Two quartets of music students are coming to Centrum for its 2024 Chamber Music Intensive, led by the resident American String Quartet and Chamber Music Artistic Director Lucinda Carver. The public will have the opportunity to observe those students at a free May 30 masterclass, and three concerts from May 31 through June 2.

Both quartets auditioned for this opportunity, and were awarded full scholarships to attend.

The Dolphins Quartet consists of Luke Henderson and Isaac Park on violin, James Preucil on viola and Ian Maloney on cello. They are a premiere Juilliard string quartet formed in Blue Hill, Maine, at the 2022 Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival.

The Expat Quartet consists of Gayeon Lee and Nini Giorgadze on violin, Jack Rittendale on viola and Tom Readett on cello, and they met while studying at the Manhattan School of Music.

They have already studied with the American String Quartet, both separately and in group settings, and coached with Laurie Carney, of the American String Quartet, while at school.

Centrum’s Chamber Music series has brought talented musicians to Port Townsend since 1979, and the Chamber Music Intensive was established in 2015 to foster “the highest level” of training and coaching for pre-professional chamber musicians, in a community with leading faculty chamber artists, to serve “outstanding” emerging, pre-formed ensembles.

The American String Quartet formed when its original members were themselves still students at the Juilliard School, and the group’s career began with winning both the Coleman Competition and the Naumburg Award in the same year.

The American String Quartet has not only been the resident quartet at the Aspen Music Festival since 1974 and the Manhattan School of Music in New York since 1984, but has also served as the resident quartet at the Taos School of Music, the Peabody Conservatory, and the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition.

Each ensemble to participate in the Chamber Music Intensive is given a professionally recorded video of their performance, and is treated to a demonstration by Ole Kanestrom, one of Port Townsend’s world-renowned bowmakers.

After arriving in Port Townsend May 26, the two quartets began rehearsing as ensembles that evening, and continued rehearsing on their own through May 27, before their rehearsals were joined by coaching from Carver and the American String Quartet, a process that’s set to continue through May 29-30.

The public is welcome to attend both quartet’s masterclass for free on Thurs., May 30 at 7:30 p.m. On Fri., May 31 and Sat., June 1, the public can see the ensembles in concert, also at 7:30 p.m. The two ensembles’ final local public performance on Sun., June 2, at 2 p.m., with Carver and the American String Quartet joining their concert. The  quartets depart Centrum on Mon., June 3.

For tickets or more information, visit centrum.org.