The year 1994 marked the foundation of the Henschel Quartett’s international career, when cellist Mathias Beyer-Karlshoj joined the founding members Christoph, Markus, and Monika Henschel, and the quartet devoted itself exclusively to chamber music. In 1995 the quartet won multiple prizes at the international competitions of Evian, Banff, and Salzburg, and the following year won first prize and the gold medal at the Osaka International Chamber Music Competition.

Successful debuts in the world’s musical capitals, including an acclaimed BBC live broadcast standing in for the Juilliard Quartet, led their way to the forefront of international chamber music.

Newtown Friends of Music is delighted to host a concert by the quartet at Edmond Town Hall Theatre beginning at 3 pm Sunday, March 15.

The quartet’s musical journey has included many remarkable highlights. The Henschel Quartett played at the official re-opening of the Anna-Amalia Library in Weimar, and traveled to Brussels as a Cultural Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany.

In March 2010 the quartet performed at the Vatican in the presence of Pope Benedict XVI. The quartet has regularly been invited to the Royal Palace of Madrid to perform on the four Stradivari of the royal collection.

In June 2012 the Henschel Quartett was invited, as the first European quartet in twenty years, to perform Beethoven’s complete string quartets in the prestigious Suntory Hall in Tokyo. In the same year Monika Henschel became the president of the newly-formed Association of German String Quartets, and in 2013 Christoph Henschel was appointed Honorary Professor at the University of Augsburg.

Henschel Quartett’s repertoire encompasses more than 200 works from the classical and romantic to 20th Century and contemporary music. The program for their audience in Newtown will include works spanning several centuries by Christopher Theofanidis, Leoš Janácek, and Ludwig van Beethoven.

Tickets are $25 and can be purchased in advance by sending check and a self-addressed, stamped envelope to Newtown Friends of Music, PO Box 295, Newtown CT 06470-0295. Reservations can also be made by calling 203-426-6470.

The box office at Edmond Town Hall, 45 Main Street in Newtown, will open at 2 pm the afternoon of the concert for final ticket sales.

Students K-12 are admitted free of charge when accompanied by a ticket-holding adult. Students with student ID are admitted free of charge.

Parking is free behind Edmond Town Hall and the facility is handicap accessible.

An informal reception following the concert will offer attendees the opportunity to meet and mingle with the musicians.

For information regarding this and other concerts and to print out an order form, visit newtownfriendsofmusic.org.