A Pantoum is a poetic form of Malaysian origin that arrived in France in the 19thcentury with the orientalist artistic movement, in which two ideas, one picturesque anddescriptive, the other intimate and sentimental, are constantly intertwined.
This literary and artistic movement greatly influenced French music at the turn of the 20th century (so much so that the second movement of Ravel's trio, entitled 'Pantoum', is directly inspired by its formal and thematic rules). In 2016, Hugo Meder (violin), Bo-Geun Park (cello) and Virgile Roche (piano) founded the Trio Pantoum while still in their first year at the Paris Conservatoire, and it has since established itself as one of the most promising European chamber music ensembles of its generation.
Rapidly developing an exceptional symbiosis both on and off stage, these brilliant young musicians pursued their shared passion for chamber music, seeking the ideal balance between cohesion and individual expression. They embarked on a thorough study of the chamber music repertoire for strings and piano at the Paris Conservatoire, in the prestigious masterclasses of the Trio Wanderer, Claire Désert and François Salque. Since 2022 Hugo, Bo-Geun and Virgile are Artists in Residence at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Waterloo (Belgium) under the direction of Miguel Da Silva, Corina Belcea and Jean-Claude Vanden Eynden.
Hugo, Bo-Geun and Virgile have also received advice from many internationally renowned musicians such as Günter Pichler, Irvine Arditti, Alasdair Tait, Mathieu Herzog, Alexis Galpérine, Emmanuel Strosser, Jérôme Pernoo, Jonas Vitaud, and Xavier Gagnepain (among others), and have met prominent members of the Ébène, Modigliani and Diotima Quartets during masterclasses at the Paris Conservatoire and at the Music Chapel. Under the auspices of the ECMA (European Chamber Music Academy) programme, they have also worked with Hatto Beyerle (Alban Berg String Quartet), Johannes Meissl (Artis Quartet), Antonio Meneses (Beaux-Arts Trio), Patrick Jüdt, Avedis Kouyoumdjian, Louise Hopkins, and members of the Talich, Meta4 and Škampa Quartets... In 2021, the trio became an Ensemble of the ECMA, which led to further training opportunities with the greatest European teachers, and to performance opportunities in some of the continent's most prestigious venues such as Solti Hall in Budapest or MIRY Conzertsaal in Gent.
The trio was awarded first prize and two special prizes at the ‘Trio di Trieste’ International Chamber Music Competition, and third prize (first prize not awarded) at the Joseph Joachim International Chamber Music Competition in Weimar in 2022, a unanimous first prize at the FNAPEC European Chamber Music Competition, and the ‘Prix d’Honneur’ at the Léopold Bellan International Competition in 2021, second prize at the International Chamber Music Competition of Illzach in 2019... In addition, Hugo Meder and Virgile Roche, this time as a duo, won second prize at the Lyon International Chamber Music Competition in 2021.
The trio has performed at the Philharmonie de Paris (Grand Salle Pierre Boulez) and in many Parisian and French concert halls, but also at the Festival International de Piano de la Roque d'Anthéron as an ensemble in residence, in Italy (Trieste, Gorizia, Spoleto…), in Belgium (Flagey in Brussels, Gent, Waterloo, Hoeilaart…), in Norway as part of the Trondheim International Chamber Music Festival, in England in the auditorium of the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, in Switzerland in the Great Hall of the Hochschule der Künste Bern, in Germany, in Austria... In January 2021, the trio was invited to perform live on French radio (‘Générations France Musique: le live’). The trio performed alongside artists such as Pierre Fouchenneret (violin), Paul Zientara (viola), Ann Lepage (clarinet), Aleksandra Dzenisenia (cimbalom), the Nerida Quartet…
The Trio Pantoum are Artists in Residence at the ProQuartet – European Chamber Music Centre for the 2021-2022 season.
Hugo Meder and Bo-Geun Park both play French instruments, a ‘Gand et Bernardel’ violin from 1884 and the Bernardel ‘Ex-Navarra’ cello from 1861, kindly lent by the Zilber Vatelot Rampal Foundation. The trio is generously supported by the Safran Foundation for Music and the Peters Foundation.
In 2023, the Trio Pantoum is the only French trio selected for the semi-final round of the Joseph Haydn International Chamber Competition in Vienna (in March), but also for the International Competitions of Osaka (in May) and Melbourne (in July). The trio will also perform many times in France, Italy, Belgium, Austria, Hungary…
