Music fans can get a taste of classical style this weekend in State College, when the Vermeer Quartet performs at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday in Schwab Auditorium. The program is slated to include works from Beethoven, Shostakovich, Tchaikovsky and Mendelssohn.

The Vermeer Quartet consists of Shmuel Ashkenasi and Mathias Tacke on violin, Richard Young on viola and Marc Johnson on cello. The members formed the group at the Marlboro Music Festival in 1969.

Vermeer Quartet Time: 7:30 p.m. Date: Sunday Place: Schwab Auditorium

The members are all on the Resident Artist Faculty of Northern Illinois University at DeKalb.

Since its formation, the group has played many musical festivals, including Tanglewood, Adleburgh, Mostly Mozart, Aspen, Bath, Lucerne, South Bank, Flanders, Albuquerque, Berlin, Schleswig-Holstein, Santa Fe, Edinburgh, Great Woods, Spoleto, Ravinia and the Casals Festival.

The quartet also received a Grammy nomination for its interpretation of Haydn's The Seven Last Words of Christ. The piece was broadcast around the world for more than 75 million people.

According to a press release, the group has achieved an international stature as one of the world's finest music ensembles, with performances in almost every major city in North America, Europe and Australia.

The Vermeer Quartet is not just known for playing classic pieces by famous composers, but also less familiar works as well.

This performance is a part of the Intimate Excursions performances in Schwab Auditorium. Artistic viewpoints will begin one hour before the performance.

Ticket prices for the performance are divided into two sections, section one is $20 and section two is $16 for the general public, section one is $16 and section two is $12 for students, section one is $6 and section two is $2 for University Park Students and section one is $10 and section two is $7 for children 12 and younger. Tickets can be purchased by calling (814) 863-0255 or 800-ARTS-TIX.