Join Halcyon String Quartet and Friends on Sunday, Aug. 2, at 7 p.m., at Broad Bay Church, in Waldoboro, for a summer evening of exuberant music.

"A not-your-normal string quartet, Halcyon is a collective of artists, filmmakers, animators, and storytellers who share their love of music in ways that foster connection, community, vibrancy, joy, warmth, and accessibility," said a news release. "Their multimedia programs combine music with film and spoken word; inviting audiences to feel, celebrate, and respond collectively and creatively to the world around them."

This special concert opens with a set of joyful tunes from around the world and then will move into Mendelssohn’s Octet, the concert’s centerpiece. This octet, written when Mendelssohn was just sixteen years old, is considered to be one of the miracles of the 19th century, according to Halcyon, in the news release.

As Halcyon co-founder and violinist Sophie Davis says, “This octet is a tour de force, full of soaring melodies and an energy that bubbles everywhere. To either listen or to play it is to be full of exuberance.”

Violinists Luke Fatora and Anne McKee, violist Nate Lesser and cellist Marisa Solomon will join Halcyon founders Sophie and Josie Davis (both from Waldoboro) on violin along with Colin Wheatley on viola and Julia Henderson on cello to complete the octet of musicians.

Halcyon, named for a lobster boat that Sophie Davis spotted while working on an oyster farm, is an artistic collective and nonprofit organization founded in 2019. The group performs throughout Maine, in venues ranging from harbor piers and farm barns to grange halls and concert halls. Their programs are rooted in local partnerships with educators, students, scientists, poets, artists, and composers and their films have been screened at the Strong Mind Film Festival, Maine International Film Festival, Reel Teal Film Festival and in many live performances throughout Maine.

This performance remembers Reverend Deborah McKean of Cushing and Claremont, California.

Admission is by donation. All proceeds will benefit the Midcoast Conservancy, Georges River Land Trust, and Broad Bay Church.

To learn more, visit halcyonstringquartet.org.