Meet the Congaree Trio
Claire Bryant, Phillip Bush, & Ari Streisfeld
About
Named after the 53-mile river formed by the convergence of the Saluda and Broad Rivers that flows from Columbia to Charleston, the Congaree Trio was formed in 2021 by University of South Carolina faculty members Phillip Bush, Ari Streisfeld, and Claire Bryant. United by a shared vision, the trio is committed to performing music that spans generations—championing living composers, seminal contemporary works, and overlooked gems from the past. With a spirit of convergence at its core, Congaree seeks to expand the traditional piano trio repertoire while celebrating its rich history. Collectively, its members have performed on leading concert stages worldwide, holding membership with esteemed ensembles such as JACK Quartet, Phillip Glass ensemble, and Decoda, among others. The members of the Congaree Trio appear on numerous acclaimed recordings across both contemporary and classical traditions.
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Acclaimed as "a pianist of poetry, elegance, and power" (American Record Guide), "a pianist of exceptional, cherishable finesse" (Los Angeles Times), and "one of those rare pianists who combine structural intelligence with a hundred color gradations" (Village Voice), Phillip Bush has established a performing career over the past three decades that is noted for its remarkable versatility and eclecticism, with a repertoire extending from the 16th century to the 21st. Since the launch of his career upon winning the American Pianists Association Fellowship Award and subsequent New York recital debut at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1984, Mr. Bush has appeared as recitalist throughout North America as well as in Europe, Asia and the Caribbean.
A veteran chamber musician, Phillip Bush has performed and recorded with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, appeared frequently on Brooklyn's Bargemusic series, and has performed at the Grand Canyon Music Festival, Newport Music Festival, Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival, Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival, Strings in the Mountains (Colorado), Sitka Music Festival (Alaska), St. Bart's Music Festival, Music at Blair Atholl (Scotland), Cape May Music Festival, and at many other festivals. Mr. Bush has also made guest appearances with the Kronos, Miami, Parker, Jupiter, Lutoslawski, and Carpe Diem string quartets, and has performed with members of the Emerson, Guarneri, Tokyo, Orion and St. Lawrence quartets.
A devoted advocate for contemporary music, Phillip Bush performed worldwide for 20 years with both the Philip Glass Ensemble and Steve Reich and Musicians, in venues ranging from the Sydney Opera House to the Acropolis in Athens. Mr. Bush is a graduate of the Peabody Conservatory, where he studied with Leon Fleisher. From 2000 to 2004, Mr. Bush taught piano and chamber music at the University of Michigan, and he has also served as Visiting Faculty at the University of North Carolina. Since 2012 Phillip Bush has been Professor of Piano and Chamber Music at the University of South Carolina School of Music, and serves as Artistic Director of the annual Southeastern Piano Festival.
Praised for his “dazzling performance” by the New York Times and “scintillating playing” by New York Classical Review, violinist Ari Streisfeld has quickly established himself as a leader in contemporary classical music. A founding member of the internationally acclaimed JACK Quartet, Ari has performed in the world’s leading concert halls and festivals. He has collaborated with many of today’s most prominent composers including John Luther Adams, Caroline Shaw, Julia Wolfe, and has recorded for Mode, Albany, Carrier, Innova, Cantaloupe, New Focus, and New World Records.
Together with his wife, mezzo-soprano Rachel Calloway, Ari formed Duo Cortona, a contemporary music ensemble dedicated to the creation of new works for the unique instrumentation of mezzo-soprano and violin. He is also a member of Shir Ami, an ensemble dedicated to the performance and preservation of Jewish art music.
A passionate and committed music educator, Ari is currently Associate Professor of Violin and Violin Pedagogy at the University of South Carolina School of Music, Music Director for Point CounterPoint (Vermont), and Artistic Director for the Cortona Sessions for New Music (Netherlands). He previously taught violin and chamber music at New York’s Special Music School, Face the Music, and New Music on the Point.
Ari performs on a beautiful Benjamin Ruth violin made in 1997 and a bow crafted by bowmaker Gilles Nehr in 2024. He holds degrees from the Eastman School of Music (Bachelor of Music), Northwestern University (Master of Music), and Boston University (Doctor of Musical Arts). His teachers include Zvi Zeitlin, Almita Vamos, and Peter Zazofsky.
A sought-after and distinctive performer, cellist Claire Bryant has collaborated with such master artists as Emanuel Ax, Sir Simon Rattle and Dawn Upshaw, and worked closely with luminary composers from Meredith Monk to Max Richter to Herbie Hancock. Over the past 25 years, she has enjoyed a prominent solo career, appearing with major orchestras around the world including the Spartanburg Symphony Orchestra, Finland’s Kuopio Symphony Orchestra and The National Symphony of Honduras.
Claire is a co-founder and former co-artistic director of Decoda, Carnegie Hall’s Affiliate Ensemble, and founder of its initiative Music for Transformation, a social justice program which brings collaborative songwriting workshops to incarcerated communities. In this capacity, she was invited twice to share Decoda’s work with the Obama administration in the White House.
In 2019, Claire returned to her native South Carolina to join the University of South Carolina School of Music’s faculty, where she enjoys a robust studio of talented young cellists. She is the coordinator of community engagement for the School of Music, and is the director of The Collective, a graduate ensemble dedicated to creative and innovative community performances and programming.
Claire attended the University of South Carolina, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and The Juilliard School, where her primary teachers were Robert Jesselson, Joel Krosnick, and Bonnie Hampton. She was the first cellist chosen for Carnegie Hall’s Ensemble Connect, a post-graduate fellowship preparing young professional artists for careers that combine musical excellence with teaching, community engagement, advocacy, entrepreneurship, and leadership. Claire plays on two fine instruments on loan from the generous Five Partners Foundation: a Jason Viseltear from 2016 and a Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume from 1842.
All photos of Congaree Trio by Ebonn Yvonne Photography