An award-winning trio of German chamber musicians is coming to the ISU campus Thursday to play a program of compositions that span three centuries.

The Morgenstern Piano Trio, composed of pianist Catherine Klipfel, violinist Stephen Hempel and cellist Emanuel Wehse, will deliver the final performance in the Ames Town & Gown Chamber Music Association’s 2010-2011 concert series.

The group will perform three compositions: the Haydn “Trio in E-flat Major,” the Smetana “Trio in G Minor” and “Piano Trio” composed by Leonard Bernstein.

The trio’s members have won increasing acclaim since they first began playing together in 2005. Their highest accolade came in 2009, when they won the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson International Trio Award.

All trios that win the award receive a $30,000 endowment, consisting of the pooled contributions of twenty chamber music presenters in America. Participating presenters include Carnegie Hall and the La Jolla Chamber Music Society. They also have the honor of performing at all 20 of these venues within a two-year period.

Paula Forrest, Town & Gown artistic director, is looking forward to the trio’s performance for several reasons. She said the trio format had an intrinsic appeal for fans of chamber music.

“I think it’s just a very beautiful combination of instruments,” said Forrest. “The violin is the higher instrument, the cello is the lower instrument, and the piano just rounds it out with this very full sound.”

She also looked forward to hearing compositions written centuries apart performed together.

“We’re hearing music of the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries,” Forrest said, noting that the Haydn piece dates from the 18th century, the Smetana from the 19th and the Bernstein from the 20th.

Forrest hopes that all concertgoers, student and non-student alike, will recognize the extraordinary bargain they’ll be getting.

“They’re hearing some of the best musicians of the world in our series,” Forrest said. “Anywhere else in the country, the tickets would be more than $25.”

But she’s certain it’s the music — rather than the price they paid to hear it — that attendees will appreciate most.

“The winners of this competition are always very, very outstanding. And I’m sure this one will be also,” Forrest said.

Where: Martha- Ellen Tye Recital Hall

When: 7:30 p.m.

Cost: Free for all students with a valid ID, $25 for non-students