Trio Sponte is a dynamic ensemble comprised of graduates of the New England Conservatory in Boston. Violinist Nick Hammel, cellist Yi-I Stephanie Yang, and pianist Charles Berofsky started playing together at the Taos School of Music during the summer of 2023 and, drawn to each other’s artistry and passion for music, decided to start playing together as a professional ensemble.
As winners of the Grand Prize at the 2024 Coltman Chamber Music Competition (Senior Division), Trio Sponte is thrilled to be featured on the Austin Chamber Music Series this season. Each of the trio’s members are experienced chamber musicians as well as soloists, having won prizes at various competitions and appeared with renowned artists and ensembles.
Nick won first prize in the 2025 Eastern Connecticut Symphony Instrumental Competition, and has performed with ensembles such as the Austin Symphony Orchestra and the Richardson Symphony Orchestra. He has performed with many notable musicians, such as Anton Nel, Sandy Yamamoto, Bion Tsang, and Robert McDonald, as well as members of the Miró Quartet, the Kronos Quartet, and the Borromeo Quartet. He is currently studying at the Yale School of Music under Ani Kavafian.
Stephanie has performed actively with a wide range of artists such as Ida Kavafian, Katherine Cho, members of the Juilliard String Quartet, Borromeo String Quartet, Jaime Laredo, and Hugh Wolff. She has recently made her debut with the Baden-Baden Philharmonie in 2024 with Schumann Cello Concerto, under the baton of maestro Heiko Mathias Förster in Germany. She has performed in the First Monday Concert Series directed by Laurence Lesser in 2024, performed with A Far Cry chamber orchestra in 2023 as a guest artist competition winner, and has performed in Carnegie Hall as a member of the New York String Orchestra Seminar in 2022.
Charles has won prizes at major international piano competitions, such as Campillos (First Prize and Orchestra Prize), New York (Third Prize to a solo performer and First Prize for the piano four-hands round), and Thousand Islands (First Prize). He has also won concerto competitions at the New England Conservatory and the Eastman School of Music. He has performed with members of the Borromeo String Quartet, the Jupiter Symphony Chamber Players in New York, and the Pressenda Chamber Players in Washington, D.C. He is currently studying with Antti Siirala at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München in Germany.