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Rhinoceri Trio and Diane Monroe Duo

Presented by Crossroads Music at Crossroads Music

April 2, 2011

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Rhinoceri Trio: Jazz piano trio
The Rhinoceri Trio is pleased to announce the upcoming release of their debut album “Libera Me.”

Diane Monroe: Classical violinist, crossover and jazz artist
“Her technique is impeccable and her improvisations rich and imaginative. She and the group gave a performance equal to any. And it really swung.” – All About Jazz

The Rhinoceri Trio is named for one of the more ponderous beasts of the primeval forest: a weighty creature, wrinkled, stubborn and terrifying to behold. It is the Rhino’s heroic effort to overcome the weightiness of his own power that renders him capable of such tragic and potent expressions of the human condition. The Trio explores these contradictions in their own unusual way. On the side of the weighty and ponderous they have appropriated the classic works of Wagner, Bach, Faure and Debussy. But these musics are heard in altered form, echoing through the primeval forest with all the wild cries of monkeys, 7/8 coceks, lions, Afro-Cuban grooves, swing and 11/8 Macedonian dances. The circular temporal logic of the African tradition is broken, bent into a through-composed arc. Throughout it all runs that secret song of the jungle, the DNA of all musical traditions. In the material plane the Rhinoceri Trio takes the physical form of Brendan Cooney at the piano, Chris Coyle on the bass and Gregg Mervine on the drums.

Brendan Cooney is a pianist, banjoist, trombonist, composer and teacher living in West Philly. He plays baritone in the West Philadelphia Orchestra, banjo in the City Wide Specials and Noggin Hill and piano in the Rhinoceri Trio. Brendan recently launched the website shoutchorusmusic.com to publish his numerous pieces for student choirs and instrumental combinations. He has worked as a horn and string arranger for Dr. Dog, Buried Beds, Rick Berlin and others. As a piano teacher he specializes in the Taubman Approach to Coordinate Technique. Prior to his Taubman studies Brendan received his BM from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music as well as a BA in politics. In his spare time he blogs about left political economy at kapitalism101.wordpress.com and has shared panels on the economic crisis with such luminous/controversial figures as Andrew Kliman, Rick Wolfe and Alan Freeman.

Chris Coyle has been an active part of Philadelphia’s music scene since 2006. He’s had the opportunity to play with jazz greats (John Swana, Matt Davis, Steve Giordano), innovative singer-songwriters (Keisha Hutchins, Gillian Grassie), and an array of unique bands and projects (Son Step, Old Goats, Noggin Hill). Some of the venues he’s performed at include World Cafe Live, Tin Angel, the Kimmel Center, Ortliebs, Carnegie Hall, Joe’s Pub in NYC…Chris gathers his inspiration from mediums and styles of all kinds, musical and otherwise. When not performing Chris is usually found teaching, writing and composing, eating falafel, and also socializing with some creative Philadelphians.

Gregg Mervine plays drums and composes. From the Philadelphia area, he came up listening and learning from jazz drummers like Mickey Roker and Edgar Bateman. Gregg has played in numerous projects spanning several genres including: anti-folkers Cheese on Bread and alt-rock Dr. Dog; klezmer groups like Klez Dispensers, Alicia Svigals and Shtreiml; brass bands like West Philadelphia Orchestra and Panomara Brass Band; reggae/dancehall groups King Django and Ari Up and the True Warriors and Brazilian groups like Old Goats, Pife Perfumado, Chico Correa e Electronic Band, and Fernanda Cabral. He plays drumset, pandeiro, Turkish darbuka, tapan, guitars, and pifano (Brazilian cane-flute). For his compositional work, he’s recieved 2 grants from American Composers’ Forum’s Subito program, and he’s been commissioned by Gas and Electric Arts to compose music for their theater production, Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins.

Violinist Diane Monroe bridges the traditions of classical composition and jazz improvisation. A Pennsylvania Performing Arts on Tour roster artist, she performs her own solo, duo, trio, and quartet projects, and appears as a guest artist with classical and contemporary chamber ensembles, orchestras, and jazz ensembles throughout the United States. Her guest soloist credits include appearances at Carnegie Hall, Zurich Switzerland’s Tonhalle, Alice Tully Hall, the Apollo Theater, and the Kennedy Center. In addition, she is active as a composer, recording artist, and educator.

As a chamber artist, Monroe has performed with Arnold Steinhardt, Yo-Yo Ma, and Cecil Licad. She was a member of the Beaumont String Quartet, and co-founded both the Kasimir String and Amabile Piano Quartets. As a guest, she appears regularly with the Ritz Chamber Players, Lyrica Chamber Players, and the Oregon String Quartet. Monroe has attended the Marlboro, Caramoor, and Sitka chamber music festivals.

As an improviser, she has toured for over a decade as first violinist of the Max Roach Double Quartet and the Uptown String Quartet. She performed extensively as a member of the String Trio of New York, and has performed on stage with renowned jazz artists such as Max Roach, Percy Heath, John Blake, Dave Grusin, Joe Lovano, Reggie Workman, Wycliff Gordon, Uri Caine, Jim Ridl, and Tom Lawton.

Monroe is frequently called upon to premiere new works by composers such as David Baker, Andrew Rudin and Anthony Davis. Last season she premiered the new solo violin works of composers Andrew Rudin and Steven Sametz with Philadelphia’s Orchestra 2001, and the Lehigh University Orchestras. She has been featured in new music ensembles such as Bang on a Can All Stars and the Relache Contemporary Ensemble. Her own compositions have been commissioned by music and theater ensembles such as The Core Ensemble, Relache, and the Tapit/New Works Theater Company.

As a soloist she is a guest on more than a dozen CD releases, including most recently, “The Oregon String Quartet and All That Jazz” on Koch Records. Her film credits include Wes Craven’s “Music of the Heart”, with Meryl Streep, and “Small Wonders,” an Allan Miller documentary. Her performances, compositions, and arrangements have been heard on National Public Radio, “The Cosby Show,” and “Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood.”

A master teacher and coach, Diane Monroe’s educator resume includes Oberlin Conservatory, Michigan State University, Swarthmore College, Temple University, The Opus 118 Harlem School of Music, Fiddlefest in Verbier Festival, Mark O’Connor’s Fiddle Camp, Musicopia, and The Quartet Program at the State University of New York’s Fredonia Campus. She has coached participants of the Sphinx and Fischoff competitions, and members of the Ying, Brentano, Shanghai, Anderson, and Elements string quartets.

Monroe has received many distinguished awards including the Bristol-Meyers Squibb Residency Award, the Alan and Wendy Pesky Residency Award from Lafayette College in Easton, PA, and the Robert Trotter Chair Position at the University of Oregon at Eugene. Last year she received two Creative Connections/Composer grants in one season, and she has been awarded numerous Meet the Composer.


Diane Monroe studied at Oberlin Conservatory, and Philadelphia Musical Academy earning her Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance. She continued her studies at Michigan State University and was awarded a degree in Performance from The Curtis Institute of Music. Her violin teachers were Ivan Galamian, Charles Castleman, David Cerone, Joyce Robbins, and Walter Verdehr.