By Linda Badger

The Richmond District has been home to the world renown Del Sol Quartet since 1992. The Quartet consists of violist, Charlton Lee, cellist, Kathryn Bates and two violin players: Benjamin Kreith and Hyeyung Sol Yoon. While the Quartet’s instruments are the same as those used in classical string quartets for hundreds of years, Del Sol’s performances are anything but traditional.

In a recent interview for the Richmond Review, Bates said that the Quartet seeks to “use this beautiful combination of instruments and do something new with it.” The “something new” created by the Quartet incorporates a myriad of musical and cultural influences, instruments, storytelling, dance, poetry and nature, making its performances more like musical adventures than classical music concerts.

Del Sol Quartet’s new work, “Facing the Moon: Songs of the Diaspora,” will premiere at the Presidio Theatre on Sunday, Oct. 19 at 2 p.m. In this multimedia performance, the Quartet will premiere new music by composers from the Chinese diaspora: Theresa Wong, Vivian Fung and Meilina Tsui – accompanied by the poetry of San Francisco’s poet laureate, Genny Lim. Connecting the music to the poetry, Lim’s work is based on the musicians’ own histories of immigration to the United States, recounting stories of hardship as well as hope.

Learn more about the Del Sol Quartet in the November issue of the Richmond Review and in November on RichmondSunsetNews.com.

To buy tickets online, visit presidiotheatre.org/show-details/facing-the-moon-songs-of-the-diaspora. The Presidio Theatre is located at 99 Moraga Ave. in the Presidio of San Francisco (across from the bowling alley and three blocks from Tunnel Tops). Prices range from $38 to $71. Parking is available.