The DaPonte String Quartet summer concert series will feature performances in some of Maine’s most beautiful landscapes, culminating with a special two-day Festival at Bates College’s Olin Arts Center, with guest artists Frank Glazer and George Lopez on piano.

To help audiences get in the Fourth of July spirit, Summer Series 1, entitled “Made in America,” celebrates works by American composers Randall Thompson, George Gershwin, Earl Louis Stewart, Samuel Barber, and George Crumb. It will be performed seven times: at the Stonington Opera House in Stonington on June 24; the Denmark Arts Center in Denmark on June 28; Centennial Hall in Harpswell on July 1; the Jackson Memorial Library in Tenant’s Harbor on July 2; the Visitor Center of the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in Boothbay on July 3; in So. Bristol’s Union Church on July 9; and in the historic barn of the Wells Reserve at Laudholm in Wells on July 10.

The Botanical Gardens and the Wells Reserve are among the state’s top tourist draws, with stunning seaside settings that audiences are invited to stroll through or picnic in before settling in for an evening of classical music. The Gardens sport 250 acres of lush gardens, trails, and wild spaces on the Boothbay peninsula, while the Reserve offers historic buildings and seven miles of trails through salt marsh, forest, and field in Southern Maine. Admission to each site is included in the price of the concert.

The Quartet leaves the New World for the Old World with its second summer series. “Entente Cordiale” features works by Claude Debussy, Dmitri Shostakovich, and Henry Purcell. It will be performed five times: Centennial Hall in Harpswell on July 22; Jackson Memorial Library in Tenants Harbor on July 23; the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in Boothbay on July 24; Piper Shores Retirement Community in Scarborough (open to the public) on Aug. 3; and the Union Church in So. Bristol on Aug. 6.

The Daponte Quartet’s summer season culminates with a two-day Festival at the Bates College Olin Arts Center in Lewiston commemorating the 100th anniversary of WWI with guest artists George Lopez and Frank Glazer. Mr.

Glazer, who is approaching his own 100th birthday, is the longtime Artist-in-Residence at Bates. In addition to solo recitals, he has performed throughout the world as a concert pianist with leading orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Lopez is the Beckwith Artist in Residence at Bowdoin College and conductor of the Bowdoin Chamber Orchestra. He has been featured across the globe as recitalist and soloist with orchestra in such places as Paris, London, Cologne, Los Angeles, and New York’s Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. Glazer will perform works of Brahms and Faure on August 20. Lopez will be featured on August 25 in works by Debussy, Frank Bridge and Elgar. String duos by Bartok and Kodaly will also be included on these programs. Information on programs, venues, and tickets is available from www.DaPonte.org or 529-4555.