IN AN exciting new departure for the Weymouth Lunchtime Chamber Concerts, one of Britain’s leading young string quartets, the Zelkova Quartet from Manchester, are coming to the town as Ensemble-in-Residence for the 2012-13 season.

The musicians will present several masterpieces of the quartet repertoire in three concerts and in each programme, the season’s artistic director Duncan Honeybourne will join them for one of the great piano quintets.

The next concert is on November 28 and will include music by Schubert and Schumann.

The Zelkova Quartet was founded at the Royal Northern College of Music under the guidance of Petr Prause, of the Talich Quartet, in 2010. They were finalists in the RNCM Weil Prize 2010 and won the RNCM Nossek Prize 2011.

They competed in the RNCM Chamber Ensemble of the Year Competition 2011, playing Mendelssohn D major String Quartet, and received the Audience Prize.

Duncan Honeybourne won prizes at the Royal Academy of Music and the Birmingham Conservatoire, where he graduated with First Class Honours and was subsequently elected an honorary member for professional distinction.

Weymouth’s lunchtime concerts have been running for a decade and have proved increasingly popular.

They take place in St Mary’s Church in St Mary Street once a month and are a showcase for up and coming as well as established musicians.

For the past three years the lunchtime concert in May has been dedicated to Duncan’s father Eric, who died of vascular dementia. He was cared for in the Melcombe Day Unit at Weymouth Community Hospital, which offers respite care for sufferers of dementia and their families and his concerts have been held to raise hundreds of pounds for the unit.

At the concert in May 2012, £400 was collected for the unit.

Duncan said: “I am thrilled that the Zelkova Quartet are coming to the town.

“I am also touched and delighted by the amount of money we continue to raise for the Melcombe Unit and would like to thank everyone who has been so generous.”

The lunchtime recital with the Zelkova Quartet is at 1pm on November 28 in St Mary’s Church, St Mary Street, Weymouth. Admission is £4 plus concessions.