The Chiara String Quartet will perform the second concert of the 2014-2015 Hixson-Lied Concert Series at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 4 in UNL’s Kimball Hall.

The program will feature an “All-American” program to include Gabriela Lena Frank’s “Leyendas: An Andean Walkabout for String Quartet,” Irving Fine’s “String Quartet” and Jefferson Friedman’s “String Quartet No. 2.” The Chiara Quartet members are in their 10th year as Hixson-Lied artists-in-residence at UNL’s Glenn Korff School of Music in the College of Fine and Performing Arts.

Now in their 15th season performing together, the Chiara Quartet is moving forward by taking a cue from the past. Harkening back to a tradition that is centuries old and still common among soloists, the Chiara Quartet has adopted a new way of performing: from memory, without printed sheet music. For almost all of the Quartet’s upcoming concerts, they will be performing by heart. After spending countless hours working toward playing their repertoire from memory, they now feel that the sheet music is a distraction to the performance, instead of an aid.

“The act of performing from memory has been challenging for us,” said Gregory Beaver, Chiara cellist. “Each member must find a way to know the music inside and out. But the payback for each of us is equally rewarding, bringing us that much closer together in our music-making.”

Tickets for the performances are $20 for the general public, $10 for seniors and $5 for students. Any two concerts will be $35 for the general public, $16 for seniors and $8 for students. All tickets will be available at the Lied Center for Performing Arts ticket office, at the door or by calling 402-472-4747.

For more information, go to http://arts.unl.edu/music.