The DaPonte String Quartet’s 26th summer season has treats in store for music lovers with two very different concerts. In July they’ll perform “More for Four,” four pieces that run the musical gamut from Beethoven to John Heiss; the August series, “Innerscapes,” features mezzo soprano Kate Aldrich, a Midcoast Maine native who has become an international opera star. A final concert in Paris features non-vocal portions of both series!

This summer also sees the Quartet performing in new venues, including Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences in E. Boothbay, the Alna Meetinghouse, the Jewish Museum in Portland and the UUA Church in Brunswick.

July’s “More for Four” includes: “Four, For Tango,” by Argentinian composer Astor Piazzolla, who is credited with inventing the “Nuevo Tango” by infusing the traditional tango with American jazz; Samuel Barber’s most famous piece, the excruciatingly moving “Adagio” from String Quartet; Heiss’s “Microcosms,” a witty and whimsical 10-minute delight; and Beethoven’s “String Quartet No. 7 in F Major Op. 59 No. 1.” It will be performed July 3-18 in Rockport, E. Boothbay, South Bristol, Brunswick, Stonington, and Portland.

The August “Innerscapes,” concert with guest artist (and Alna resident) Kate Aldrich, consists of Samuel Barber’s “Dover Beach Op. 3” and two Respighi pieces, “Il Tramonto” and “Quartetto Dorico.” “Innerscapes” will be performed Aug. 1-7 in Rockport, E. Boothbay, Wells, Alna and Brunswick.

A final concert in August, without Ms.Aldrich, will feature “Quartetto Dorico” and the Beethoven quartet. It will be performed in Paris on Aug. 11.

Aldrich grew up in Damariscotta and has since made a name for herself around the world as a mezzo soprano performing major roles in the world’s greatest opera houses (the Met, La Scala, San Francisco) with many opera greats, including Placido Domingo most recently.

Performances of “More For Four” are $30 with the exception of the Stonington venue. Concert dates: Monday, July 3 – Rockport Opera House, 6 Central Street, 7:30 p.m.; Wednesday, July 5 – Bigelow, 60 Bigelow Drive, E. Boothbay, 7:30 p.m.; Thursday, July 6 – South Bristol Union Church, Middle Road/Route 129, 7:30 p.m.; Tuesday, July 11 - Brunswick Unitarian Church, 15 Pleasant Street, 7:30 p.m.; Thursday, July 13 - Stonington Burnt Cove Church Community Center, Airport Road, Tickets through Opera House Arts, 207-367-2788, 7 p.m.; Tuesday, July 18 – Portland, Maine Jewish Museum, 267 Congress Street, 7:30 p.m.

Performances of “Innerscapes” and pricing: Aug. 1 - Rockport: Opera House, 7:30 p.m, tickets $30; Aug. 2 - Bigelow, 7:30 p.m., tickets $30; Aug. 3 – Wells Reserve at Laudholm, 342 Laudholm Farm Road, 7 p.m. Call 207-646-4521 for tickets; Aug. 4 – Alna Meeting House, 1789 Alna Road, Alna, 7 p.m., tickets $30; Aug. 7 – Unitarian Church, Brunswick, 7:30 p.m.; Aug. 11 – First Baptist Church, Paris Hill Road, Paris, 7 p.m., No guest artist. Respighi’s “Quartetto Dorico” and Beethoven quartet only. Tickets $20 at door. Info: 207-754-7970.

Individual and series tickets are available at www.DaPonte.org. Tickets to some concerts are also for sale at Gulf of Maine Books, Brunswick; Sherman’s Books in Damariscotta and Boothbay Harbor. Information at 529-4555.