The armed forces isn't a typical place to form a band, but that's exactly where the latest combination of the Slovak Trio first met.
Cellist Ludovit Kanta, violinist Ewald Danel and pianist Norbert Heller all played together as part of the Slovakian Military Art Ensemble in 1982. Kanta, who is now based in Kanazawa, Japan, tells The Japan Times he hopes the trio's upcoming shows can help foster ties between his homeland and his adopted country, but admits it took him a while to obtain the skills needed to do this.
"At the beginning, when I practiced . . . and surely produced a scratching sound, I embarrassed my parents in front of guests by shamelessly forcing them to listen my 'performances.' "