Last summer's DaPonte String Quartet concert at Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens was so well received that the DSQ has been selected as Artists in Residence at the Gardens for 2008. During July and August, the Quartet will perform seven concerts in the Gardens' Visitor Center - a four-concert series followed by the three-concert Boothbay Chamber Music Festival at the Gardens.

At these concerts, music lovers can enjoy the extraordinary beauty of the botanical garden at sunset, savor specially prepared picnic suppers, and revel in the world's finest chamber music.

All concerts begin at 7:30 p.m., and those who've reserved picnic suppers in advance may pick them up at 6:00 p.m.

For reservations for the concerts, as well as for the picnic suppers, visit www.mainegardens.org, stop by the Gardens' Visitor Center, or call (207) 633-4333.

The first four concerts will be presented at the Gardens and in two other locales. The four-concert series will be at the Gardens on consecutive Tuesdays: July 15, 22, and 29 and August 5. Identical programs will be on Wednesdays of the same weeks at the First Church in Belfast and on Thursdays at the Community Church in South Bristol.

The members of the DaPonte String Quartet are Ferdinand Liva and Lydia Forbes, violin; Kimberly Lehmann, viola; and Myles Jordan, cello. The Boothbay Chamber Music Festival will feature superlative guest artists, as well as picnics themed to the musical selections.

The picnic menu for the first four concerts consists of a nicely packaged salad of fresh garden greens topped with Seal Cove Chevre, grilled chicken, dried cranberries, and candied pecans, served with balsamic vinaigrette dressing. Also included are a fruit-and-cheese appetizer, Borealis bread, Poland Spring Water, and, for dessert, a white chocolate chunk brownie with dried cranberries. À-la-carte selections will be for sale the evenings of the concerts.

Reservations for the series concerts are $25 each and $88 for a set of all four (one for each Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday evening concert). Tuesday evening picnic suppers are $19.26 each.

Then, on Monday, Wednesday, & Thursday, August 18, 20 & 21, the DSQ will present the Boothbay Chamber Music Festival at the Gardens, consisting of three performances, each with guest artists.

Picnic suppers themed to the music, as well as à-la-carte selections, will be available on those evenings. Menus are listed at www.mainegardens.org.

Reservations for each Festival concert are $25 per person, and a set of tickets for all three Festival concerts is $65. The themed picnic suppers are $19.26 each.

• Concert #1: July 15, 16, 17 - Viola quintet program (guest violist to be announced)

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827): String Quintet in C major op. 29 (1801)

Johannes Brahms (1833-1897): String Quintet no. 2 in G major op.111 (1890)

• Concert #2: July 22, 23, 24 Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827): String quartet in F major op. 18 #1 (1800)

Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924): Cr i santemi for String Quartet (1890)

Alexander Borodin (1833-1887):

String Quartet no. 1 in A major (1874-1879)

• Concert #3: July 29, 30, 31: with John Schnell, trumpet

  Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750): From: Kunst der Fuge (Art of Fugue) (1750) BWV 1080

  Henry Purcell (1659-1695): Four Fantasias (1680)

Henry Purcell (1659-1695):

Sonata in D major for trumpet and strings, Z 850 (?1694)

Alan Hovanhess (1911-2000): Prayer of St. Gregory, Op. 62 b, for trumpet and strings (1952)

Giuseppe Torelli (1658-1709):

Concerto in D major for trumpet and strings

Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741): Concerto in B flat major

• Concert #4: August 5, 6, 7: (program with piano) with Martin Perry, fortepiano

Franz Schubert (1797-1828): String quartet no. 15 in G major D.887 / op. 161 (1826)

Johannes Brahms (1833-1897):

Quintet for piano and strings in f minor, op. 34 (1864)

• Monday, August 18: "Brahms" program with guests Dov Scheindlin, viola, and Marc Johnson, violoncello (with an Austrian Wurst Salad Picnic Supper by reservation)

Johannes Brahms (1833-1897): Sextet for Strings no. 1. in B Flat Major, Opus 18; Sextet for Strings no. 2 in G Major, opus 36 (1865)

• Wednesday, August 20: "Tango" program with guest artists Mark Simons, clarinet and Martin Perry, fortepiano (with an Argentinean Summer Picnic by reservation)

Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809):

Piano Trio in G Major, Hob. XV:25 (1795)

Pablo de Sarasate (1844-1908):

"Navarra" for 2 violins and piano, op. 33 (1899)

Carl Maria von Weber (1786-1826):

Quintet for Clarinet and strings in B flat major, J. 182 / op. 34

Astor Piazolla (1921-1992): Five Tangos

• Thursday, August 21: "Ac a dian" program with Jane Hershey, gamba (with a Maritime Picnic Supper by reservation)

Eustache DuCaurroy: Fantasie Suite 'sur, Une jeune fillette' (publ. 1615)

Claude Le Jeune (1624-1688):

Fantasie

Francois Roberday (1624-1688): Fugue and Caprice

Matthew Locke (c.1630-1677):

Suite in F

Mr. DeMachy: Chaconne for gamba solo (publ. 1685)

Jean Baptiste Lully (1632-1687): Instrumental music from "Alcidiane" and "Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme"