Combine three classy women playing three classical instruments and the result is The Eroica Trio.

Sponsored in part by the Ames Town and Gown Chamber Music Association and the ISU Music Department, The Eroica Trio will perform in Ames this weekend.

As the first group to begin a series of concerts hosted by the chamber, The Eroica Trio was chosen “because of their notoriety in the [classical] music field,” Cindy Scholten, volunteer publicist for Ames Town and Gown, said.

The women, Erika Nickrenz, piano; Adela Pena, violin; and Sara Sant’Ambrogio, cello, make up one of the few all-female chamber ensembles in the classical music arena.

“There are not a lot of groups of their caliber in this area,” Scholten said.

After studying at the Juliard School of Music, The Eroica Trio has had a successful career together.

The trio has performed in major music halls including the Mostly Mozart Festival in New York, the Hollywood Bowl, the Kennedy Center and the Ravinia Festival with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

The women have also received prestigious musical honoraries including winning the Naumburg International Chamber Music Competition in 1991 and their inauguration into Carnegie Hall’s Distinctive Debut series in 1997.

The women have also been featured in the Wall Street Journal and Glamour magazine. In November, the trio will be featured in Vogue.

The trio has recently signed a contract to record five CDs with Angel/EMI.

“They are what we would call up-and-comers,” Scholten said. “They have a great future.”

“[Ames Town and Gown] like[s] to support this type of organization,” she added.

The program will include pieces by Mozart, Shostakovich and Brahms.

Following The Eroica Trio in the Ames Town and Gown 1997-98 series of concerts will be baritone Christopheren Nomura, the Emerson String Quartet, classical guitarist Jorge Caballero and pianist Brian Ganz.

These concerts will be held between the Music Hall, Recital Hall and the Ames City Hall.

“We’re called Town and Gown because we try mixing up the town and university,” Scholten said.

It’s nice to have the concerts held in the Musical Hall, Scholten added.

“It’s a nice place for chamber music for intimate setting,” Scholten said. “Sometimes you can hear them breathe.”

The Eroica Trio will perform at the Ames City Auditorium, City Hall, on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets are $15 general admission and are available at the door or in advance at Rieman Music and Big Table Books in Ames.

However, with student ID, the concert is free.