Longleash dubs itself "a group with a traditional instrumentation and a progressive identity." Comprising the traditional trio of violin, cello, and piano, they seek out music that redefines the possibilities of these instruments sonically. Longleash mounts its own summer festival, the Loretto Project, in Kentucky, and that festival was an outgrowth of a graduate-school concert series created by violinist Pala García. Longleash's cellist is John Popham, who has worked with composers as diverse as Pierre Boulez and Steve Reich. Pianist and Honolulu native Renate Rohlfing made her debut at the Cincinnati May Festival in 2013. Longleash released its debut album, Passage, in 2017. ~ James Manheim