, concerts and lectures at schools including the Boston Conservatory, the Colburn School, the Eastman School of Music, Indiana University, the Juilliard School, the Manhattan School of Music, New England Conservatory and the University of Michigan. Gould is a graduate of the Juilliard School and was awarded the Harriet Hale Woolley Scholarship to study music in France. He is a unanimous first prize winner from the Conservatoire National de Region de Versailles in France. He studied with Michel Arrignon, Philippe Cuper, Stanley Drucker, Jacques Lancelot and David Weber. Gould is a performing artist and clinician for Buffet Crampon and Vandoren Paris.

Pianist Dr. Clara Christian is professor of music and piano program director at College of the Ozarks, where her students have won both state and national awards. Prior to College of the Ozarks, she taught at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and Northwestern University’s Music Academy in Evanston, Illinois. Active as a clinician and adjudicator, she serves on the executive board of the Missouri Music Teachers Association.

Christian has performed at venues such as the Chicago Cultural Center and the Jaani Kirik Concert Series in St. Petersburg, Russia, and has given performances in Strasbourg, France, and Sondershausen, Germany. She received her Doctor of Musical Arts degree at Northwestern University with Alan Chow, studied piano pedagogy with Marcia Bosits, and earned a Master of Music degree with Ellen Mack at the Peabody Institute. Her Bachelor of Music degree in piano performance is from Wheaton College, where she studied with Daniel Horn. Her awards include the Chicago Musician’s Club of Women, Elaine and Jerome Nerenberg Scholarship and top prize in piano; being selected as a 2022 finalist for the American Prize in Piano Performance, professional division; and performing as a semifinalist in the 2017 Franz Liszt Festival and International Competition.

Recent performances include a solo appearance with the Missouri Philharmonic Orchestra, various guest artist concerts throughout the United States, and participating in the semifinal round for the Music International Grand Prix. In addition to giving solo performances, she is a frequent collaborative artist and has given several premieres with her trio, Fuse. She is currently working on a project of all newly commissioned music and, in 2026-27, will give four premieres of new music written for her by American composers. For more information, visit clarachristian.com.

The above press release is from College of the Ozarks.