Matthew O'Meara

On Monday evening, classical music enthusiasts gathered in Dutchman’s Wood-Fired Bagels for an evening of chamber music, socializing and gourmet pizza.

Beneath high ceilings, and bathed in a soft glow, the Grammy award-winning Ying Quartet with pianist Ran Dank took listeners through a masterful and expressive repertoire.

The event was hosted by the Bowdoin International Music Festival, which often brings world-class musicians to Brunswick. Since 1964, the festival has curated musical performances for the Brunswick community and trained musicians from around the world at their summer institute on the Bowdoin campus.

Today, the festival is one of the largest chamber music festivals in the country. This event kicked off the fourth season of the “Music at the Mill” series hosted by the organization.

Daniel Nitsch, the festival’s executive director, shared his enthusiasm for the quartet.

“They are exceptional musicians. The virtuosity they display is world class. But, perhaps more importantly, they are also incredible people and communicators,” Nitsch said.

The “Music at the Mill” series features three events in the fall, winter and spring where summer faculty of the festival are given the chance to return to Maine to perform and engage with the community.

“[Chamber music] is a great opportunity for musicians to work, not only on their skills as artists but also their skills as humans,” Nitsch said. “It’s an opportunity for members of the Brunswick community to meet one another and seek out like-minded spirits who love music, great food and beautiful locations.”

The Ying Quartet, featuring siblings Janet, David and Phillip Ying and their friend Robin Scott, opened their performance with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s “String Quartet No. 16 in E-flat Major.” They were later joined by pianist Dank in playing “Piano Quintet in F-sharp Minor, Op. 67,” composed by Amy Beach. This last piece ended with a standing ovation.

Cellist David Ying highlighted the particular importance of their identity as a chamber group.

“I love the scale of chamber music. It’s so much more personal,” Ying said. “It becomes this shared experience of beauty and human expression.”

The Ying quartet regularly performs in some of the most prestigious venues across the country, but they also believe in connecting chamber music with daily life. Ying looks forward to performing in less formal spaces like Dutchman’s.

“It’s not just for the music, but the whole vibe of being in a less formal place, of being able to eat, drink, have friendship afterwards too,” Ying said. “It makes live music that much more exciting.”

In addition to performances, Ying said that his work with the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y. as well as the festival in Brunswick are most important to him. The quartet teaches at the conservatory in New York over the winter and has joined the music festival in Brunswick over the summer for nearly two decades. Now, the brothers serve on the artistic board of the festival.

“Concerts come and go,” Ying said. “Even more important is encouraging the future of beauty and artistic endeavor.”

Ying shared he never dreamed of playing in a string quartet when he was younger, much less in a quartet with his family. But upon reflection, he believes their connection has made them better musicians.

“One of the most important qualities in a professional string quartet that’s successful and long lasting is not just musical skill, musical insight and knowledge, but it is also loyalty,” he said. “You have to have a lot of trust in each other. You have to have an underlying belief in each other.”

It is these qualities that have made the Ying Quartet a magnetic force for community members.

Many concertgoers said they try to attend every event held by the festival, praising the organization’s commitment to the arts and the captivating performance by Dank and the quartet.

Portland resident Jerry Brown, who drove up to Brunswick to see the performance, shared these sentiments and also expressed his hopes for increased engagement by Bowdoin students.

“We want to see more students from Bowdoin at these kinds of events, and we want to see these events become more accessible for Bowdoin students,” he said.

For students, off-campus festival events, like the “Music at the Mill” Series, tickets are half off, and during the summer, on-campus events are free.

In the current social and political climate, Ying feels there has never been a more important time in his lifetime for broadening the reach of music and the arts.

“There’s so many things about the world that you will have to deal with and process that I didn’t,” he said. “Everything about music is about creating beauty and experiencing shared human experience. If other people are going to make it harder for us, then we need to do it even more.”