The world-famous Kronos Quartet performs Feb.19 in Capistrano Hall?s music recital hall, at 8 p.m., as part of Sacramento State?s New Millennium Concert Series.

Formed in 1973, the Kronos Quartet is a leading voice for new work. Their music is unique, experimenting with and incorporating different styles from composers around the world. David Harrington, one of the group?s violinists, formed the Kronos Quartet after hearing a performance of George Crumb?s “Black Angels.” The piece inspired the members of the quartet, which include Harrington, violinist John Sherba, violist Hank Dutt and cellist Jenifer Culp, to seek out more music that would capture the attention of people around the world.

Since their beginnings, the group has written or arranged more than 450 pieces of contemporary music. Their repertoire includes works from George Crumb, Morton Feldam and Carlos Paredes, among others. The Quartet?s sole purpose is to promote contemporary music and expand audiences that rarely have the opportunity to attend these kinds of performances.

Kronos has won many international awards, including the Deutsche Schallplattenpreis for “Black Angels” (Germany, 1991), three Edison Prizes (Netherlands, 1991-1993), and Grammy Award nominations for Early Music (1997), among others.

On tour, the Quartet performs in many cities throughout the United States, Mexico, Italy, France, Belgium, Japan and other countries, often more than 100 concerts in a year. Kronos has six more concerts scheduled throughout the United States on this tour, after which they will begin their international tour with Mexico and then move on to Europe.

Tickets for the show are $25 and are available at the Ticket Office, (916) 278-4323, or at www.Tickets.com, (916) 766-2277.