“The best string quartet in Maine,” says DownEast magazine. The acclaimed DaPonte String Quartet will give a lecture/performance on Jan. 22 at 4 p.m. in the Trustee’s Auditorium of the Gould Academy McLaughlin Science Center. Sponsored by the Western Mountains Senior College, the performance is open to the public and will be followed by a reception.

The presentation, “The Biology of Music,” will feature a performance of Mendelssohn, Schumann, and Brahms masterworks, with an accompanying lecture relating the music to biological story structure. The group will show how the sonata form of Franz Joseph Hayden (1782-1809) built narrative into music through the use of protagonist, antagonist, conflict and resolution. Later composers like Mendelssohn, Schumann and Brahms developed the form into complex musical stories. Observers then noted that their structure resembled “biological stories.”

The DaPonte Quartet was formed 23 years ago in Philadelphia and shortly thereafter moved to the beautiful mid-coast area of Maine, where, as the New York Times noted, they created an experience “like watching the Celtics play in the local gym.” They have forged a strong bond with the audiences of Maine: when they debuted at Carnegie Hall, large numbers of their Maine faithful listeners traveled to New York for the event.

In addition to playing an active concert series each fall, winter and spring, mostly at mid-coast venues, they have their own students, are regularly on Maine Public Radio, and travel the state, introducing classical music to public elementary students. Each September, they conduct a weekend workshop for Maine high school string students. Prior to the Senior College lecture/performance, the quartet will conduct two sessions at the Crescent Park Elementary School. Their visit to Bethel is made possible through the Mahoosuc Arts Council (www.mahoosucarts.org). For more detailed information about the quartet and their schedule of concerts visit their website at www.daponte.org.

The public is invited to this Jan. 22 event, and admission is free. For more information call Jim Bebko at 824-4545.