Eclectic string ensemble to perform in Brainerd

From Carnegie Hall, the Plaza Hotel and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City comes the unusual quintet, The Abaca String Band.

The ensemble will appear at 7:30 p.m. Sunday at Tornstrom Auditorium at Washington Middle School in Brainerd, the latest installment in the Lakes Area Concert Association's 2002-2003 performing arts season.

Founded 15 years ago at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the group features an eight-string guitar, a mandolin, double bass, violin and viola, an unusual combination requiring special arrangements.

If you go

Who: The Abaca String Band

What: String ensemble from Manhattan

Where: Tornstrom Auditorium, Washington Middle School, Brainerd

When: 7:30 p.m. Sunday

Cost: Lakes Area Concert Association season pass

"Their program is both unique and eclectic, featuring classical works, pop tunes and even a bit of rock and roll," Abaca's promotional material says.

The group's program will include works by Handel, Vivaldi and Bach, as well as by Jerome Kern, Duke Ellington and George Gershwin, the material says.

The band's appearance in Brainerd is part of the group's first tour through the Midwest, after entertaining audiences for years in Carnegie Hall's Neighborhood Concerts series, the Plaza Hotel and many other East Coast venues.

The band also has been featured on public radio's "Performance Today" program and entertained audiences at the White House. It recently released its first CD, "Live From Chatauqua," in honor of the famed music festival by the same name.

Andrew Schulman, founder and leader of Abaca, also serves as the master of ceremonies for the group's performances, and "will chat very comfortably with the audience," the material says. He also plays the eight-string guitar.

Other players include: Barry Mitterhoff on mandolin, Robert Zubrycki on violin, Julie Goodale on viola and Boots Maleson on double bass.

The performance is open to concert association season ticket holders only, although season passes are often available at the gate.