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, long-time member of both the Chicago and Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestras; and Andrew Cannestra, award-winning pianist and solo recording artist on the Naxos label who is currently a doctoral candidate at the University of Oregon.
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 safe haven: an “Oasis” of inspiration, meaning, and fulfillment to our community
Our History
Oasis Ensemble originally was 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. As we began gathering repertoire for our duo, we discovered that there were surprisingly few successful pieces that earned the stature of being considered as standard literature, so we have made it our mission to change that!
In 2023, the Oasis Ensemble officially expanded to become a piano trio, which has greatly increased the range and scope of repertoire available. As a trio, we have uncovered little-known works that we believe deserve inclusion alongside the most renowned chamber music masterworks.
In addition, we have collaborated with composers from around the world to expand the scope and range of repertoire available. For more details, see more on our Commissions page.
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 development at age seven as a pianist, discovering 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 two years with Gregor Piatigorsky at USC, Los Angeles. Louis is a former member of both the Chicago Symphony (1990-1992) and Pittsburgh Symphony (1992-2013).
Andrew Cannestra, Piano
Pianist and composer Andrew Cannestra first rose to prominence as the grand prize winner of the 2021 Aeolian Classics Emerging Artist Competition, where he was unanimously lauded by the jury for his “probing artistic vision”. He maintains an active performance schedule as both a soloist and a sought-after chamber musician and collaborator.
As a recording artist, his discography includes two solo albums. The first, Mystic Pool, was released in 2022, featuring one of his own compositions alongside works by William Grant Still, Alexander Scriabin, Frederic Chopin, and Henri Dutilleux. More recently, he recorded rarely-heard works by Josef Wieniawski, which will join the Naxos catalogue in late 2024.
As a soloist, he won the bronze medal in the 2024 Seattle International Piano Competition. He is passionate about programming music by living composers and historically under-represented composers alongside more familiar masterworks. For example, he gave the Oregon premiere of the Amy Beach Piano Concerto with the University of Oregon Symphony as well as the world premiere of Ryan Johnston’s Piano Concerto no. 1 with Boston-based Horizon Ensemble. In addition, he has given recitals at some of Chicago’s premier venues such as Guarneri Hall and Ganz Hall, and he was featured as guest artist for the recital series Henry Fogel Presents.
Andrew also regularly collaborates as both a chamber musician and duo partner. Beyond Oasis Ensemble, he has shared the stage with members of the Emerson Quartet, Viano Quartet, and Montreal Symphony, and frequently performs chamber works at the Manchester Music Festival. He has also served as orchestral keyboardist for the Oregon Bach Festival.
Equally accomplished as a composer, Andrew often performs his own solo piano music in concert. Recently, he completed Oregon Soundscapes, a cycle of piano works commissioned by the University of Oregon to be premiered in spring 2025. Notable performances of his other works include a series of performances of Flight on the St. Olaf Orchestra’s most recent tour of Norway; a performance of Scherzo by the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra at a community outreach concert; a performance of The Chronicles of Stumpy, the Squirrel Without a Tail by the St. Olaf Band; Elegy for orchestra, premiered by the St. Olaf Philharmonia; and a movement from String Quartet no. 1 premiered by the Artaria String Quartet. His music has also been featured in Peter Nelson’s award-winning animated film, Intruder Man. To hear his compositions, visit his SoundCloud page: soundcloud.com/cannestra.
Andrew currently resides in Eugene, Oregon, where he teaches secondary piano at the University of Oregon. He is also currently pursuing his doctorate in piano performance, studying with Alexandre Dossin and David Riley. His previous teachers include Adam Neiman, Christopher Atzinger, Kent McWilliams, Sylvia Wang, and Eun-Joo Kwak. Outside of music, Andrew enjoys exploring the Pacific Northwest’s multitude of hiking trails, tending his basil plants, and spending time with his wife, fellow pianist Kaitlyn Clawson-Cannestra.