Trinity Trio held a large audience in rapt attention with a stunning performance of ‘Beethoven', ‘Gareth Farr' and ‘Antonin Dvorak' in the third Tauranga Musica concert at Graham Young Theatre on Sunday afternoon.

It is rare that young performers can reach inside sophisticated music to show what it's made of and how it works, yet this is just what Trinity Trio did on August 7.

True, they had a head start. Sally Kim has a stunningly beautiful tone on cello; Tina Kim has a rattling piano technique; and violinist Stella Kim led this group with clear phrasing and firm intonation.

Their ‘Beethoven' was a gem, surprisingly mature given this was from his Opus 1 collection.

Gareth Farr's ‘Ahi' (Maori word for ‘fire') began very tonal, suddenly turning atonal before bursting into flame.

Dvorak was an old hand, able to rock with his European contemporaries whenever he chose. Yet his late Opus 90 Trio suddenly reverts to the youthful Bohemian he really was – so full of surprises.

The audience guide to surprises came from the musicians themselves, who (especially the cellist) gave away the secret every time with a glance that disclosed how the trio maintained its impeccable togetherness.

What a wonderful lesson in chamber music performance! Bravo Tauranga Musica for bringing this to town.

The next concert of the series is on September 4 at Tauranga Boys' College Graham Young Theatre.