Join the DaPonte String Quartet for Happy Hour Fridays! Every Friday at 5 p.m. the Quartet gather together (virtually) to chat about music, listen to each other’s plans, or discuss upcoming events. We often welcome special guests to our Happy Hour discussion. It could be an old friend, or a special guest artist who is working with us to reschedule 2021. Coming up: Dec. 4 - Bob Keyes; Dec. 11 - Awadagin Pratt; and on Dec.18 - Joel Quarrington.

Bob Keyes is a Maine-based and nationally-recognized arts writer and storyteller with specialties in American visual arts and the contemporary culture of New England. Born and raised near Boston, he has spent more than 15 years writing about arts and culture for the Portland Press Herald and Maine Sunday Telegram. For more info: bobkeyes.com

Among his generation of concert artists, pianist Awadagin Pratt is acclaimed for his musical insight and intensely involving performances in recital and with symphony orchestras. Born in Pittsburgh, Awadagin Pratt began studying piano at the age of six. Three years later, having moved to Normal, Illinois with his family, he also began studying violin. At the age of 16 he entered the University of Illinois where he studied piano, violin, and conducting. He subsequently enrolled at the Peabody Conservatory of Music where he became the first student in the school’s history to receive diplomas in three performance areas – piano, violin and conducting. For more about this pianist, awadagin.com

For over 30 years, Joel Quarrington has served as the Principal Double Bassist of many ensembles including the Canadian Opera Company, the Toronto Symphony and Canada's National Arts Centre Orchestra and most recently, the famous London Symphony Orchestra. Born in Toronto, Joel began his formal studies of the double bass when he was 13. Upon graduation from the University of Toronto, he was awarded the “Eaton Scholarship” as the school’s most outstanding graduate. Joel is a winner of the Geneva International Competition and the CBC Talent Competition, and has made solo appearances across Canada, the United States, Europe and China. He also teaches at the University of Ottawa and at the Royal Academy of Music in London where he is a “Visiting Artist.” For more info: https://joelquarrington.com

Make sure you are on our email list to get info about these Zoom Happy Hours. Feel free to contact our Executive Director, Lisa Westkaemper, at 207-315-7105, or lisa@daponte.org Check out our website at www.daponte.org; YouTube channel and Facebook page.