Mark Kaplan (BM '76, violin) found his world shaken when a sudden illness felled a member of his well-known ensemble in its prime. He shares the story of how he carried on with The Juilliard Journal.

The piano trio Sequenza is a new ensemble, yet also one that continues the distinguished tradition of the Golub-Kaplan-Carr Trio. The G-K-C Trio was formed 20 years ago when David Golub and I, who had started playing together at Juilliard, joined forces with British cellist Colin Carr, who was then on his first American tour after winning the Naumburg Competition. Last year-after many concerts, recordings, and wonderful times-that trio came to a sudden end with David's tragic and unexpected death of cancer.

Friends were soon asking Colin and me about our future plans, but for quite some time we really had none, and it was not clear that we would or even could carry on. We were finally able to continue when- together with the brilliant young Israeli pianist Yael Weiss-we found just the right combination of personalities. Yael, a protégé of Leon Fleisher and Richard Goode, is known both for her solo and chamber music performances, and with her we are once again discovering new perspectives and fresh wonders in the music we play.

As with any birth, one of our first priorities was to choose a name. Of course, we could have chosen Weiss-Kaplan-Carr, but we had an urge to find something new, a tacit acknowledgement that the group had not "replaced" one pianist with another (and a departure from the slightly awkward three-name formula, with its legal-team image). After considering and rejecting dozens of possibilities, "Sequenza" seemed to ring true. We are pleased that it looks towards the future, pleased also with its literal meaning of "following"-from one group to the next, and, in our programming, from one piece to the next. Also, since we plan to include a 20th- or 21st-century work in most of our programs, we like Sequenza's associations with contemporary music.

The omission of the word "Trio" from the name is deliberate. Naturally, the trio literature will form the core of our work together; however, we plan to offer other repertoire as well. By including guest artists in some of our tours, we will present works for more than three players; and Sequenza will also offer concerts in which trios are complemented by works for fewer than three players, using the resources of the group to present provocative and exciting programs. We hope to make ourselves known for a flexibility and creativity that go beyond the conventional, and are reflected both in our choices of music and in our interpretations.