About

OASIS ENSEMBLE

Masterful Chamber Music

Oasis Ensemble is a flute-cello-piano trio comprised of award-winning, seasoned musicians who have received high critical acclaim for their live performances and recordings: Dawn Weiss, who was the principal flutist of the Oregon Symphony for 25 years prior to founding the Oasis Ensemble; Louis Lowenstein, protegé of Gregor Piatigorsky and long-time member of both the Chicago and Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestras; and Tung Nguyen, our new award-winning pianist and solo recording artist on the Naxos label.

Based in Eugene, we regularly perform in a wide variety of venues across the state of Oregon for audiences of all ages and musical backgrounds. Our essential and vital goal is to foster and cultivate the arts, providing a cultural and artistic haven: an “Oasis” of inspiration, meaning, and fulfillment to our community.

Our History

Oasis Ensemble was originally conceived as a Flute and Cello Duo. The gorgeous sonorities of the Flute and Cello together offer a wide range of colors, dynamics and articulation. However, as we began gathering repertoire for our duo, we discovered that there were surprisingly few pieces successful enough to be considered on a par with the repertoire for other instrument combinations! We would clearly need to commission some new music for flute and cello.

In 2023, the Oasis Ensemble officially decided to expand to a piano trio format, significantly increasing the range and scope of available repertoire. Over time, we uncovered some little-known pieces that truly deserve inclusion alongside the existing chamber music masterworks. Continuing our mission to present as many great compositions as possible, we began collaborating with living composers to commission brand-new works. Then, in April, 2025, we announced the “2025 Oasis Ensemble Call for Scores Competition” which has generated a huge response from around the world! In the process, we received a large number of very expressive, beautiful pieces that we plan to share in the months and years ahead. We have been impressed by the scope of talented living composers and feel very blessed to be able to encourage them by offering quality performances of their works and sharing them with our communities.

We will also continue to perform well known pieces composed specifically for flute, cello and piano as well as pieces that were originally composed for violin, cello and piano which work well with our combination. Who knew that Felix Mendelssohn, himself, transcribed his famous Violin, Cello and Piano Trio #1, for Flute, Cello and Piano! That has been one of our delightful discoveries. And, we have found some other hidden gems in the process.

MEET THE –

Ensemble Members

Dawn Weiss, Flute

DAWN WEISS, flutist, is a versatile orchestral, solo and chamber musician. She served as Principal Flute of the Oregon Symphony for 25 years, and previously as Principal Flute of the Mexico State Symphony Orchestra in Toluca Mexico, and Second Flute of the Miami Philharmonic. As a soloist, Ms. Weiss performed concerti with the Oregon Symphony, Vancouver Symphony (WA), Pasadena Symphony, Los Angeles Doctors Symphony, Oregon Mozart Players, Yaquina Chamber Orchestra, Colors of the Baroque Chamber Orchestra, Sunnyside Symphony and Chamber Music Northwest, among others. She concertized internationally and nationally in Bolivia, Costa Rica, Italy, Mexico, Peru, California, Oregon, Utah and Washington. Music critics have called her work “exquisite,” “imaginative, polished and memorable.” As a chamber musician, Ms. Weiss performed and recorded the highly critically acclaimed album “The Weiss Family Woodwinds”, with her brothers, David Weiss, (Oboist) and Abraham Weiss, (Bassoonist). She also performed and recorded with “Trillium Winds” and with “Michael Allen Harrison and Friends”, and she produced and performed the well received multi media video of Piazzolla’s “Histoire du Tango: Bordel” with guitarist John Mery and tango dancers. Ms. Weiss served as adjunct flute professor at several Portland, Oregon colleges and taught several summers for Flute Alliance: “Flute Boot Camps.” She now resides in N. Eugene where she teaches a limited number of private students. For more information, please visit: http://www.dawnweiss.com

Louis Lowenstein, Cello

LOUIS LOWENSTEIN, born in Cleveland and raised in Arizona, began his musical training at
age 7 as a pianist, taking up the cello two years later. As a 13-year-old he was cello soloist
with the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra playing the Saint-Saens Concerto, and at 15
studied for 2 years with Gregor Piatigorsky at USC, Los Angeles. Shortly thereafter, Louis
first heard the great master of jazz improvisation, French violinist Stephane Grappelli,
igniting a lifelong love of this tight-rope-walking art form sometimes referred to as
“instantaneous composition”. Over the years, he has been fortunate to collaborate in
performance and recordings with many fine jazz artists, including Marvin Hamlisch and Bobby McFerrin. Louis Lowenstein, protegé of Gregor Piatigorsky and long-time member of both the Chicago Symphony and Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestras.

Tung Nguyen, Piano

Dr. Tung Nguyen has taught piano for over ten years to students of all ages and levels. He
holds a DMA degree in Piano Performance and a concurrent master’s degree in
Collaborative Piano, specializing in Historical Performance Practice and Piano Pedagogy
at the University of Oregon. Before coming to the US, Tung received his undergraduate
and master’s degrees in piano performance from the Liszt Academy in Budapest, Hungary.
Tung has performed in numerous concerts in Europe and Oregon as a soloist and
collaborative pianist. He is the laureate of national and international piano competitions,
notably the Barletta International Music Competition in Italy and the MTNA Young Artist
Competition in Oregon and the Northwest region.

Tung’s musical journey is not limited to solo performances. He has also collaborated with
major orchestras and ensembles in Eugene and Oregon, including the Oregon Bach
Festival, Oregon Mozart Players, Eugene Symphony, Oregon Bach Collegium, and all the
major ensembles at the University of Oregon. His repertoire spans from the Baroque era to
Contemporary music, showcasing his versatility and adaptability as a musician.