Music For Montauk Launching Fifth Season With Complimentary Sybarite5 Concert

Mother’s Day weekend will bring the commencement of Music for Montauk’s (M4M) fifth season. For its season opener, M4M will welcome billboard chart topping string quintet Sybarite5 at the Montauk School Auditorium on Saturday, May 11 at 4 p.m.

Comprised of Sami Merdinian and Sarah Whitney, violins; Angela Pickett, viola; Laura Metcalf, cello; and Louis Levitt, bass, Sybarite5 exemplifies M4M’s mission of breathing new life into classical music with a fresh, dynamic approach.

“Their rock star status…is well deserved. Their classically honed technique mixed with grit and all out passionate attack transfixes the audience,” lauded the Sarasota Herald Tribune.

Dubbed “the millennial Kronos,” Sybarite5 mesmerizes concert-goers with a unique repertoire that touches upon iconic musicians from Bowie to Radiohead and Akiho to Assad, sprinkled with works from composers like Visconti to Vrebalov. The band was the first group of its kind to take home top honors at the Concert Artists Guild International Competition and has performed in over 40 states. They’ve graced the stage of several festivals, including Forward Festival, Grand Teton Music Festival, Aspen Music Festival, Walla Walla Chamber Music Festival, Chautauqua Music Festival, Green Lake Music Festival, Look and Listen Festival, and performed internationally at Canada’s Tuckamore Music Festival, the New Docta International Music Festival in Cordoba, Argentina, and the Osaka Festa in Osaka, Japan.

The band’s debut album, Disturb the Silence, quickly earned a top ten spot on the Billboard charts. Sybarite5 released its follow-up album, Everything in its Right Place, at Carnegie Hall to critical acclaim. Outliers, its third album, is comprised of all new works from American composers.

Endeavor, Sybarite5’s latest program, boasts recent commissions and debuts from composers Jessica Meyer, Brandon Ridenour, Steven Snowden, William Britelle, and 2017 Pulitzer finalist Michael Gilbertson. They will be paired with tunes from Marc Mellits, Aleksandra Vrebalov, and John Coltrane.

“We are thrilled to have the astonishing Sybarite5 perform in Montauk… especially considering M4M’s unique connections with members such as Angela Pickett, Sarah Whitney, and Laura Metcalf, and the music for Jessica Meyer,” Lilah Gosman, M4M Co-Founder, expressed. “They are completely emblematic of our fresh and dynamic approach to classical music!”

Additionally, Music for Montauk will compliment the Sybarite5 concert with an interactive educational outreach performance for the Montauk School students.

In celebration of the launch of its 2019 season, M4M will host a post-concert Spring Awakening Party – where guests can meet the artists and learn about the upcoming season – at Gosman’s Restaurant (500 West Lake Drive, Montauk) from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Tickets to the gathering are $35 in advance and $40 at the door. They are available at White’s Liquors (771 Montauk Highway, Montauk) and Naturally Good (779 Montauk Highway, Montauk) or online.

Admission to the Sybarite5 is free.

Montauk School is located at 240 Edgemere Street in Montauk. For more information, call 646-342-0157 or visit www.musicformontauk.org.