Press Release: Well-Strung Singing String Quartet at Cotuit Center for the Arts

Cotuit Center for the Arts and Mark Cortale presents Well-Strung, the singing string quartet, on Friday, August 17, at 7:30 PM.

Well-Strung, which features Edmund Bagnell on first violin, Christopher Marchant on second violin, Daniel Shevlin on cello, and Trevor Wadleigh on viola, “brilliantly fuses pop and classical music from Madonna to Beethoven,” according to the New York Times. They are “the hottest things with a bow since Jennifer Lawrence in ‘The Hunger Games,’” wrote the New York Daily News. They have also been described as “a string quartet gone mad.”

All four members of Well-Strung are accomplished classical and musical theater musicians with a love for pop music and an instinctive ability to meld the two genres. With light hearts and considerable charm—they have a reputation as heart throbs—they mix well-known classical melodies by Bach, Mozart, Beethoven and Vivaldi with pop hits by such stars as Adele, Taylor Swift, Rihanna, Kelly Clarkson, Britney Spears, and others.

Christopher Marchant and producer Mark Cortale founded the group in 2012 in Provincetown, after Marchant realized his love for both “high and low art.”

“Some people have a very serious attitude [when it comes to classical music], about protecting an ancient art, whereas we can just have fun doing it,” Wadleigh told Huffington Post in a 2013 interview. Their goal is to make classical music more accessible and to give pop music a new dimension, as they mix their music with stories and anecdotes.

Two members of Well-Strung, Marchant and Wadleigh, banded together this past year for another type of fun—appearing on CBS’s “The Amazing Race” as #TeamWellStrung.

The quartet has performed throughout the US and have gained international attention, performing at the Vatican and at a Gala for President Obama. Their viral music video “Chelsea’s Mom” led to a special requested performance for Hillary Clinton herself.

They have also performed with artists such as Kristin Chenoweth, Neil Patrick Harris, Audra McDonald, and Deborah Voigt, and they were the opening act for Joe Jonas and his band DNCE at Pride Toronto. They have performed twice with the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus and twice with the New York City Gay Men’s Chorus at Town Hall in Manhattan. The group has received critical acclaim at New York’s prestigious Feinstein's/54 Below and at numerous other venues from the House of Blues in New Orleans to the Leicester Square Theatre in London.

Well-Strung has released two albums: “Well-Strung” (2013) and “Popssical” (2015), which debuted at #8 on Billboards Classical Crossover Chart and #9 on Billboards Classical Chart.

Ticket are $55, $50 for balcony seating. Members receive $5 off the ticket price.

For more information, and to purchase tickets, visit artsonthecape.org or call 508-428-0669. Cotuit Center for the Arts is at 4404 Route 28 in Cotuit.

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What:

Well-String, the Singing String Quartet

Where:

Cotuit Center for the Arts, 4404 Route 28, Cotuit

When:

Friday, August 17, 7:30 PM.

Admission:

$55, $50 for balcony seating. $5 discount for members.

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