New classical concert series to begin March 30 in Rehoboth

With hopes to bring a breath of fresh air into the social and cultural life of Rehoboth Beach, local musician Grégory Langer is launching the Delaware Beach Classical concert series.

The first concert will feature the Iceberg String Quartet, violinist Thomas Cooper and pianist Stephen Lee. The free event takes place at 5:30 p.m., Saturday, March 30, at St. Edmond's Church, King Charles Avenue, Rehoboth Beach.

Langer, a violinist himself, is finishing a bachelor’s degree in music at Oberlin College & Conservatory of Music. He said the concerts will feature promising young musicians from Montreal, Boston and New York City.

Langer said the six performers scheduled for the first concert are all highly talented musicians who pursued their education at schools such as Oberlin Conservatory, McGill University, New England Conservatory or the Juilliard School of Music. Their repertoires feature composers such and Beethoven, Debussy and Webern, he said.

The musicians will also interact with the audience, Langer said. First, there will be a discussion of the historical and social context in which the pieces were composed. After that, the performers will offer insights into the structure of each piece.

Langer’s father, Thierry G. Langer, is owner of Kaisey’s Delights in Lewes and Rehoboth, and he’s helping to make the concert series happen. The family is from the French Riviera, Thierry said, and they chose to open their restaurants in the Cape Region because they saw great potential and stunning similarities.

“There is a fantastic route for quaint development in Sussex County, if we can demonstrate that life at the beach is not for retired people only,” said Langer. “Younger entrepreneurs may want to dwell somewhere around Georgetown, for instance, if they understand that they will find locally the connection with the year-round intellectual, artistic, gastronomic and outdoor life they want to enjoy.”

Thierry said he and his wife got involved because they have been trying to bring as much as they can to an area that has been so welcoming.

“If it works, it should help bring the exact type of clientele we are all looking for,” Langer said. “This is part of a broader array of ideas we have for a quainter, yet thriving Rehoboth Beach downtown.”

Grégory said the March 30 concert is the only one scheduled so far, but he hopes to accumulate enough resources to organize monthly concerts by fall. A meet-and-greet with the performers will follow the concert.