Today we’d like to introduce you to Linda Grieser.
Hi Linda, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
The trio got started in 1985 when Kathy, a flutist, asked me to play for a perfume promotion in downtown Cincinnati. I really didn’t want to start working with someone new, which required rehearsing and learning new music, but another harpist encouraged me to, so I reluctantly said yes. Kathy was already working with Mike, a cellist, whenever possible because she had a crush on him, so that was the first time the 3 of us played together. We all got along with lots of joking and laughing, and we loved the sound of the flute, harp, and cello together. So, after that gig, whenever we got a call for a wedding, party, or another event, we recommended the trio, and it took off. We played for numerous weddings, religious services, and concert series, becoming great friends over the years. In 1990, Mike became the principal cello of the Virginia Symphony, and Kathy and Mike, now married, moved there. I worked with other musicians in the area, but because of our friendship, the trio still got together for concerts and weddings in Ohio and Virginia. Many of our clients asked if we had a recording for sale, so we decided to make a CD, Stillpoint. We thought we’d give it to friends and clients (and maybe have some sitting in the closet for years), but in 6 weeks, we sold 1,000 and had to order more. We continued to get together 4 to 5 times a year to learn new music, rehearse, and record. We eventually made 4 more CDs—Sanctuary, Winter Gift, Evensong, and Celtic Heart, selling over 50,000 CDs. With more people listening online, we decided to record digital singles exclusively. Our music has been streamed millions of times on digital platforms, such as Spotify, Apple Music, and Pandora. On Pandora alone, we have had over 30 million streams.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Being separated by 600 miles was a definite challenge! But with family and friends in the Cincinnati area, Mike and Kathy visited often. In the early years, making arrangements was complicated. I would record myself playing an accompaniment, send it to Kathy and Mike, and they would write their parts by playing along with the tape, painstakingly stopping, notating music, and rewinding to do it again. Then when we got together, we often had less than a week to work on the pieces as an ensemble before a performance or recording. When Finale came out, it made the arranging process so much easier and enabled us to send music back and forth via computer and try out arrangements separately before an actual get-together.
Recording was a new experience for all of us as well. The first CD was very nerve-wracking, trying to play well every take and knowing one mistake meant another try. Tuning the harp with 46 strings and keeping it in tune for a long session was a constant consideration compared to the cello with only 4 strings.
Creating the music was somewhat natural, but marketing our music was a new experience. We learned to call people we didn’t know to see if they’d stock our CDs, something that felt uncomfortable at first. Eventually, we had CDs in 20 stores, and keeping them stocked took some time.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
There’s very little original music written for harp, flute, and cello. When we first started working together, we adapted flute and piano music mostly, giving the melody to the flute, the bass line to the cello, and the accompaniment to the harp. To make things more interesting, we started splitting the melody between instruments and began writing our own counter melodies, descants, and interludes. The next step was to create an arrangement from scratch. We chose Shenandoah, picked a key, and started playing and trying different things, writing down ideas as we went. It was incredibly fun to create together as a group. You can hear the finished product on Sanctuary, our second CD. These experiences gave us more confidence in writing music, and I composed a harp solo for Evensong, our fourth CD, and another one for digital release this year. Kathy and Mike each wrote a piece for the trio recently, Remembrance, and Longing, respectively. Those tunes can be heard on Spotify, Pandora, Apple Music, Youtube, and iTunes.
Who else deserves credit in your story?
We have been incredibly lucky to have had John Burgess ( Sound Foundry Productions ) as our recording engineer and producer from the very first CD. He is an excellent musician with an incredible ear, helping us with tuning, dynamics, and phrasing. John can hear when we’re getting tired during a recording session and need advice or a break. Then he manages to edit and put together the various takes into a seamless performance. We have said many times that we’re really the Adagio Quartet because, without John, the finished product wouldn’t be anywhere near as beautiful. We’ve also had the support of our local radio stations, especially WGUC in Cincinnati. They’ve supported us from the start by playing our music and offering our CDs for fundraising gifts for many years.
We’re very fortunate to have had the support of our parents, who provided for instruments and music lessons when we were young, and our families, who listened to hours of rehearsals and came to many, many concerts over the years!
Ultimately, what keeps us playing together is our friendship, the fun we have working together, and our love of music. We’re very grateful!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.adagiotrio.com
- Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/adagiotrio
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/adagiotrio
- Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/adagiotrio
- Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/adagiotrio
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-234479650
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/05Wvsl1ApqFFOed5dkCTzy?si=3MMR5emkSri6XQNLgX5OeA
Image Credits
Eva Daniels
