FAN Trio

Biography supplied for the 2025 competition.

FAN Trio, comprised of soprano Amber Evans, flutist Francesca Ferrara, and guitarist Neil Beckmann, joined forces for the first time to perform Kaija Saariaho’s seminal work Adjö, as graduate students at Manhattan School of Music in 2016. Having had the memorable experience of getting to work with Saariaho on her piece, the three discovered that they relished each other’s company as musical collaborators and friends and decided to continue their work together.

Since then, the ensemble has dedicated themselves to exploring the depth of its unique instrumentation and utilizing different styles and modes of singing and performing across the flute and plucked string families of instruments. Their range in repertoire has included medieval and early music, operatic and art song, folk and popular music, and a deep focus in new music.

The trio is invested in commissioning composers whose narratives deserve to be heard by today’s audiences. One of the greatest passions of the group is to encourage the composition of vocal chamber music for unusual instrument combinations, and to form a catalog of repertoire for voice, flute and guitar that has the potential to have longevity and inspire future works for this trio. In addition to maintaining a seasonal concert calendar of performances, FAN intends to expand its reach to composition departments, inspiring the next generation with direct mentorship and inspiration for creating new music for their unique setup.