Since their debut in 2008, the Almeda Trio has quickly gained attention and enthusiastic audiences in the greater Cleveland area and beyond. As trio-in-residence at The Music Settlement, the Almeda Trio has dedicated itself to performance, education, and outreach. In addition to being accomplished performing artists, members Cara Tweed (violin), Ida Mercer (cello), and Robert Cassidy (piano) are faculty members at The Music School Settlement as well as the Aurora School of Music (Tweed), Case Western Reserve University (Mercer) and Cleveland State University (Cassidy).
"...Impressive maturity, not to mention a terrific degree of togetherness... " was one of the comments expressed by CoolCleveland.com when describing the trio's 2009 CD of works by Haydn, Brahms, and Shostakovich. While possessing full command of the traditional repertoire, the Almeda Trio also offers insightful and energetic performances of a wide range of genres including contemporary, folk, and jazz.
Robert Cassidy, Pianist
Pianist Robert Cassidy has performed in solo and collaborative recitals, and with orchestra, throughout the United States and Canada. He received his Bachelors and Masters degrees in Piano Performance from the Manhattan School of Music, where he studied with Solomon Mikowsky, Constance Keene, and Marc Silverman. Subsequent studies followed with the legendary pianist Menahem Pressler at Indiana University. Dr. Cassidy holds a Doctor of Arts degree in Piano Chamber Music and Accompanying/ Piano Performance from Ball State University, where he studied with Robert Palmer.
Dr. Cassidy has appeared in such venues as New York City’s Merkin and Weill Halls, the Lyceum in Alexandria (VA), Santa Barbara City College (CA), and the Banff Centre for the Arts in Alberta, Canada. He has also been presented on radio stations WFMT in Chicago (Dame Myra Hess Series), WCLV and WCPN in Cleveland, and WNYC in New York (Around New York). A strong advocate of contemporary music, Dr. Cassidy has premiered works by the American composers David Noon and Keith Fitch. He is the pianist in the Cleveland-based, Almeda Trio and regularly performs chamber music with members of The Cleveland Orchestra.
An active and highly sought-after teacher, Dr. Cassidy has been on the keyboard faculty at Cleveland State University since 2008 and also teaches at The Music Settlement. He is a former faculty member of New York University, the University of Indianapolis, the 92nd Street Y School of Music (New York), Marian College (Indiana), Queens College Preparatory Division (New York), and Indiana University-Purdue University - Indianapolis (IUPUI), among others. He currently resides in Shaker Heights, Ohio with his wife and two daughters.
Ida Mercer, Cellist
Ida is a member of the cello faculty, and Chairman of the String Department, at the Cleveland Music School Settlement. In addition, Dr. Mercer is a cello instructor at the Cleveland Institute of Music/Case Western Reserve University. A founding member of the Cleveland Cello Society, she currently serves as its Program Chair. She is a cellist in the Cleveland Pops, was a cellist and founding board member of Red {an orchestra} from 2002 to 2008, and was Assistant Principal Cellist of the of the Opera Cleveland Orchestra (formerly the Cleveland Opera Orchestra) from 1982 to 2009. She also held the same position for the Ohio Chamber Orchestra from 1982 to 2000. Since 1990, Dr. Mercer has been a cellist in the Britt Classical Festival Orchestra, held annually in August in Jacksonville, Oregon. In 2002, the Ohio String Teacher’s Association named her “Studio Teacher of the Year” for Ohio. Dr. Mercer taught cello and music theory from 1980 to 1982 at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa. She holds a Bachelor of Music from the University of Illinois, a Masters of Music from the Yale University School of Music and her Doctorate of Music from the Cleveland Institute of Music/Case Western Reserve University. Her principal cello teachers have been Gabor Magyar, Aldo Parisot, Alan Harris, and Janos Starker. An enthusiastic gardener, quilter, and seamstress, she resides in Shaker Heights with her husband Glenn, an automotive industry analyst, and their four children, three cats, and two dogs.
Cara Tweed, Violinist
Cara, a native of Cleveland, Ohio, began studying the violin at the age of five. She is a graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Music, where her teachers included Paul Kantor, David Updegraff and David Cerone. Cara is the principal second violinist of the Opera Cleveland Orchestra and has been a member of Red {an orchestra}, City Music Cleveland and The Blossom Festival Orchestra. She has performed as a soloist with the Cleveland Philharmonic, Marion Philharmonic, the Cleveland State University Orchestra, the Suburban Symphony and the Cleveland Orchestra. Cara is a frequent chamber musician and regularly appears in concerts at Cleveland State University, The Cleveland Music School Settlement and for the Cleveland Composers Guild. She is a member of the Almeda Trio which is in residence at the Cleveland Music School Settlement. Cara was also a member of the graduate string quartet at Cleveland State University from 2004 through 2006. Cara spent three summers at the Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston, South Carolina. Previous summers were spent at the Encore School for Strings in Hudson, Ohio, and The Henry Mancini Institute in Los Angeles. Cara is a teacher as well as a performer, and is on faculty at both the Aurora School of Music and the Cleveland Music School Settlement.
In addition to multiple engagements at Cleveland State University and The Music Settlement, the trio has performed live on Cleveland radio stations WCLV, WCPN, and in venues such as Chautauqua-in-Chagrin, St. Mary’s Church (Indianapolis) and Illinois Wesleyan University. The 2010-11 season is a busy one for the Almeda Trio and includes concerts at Norfield Congregational Church (Connecticut) Ball State University (Indiana), Hiram College (Ohio), and Kent State University (Stark Campus). In May of 2011, the Trio will perform the Beethoven Triple Concerto with the Cleveland Philharmonic Orchestra. These performances will be augmented by their ongoing commitment to performing master classes and outreach programs for schools. The Almeda Trio has garnered popularity and distinction with a refreshing practice of creating a tangible relationship with audiences through engaging commentary on their program.
The ensemble takes its name from the early 20th _ century social activist and founder of the Music Settlement, Almeda Adams.
