The New Orleans-based Lott String Quartet will kick off the Denmark Arts Center music series at 4 p.m. on Saturday, May 29, at the Denmark Arts Center in Denmark. Submitted photo

The New Orleans-based Lott String Quartet will kick off the Denmark Arts Center music series at 4 p.m. on Saturday, May 29, at the Denmark Arts Center in Denmark. Lott String Quartet, comprised of Kurt Munstedt, Benjamin Thacher, Rachel Hsieh, and Luke Fleming, are artists-in-residence at the University of New Orleans and they have quickly established themselves as one of the pre-eminent ensembles in the Southeast. The Lott String Quartet will present an afternoon of contemporary and romantic classical music. The program will include George Walker’s poignant Lyric for Strings (1946), Mendelssohn’s dramatic and final String Quartet in F minor, op 80 (1847), and Caroline Shaw’s kaleidoscopic Entr’acte (2011).

Selected to attend the 2019 and 2020 St. Lawrence String Quartet Chamber Music Seminar in Stanford, CA and nominated for a Gambit Magazine’s Big Easy Entertainment Award for best chamber music performance, the Lotts have sought innovative new ways of connecting with their community, whether that be performing the national anthem at professional sporting events or performing free concerts for the community and students in a local record shop. They remain committed to bringing the great works of string quartet literature to life for their audiences and sharing their enthusiasm both as performers and educators.

Lott String Quartet has an Artists-in-Residence with Brownfield/Denmark Elementary School and Molly Ockett Middle school. “Denmark Arts Center is delighted to be part of a program that brings live music into the schools in western Maine”, noted Executive Director, Susan Beane. Denmark Arts Center began working with Craig Bryan, Molly Ockett Middle School Choral & Instrumental Music instructor, and Dr. Rajaniemi, Principal of Brownfield Denmark Elementary school, in January 2020. This program was schedule before the ensuing pandemic. The hard work of both Mr. Bryan and Dr. Rajaniemi has provided the possibility for a live music presentation for the schools, and our community, a long-waited experience.

Recent Maine CDC guidelines have allowed for inside performances without occupancy restrictions or distancing. Due to a healthy black fly season and the new CDC guidelines, this performance has been moved from Bicentennial Park to inside Denmark Arts Center. Federal CDC guidelines suggest unvaccinated persons should wear masks indoors.

Performances will be a Pay-What-You-Can this summer (suggested donation $10). Door opens at 3:30 p.m. and the concert starts at 4 p.m. To purchase tickets or find more information, visit www.DenmarkArts.org/event.

The Denmark Arts Center is an award-winning 501(c)3 cultural organization founded in 1994 in the rural community of Denmark. Housed in the town’s historic 1883 Odd Fellows Hall, the DAC offers year-round events and workshops in contemporary dance, theater, music and visual art to community members young and old. DAC is at 50 West Main St., Denmark. For more information, visit http://www.denmarkarts.org.