Last Sunday, The Colgate Memorial Chapel welcomed three world class musicians to play a concert appropriately titled Winter Warmth. Violinist Laura Klugherz, pianist Christine Diwyk, and cellist Florent Renard- Payen showed us musicianship at its best. They played impressive works from influential composers such as; Felix Mendelssohn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Bohuslav Martinu. From the start, it was apparent that we were in the presence of true artists and their sensitivity to all of the musical twists and turns in the flawless arrangements attested to that fact.

It all began with Mozart’s (1756-1791) Trio K. 502. The movement began with the piano setting the tone of the piece. The piece was friendly and joyous, gracefully moving from slow to fast, each movement starting with piano and eventually incorporating the sounds of the violin and the cello.

The melodies in the piece were beautiful and the audience sat in awe as they were taken on a whimsical ride that concluded elegantly, followed by roaring applause. Perhaps the most impressive part of this segment and the subsequent segments of this concert was the cohesive harmony of all three instruments. Not only were the artists playing their parts in the piece, but they were very attentive to the other instruments as well.

Next was Bohuslav Martinu’s (1890-1959) Duo No.1. It was a very exciting piece with several different changes in style occurring throughout the movements. The harmonies in this piece were very different from those of the previous piece.

In this arrangement, the instruments seemed to be fighting against each other and the dissonance created by this struggle erupted into a beautiful, dramatic sound that was received well by the attentive audience.

After a very brief intermission, the talented artists took the stage once more. Their final piece was Felix Mendelssohn’s Trio Op. 66. The audience was blown away by the variations between each beautiful movement in the piece. The first movement was dramatic and elicited a feeling of urgency, and the next movement was softer and more aria-like in contrast to the previous. To the end, the final movement was piercing and joyful, which, in a way, combined the emotions of both of the movements before it.

Winter Warmth turned out to be a concert worth attending, and it was definitely a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon. The audience warmly cheered the muscicians as they smiled and humbly exited the stage.

“I didn’t think I was going to enjoy as much as I did,” first-year Max Miller commented.

No matter what your musical tastes, Colgate has something for you. Every Sunday, concerts are held in the Chapel, free of charge. Don’t be afraid to get out of the cold and into some sweet music.