Acclaimed pianist Sahung “Sam” Hong returns to Trinity Cathedral in Easton with the Trio St. Bernard to perform at 4 p.m. on Sunday, April 30. Admission is free.

The centerpiece of the program will be Gabriela Lena Frank’s Four Folk Songs that draws inspiration from melodic motifs and rhythms of her mother’s homeland in Perú.

Gabriela writes, “As an American-born Latina, so much of my understanding of this small yet culturally rich Andean nation has been necessarily dashed from within my private imagination from the time I was a young child. Frequent trips to Perú in my adulthood, always done with my mother, leave me with a sense of belonging to something larger than myself as I connect private musings with the actual existing reality.”

She adds, “Seeing the María Angola church in its highland setting after reading myths about it, for instance, makes Perú’s connection to colonial Spain that much more real; and this provides the inspiration for the first movement, “Canto para La María Angola” (“Song for the María Angola”). The universality of children playing in the streets, albeit with Peruvian toys such as wooden llamas and shakers, is portrayed in the second movement, “Children’s Dance.” The third movement, “Serenata,” is inspired by the ubiquitous guitar/charango-vocalist duo one sees in most pubs and eating houses; and the last movement harkens to Perú’s pre-Inca past in imagining the sounds of an isolated, warlike yet artistically creative culture, “Chavín de Huantar.” ”

Leading off the program will be Beethoven’s “Trio in G major,” Op. 1 No.2, including “Adagio-Allegro vivace,” “Largo con expression,” “Scherzo Allegro,” and “Finale Presto.” The finale will feature Brahms’ “Piano Trio No. 3 in C minor,” Op. 101, including “Allegro energize,” “Presto non assai,” “Andante grazioso,” and “Allegro molto.”

Trio St. Bernard was formed in the summer of 2015 at the Taos School of Music and quickly gained acclaim for its creative and energized performances of the piano trio repertoire. They have received guidance from members of the Borromeo, Shanghai, and Brentano Quartets as well as Leon Fleisher, Ida Kavafian, Robert McDonaldand Michael Tree.

The Trio’s members have performed at venues such as Carnegie’s Well Recital Hall and the Kennedy Center as well as festivals such as Ravinia’s Steans Institute, Taos, Kneisel Hall, the Perlman Music Program and the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s Chamber Music Encounters. In 2016 it was the ensemble-in-residence at the Four Seasons Chamber Music Festival where they collaborated with violist Hsin Yun Huang.

Pianist Sahun “Sam” Hong, who brings his colorful style and riveting energy to the solo, chamber and concerto stage, has been praised for his “excellent combination of virtuosity and musicality” and “lots of clarity, confidence and wisdom.” He has been featured as a guest soloist with the Milwaukee, Camerata, New York, Fort Worth, Richardson, Racine, Waco, Galveston, and Brazos Valley symphony orchestras. He has studied with John Owings, Martin Canin, Yoheved Kkaplinsky, and Leon Fleisher at the Julliard School and Peabody Institute.

Violinist Brandon Garbo is described as a “seasoned performer” with “virtuoso flair, supreme control, and exquisite shading.” He has appeared at Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall, Severance Hall, and the Kennedy Center and played with the Philadelphia Orchestra and Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. He served as concertmaster of the New York String Orchestra in 2014 and as concertmaster at the Music Academy of the West.

Cellist Zachary Mowitz is known for his “artistic integrity with a stirring, expressive spirit” and has served as principal cellist in the Curtis Symphony Orchestra. He performed chamber works in cities throughout Spain and Germany as part of Curtis on Tour. He studies with Carter Grey and Peter Wiley at the Curtis Institute of Music and plays a cello made in 1913 by Maurice Bourguignon.

Trinity Cathedral is located at 305 Goldsborough Street in Easton. This program is funded in part by a grant from the Talbot County Arts Council, with revenues provided by the Maryland State Arts Council.