Coastal Concerts to feature cello quartet Oct. 5 in Lewes

Coastal Concerts will present the Galvin Cello Quartet in concert at 7 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 5, in the fellowship hall of Bethel United Methodist Church, Fourth and Market streets in Lewes. The quartet will also perform a public recital at 2 p.m., Friday, Oct. 4, at Elkins-Archibald Atrium, CAMP Rehoboth, 37 Baltimore Ave., Rehoboth Beach.

Composed of musicians from China, Brazil, South Korea and the United States, the Galvin Cello Quartet burst onto the scene after capturing the Silver Medal at the 2021 Fischoff Competition, followed by winning the 2022 Concert Artists Guild Victor Elmaleh Competition and joining the Concert Artists Guild roster. With an untamable desire to create, change and bring joy through music, the group seeks to bring together new works from diverse cultural backgrounds while establishing the cello quartet as a core part of the classical music world.

Born in 1999, Chinese-American cellist Haddon Kay began studying cello at age 4. He first gained recognition when he became a finalist for the Chicago Symphony Young Artist Competition and performed the Barber Cello Concerto with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. The following summer, he became the principal cellist of the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America under the baton of Michael Tilson Thomas for an international tour in Asia. Most recently, Kay has continued his studies in cello performance at Northwestern University under the tutelage of Professor Hans Jensen.

Korean-American cellist Sydney Lee is an emerging young artist captivating audiences on the international stage. Capturing first prize at the 2022 Washington International Competition and second prize at the Classic Strings International Competition, Lee has performed extensively throughout the United States and Europe in many of the world’s leading venues, including Washington, D.C.’s Kennedy Center, Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center, New World Center in Miami, Pittsburgh’s Heinz Hall, Carnegie Hall, Euphrasian Basilica, Konzerthaus Berlin, and Fryderyk Chopin University Hall in Warsaw.

Cellist James Baik was described as an artist with “an undeniable authority” and one possessing “a real warmth emerging in lyricism” by Belgian newspaper Le Soir, after his astounding performance at the 2021 Queen Elisabeth competition. Baik was the first-prize winner of the 2023 Susan Wadsworth Young Concert Artists International Auditions and recipient of the Paul A. Fish Memorial Prize and the Bridgehampton Chamber Music Prize. He is a YCA Jacobs Fellow and is managed worldwide by Young Concert Artists.

Brazilian cellist Luiz Fernando Venturelli is rapidly gaining recognition as one of the most promising young musicians in the country. Born and raised in a musical family, Venturelli began his musical studies at age 3 and took up the cello at age 8 at the Instituto Baccarelli, a nonprofit social organization based in São Paulo’s Heliópolis that provides free music education to children. Venturelli later pursued his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Northwestern University, graduating with honors distinction under acclaimed instructor Hans Jørgen Jensen.

The quartet will perform a diverse program Oct. 5 in Lewes, including works by Niccolò Paganini, Camille Saint-Saëns, Ludwig van Beethoven, Gioachino Rossini, Kazimierz Wiłkomirski, Antonín Dvořák and David Popper. Visit coastalconcerts.org for more information and to purchase tickets.

Coastal Concerts is supported in part by a grant from the Delaware Division of the Arts in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts. DDoA promotes Delaware arts events on DelawareScene.com. The engagement of the Galvin Cello Quartet is made possible in part through the Special Presenters Initiative of Mid Atlantic Arts with the support of the NEA.