The Diana Wortham Theatre opens its Mainstage Music Series with Sweet Plantain String Quartet at 8 p.m. on Saturday, February 19. A refreshingly new string quartet that thrills audiences with original compositions and contemporary works by Latin composers, Sweet Plantain specialized in genre-blurring music, artfully fusing the western classical traditions in which they were trained with the hip-hop, jazz improv, and Latin rhythms on which they were raised.

Academy Awards/Grammy/Golden Globe-winning composer Ryuichi Sakamoto praises the quartet: “Their playing is very precise, yet passionate, and the fact that they’ve studied both classical and popular music makes them very versatile players ... a true ensemble ...”

Calling on their South Bronx, New Jersey, and Venezuela roots, the quartet gives voice to a contemporary, urban, Latino sound that is rooted in improvisation. Sweet Plantain weaves the possibilities of improvisation into classical music by arranging existing pieces, writing original compositions with improvised sections, and making use of extended percussive techniques.

The players of Sweet Plantain come from world-renowned music schools and years of experience in the classical, improvisational, jazz and Latino fields. Importantly, the group is deeply committed to music education in underserved schools.

For more information about the performance and to purchase tickets (regular $30, seniors $28, students $25, student rush day-of-the-show with valid ID $10), call the theatre’s box office at 828.257.4530 or visit dwtheatre.com.