Coastal Concerts draws sellout crowd for American String Quartet

Coastal Concerts’ 25th anniversary season hit full stride Jan. 13 with a sold-out concert featuring the renowned American String Quartet.

More than 300 patrons filled the Bethel United Methodist Church Hall in Lewes, and the American String Quartet did not let them down.

The quartet spent time on Friday prior to the concert performing for 200 enthusiastic sixth-graders at Beacon Middle School. Students were mesmerized by the sounds of the quartet’s recital and were honored to have them at their school.

2024 marks the quartet’s 50th anniversary; it was formed when the original members were students at the Juilliard School. With its performance featuring works by Ludwig van Beethoven, Maurice Ravel and Antonin Dvorak, the quartet thrilled the Lewes audience. 

Concertgoer Maria Butz travels regularly from Philadelphia with her husband to attend Coastal Concerts events and visit friends in Lewes. “I grew up in a musical family,” she said. “I love coming to Coastal Concerts in Lewes because the quality of the performances is always world-class, and the setting is intimate. The people are so friendly, and you can see the artists are enjoying themselves. Coastal Concerts is a real gem in Southern Delaware.”

Another concertgoer, Greg Ralston, said he and his wife come from Milton to attend every Coastal Concerts event they can. “When I saw that the American String Quartet was on the schedule, and then when the program was announced, I knew there was no way I was going to miss it. For almost all my life I’ve played violin and viola, and I know each of the works on the program well. For me, hearing them perform so wonderfully was just incredible. It’s amazing to have this caliber of music here locally,” he said. 

Former Lewes Mayor Ted Becker was asked to introduce the quartet and also recap some of the key milestones of Coastal Concerts over its 25-year history. He recounted how what started as an idea grew to be successful due largely to Lewes being a community of volunteers who know how to make good things happen.

To mark the special anniversaries for both the quartet’s 50th and Coastal Concerts’ 25th, guests were treated to a post-concert reception where everyone enjoyed a variety of pastries and refreshments.

Three concerts remain on the 2023-24 Coastal Concerts schedule. Each will take place at 2 p.m. on a Saturday at Bethel United Methodist Church in Lewes. The Feb. 3 program will feature the Dover String Quartet with clarinetist David Shifrin. Taking the stage March 2 will be Trio Zimbalist on piano, cello and violin. Both the February and March concerts will be preceded by Performance Insights with Lani Spahr at 1 p.m. The Annual Wildcard Concert April 6 will feature the Canellakis-Brown Duo on cello and piano.

For more information and to purchase tickets, go to coastalconcerts.org.