Play it Forward Residency
For over a decade, the Festival together with the BSO has brought an emerging chamber ensemble to Bellingham in its Play it Forward Chamber Residency. Every year in the month of March, the Festival finances, houses, and transports young musicians from the prestigious Colburn Conservatory in Los Angeles, to Bellingham where they perform masterclasses, classroom outreach, and concerts throughout our Whatcom County middle and high schools.
Trio Azura
Meet and Greet
Sunday, March 8, 2026 • 3:00pm
Open to the public | Free
Concert
Saturday, March 14, 2026 • 7:00pm
Sehome High School
2700 Bill McDonald Parkway
Bellingham, WA 98225
$15 suggested donation, students free
Trio Azura was founded in 2022 at the Colburn Conservatory of Music in Los Angeles, California. The ensemble consists of Canadian violinist Duncan McDougall, South Korean cellist Yejin Hong, and Chinese pianist Yanfeng (Tony) Bai. Beginning in August 2025, they will be the Ensemble in Residence and Colburn Artists at the Colburn School, studying under esteemed faculty members Jonathan Brown, Fabio Bidini, Martin Beaver, and Clive Greensmith.
The Trio won the Grand Prize and Gold Medal at the 51st Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. In addition, they received the Lift Every Voice Prize for the best performance of a work by an underrepresented composer, as well as the Horszowski Trio Prize. They are also prize winners at the Schoenfeld International String Competition in Harbin, China. In 2023, Trio Azura took part in the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena, Italy, where they were awarded the “Rotary Club Siena” prize and performed in recital with renowned cellist Clive Greensmith. They have participated in masterclasses with internationally acclaimed artists, such as Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Orion Weiss, Pedja Mužijević, Arnaud Sussman, Nicholas Tzavaras, and the Horszowski Trio.
During the 2024-25 season, Trio Azura completed their Fischoff Double Gold Tour across the US Midwest, where they gave workshops and masterclasses for over 500 middle school and high school students in Indiana and Michigan. They also undertook a week-long residency at the American University of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, which was a unique opportunity for cultural exchange with Arabic poets. Other season highlights included appearances at the Chamber Music American National conference, La Jolla Music Society, The Music Guild, Friends of Chamber Music of Troy, New York, a full Baroque recital at the Boston Court in Pasadena, Emerging Artists at the Mimir Festival in Fort Worth, and a recital tour at the Emilia Romagna Festival in Italy.
Trio Azura’s upcoming engagements in 2025-2026 season include appearances at the Brisbane Festival in Australia, Nevada Chamber Music Festival, South Bay Chamber Music Society, Pelican Chamber Concerts, and the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Belgium.