Over its decades of presenting chamber music and traditional jazz, the Essex Winter Series has changed venues and artistic directors, but one recurring theme has been the Orion String Quartet.

The quartet has an unusually collegial set-up in which brothers Daniel and Todd Phillips take turns in the first chair (if there's sibling rivalry, they're keeping this under wraps). Joining them to make up the quartet are violist Steven Tenenbom and cellist Timothy Eddy.

The Sunday afternoon concert at Valley Regional High School in Deep River will feature a pair of popular Schubert quartets, the A minor known as "The Rosamunde Quartet," D.804, and his most famous, the D minor musical drama, known as "Death and the Maiden," D.810.

The quartet will be joined by the winner of the Winter Series' 2013 Fenton Brown Emerging Artist award, clarinetist Romie de Guise-Langlois, to perform the Mozart Clarinet Quintet in A major, K.581.

A popular ensemble and three of the most popular chamber works of the classical era offer midwinter escape for a Sunday afternoon.

- MILTON MOORE

Essex Winter Series, 3 p.m. Sunday, Valley Regional High School, 256 Kelsey Hill Road, Deep River; $30, $12 student tickets; (860) 272-4572, ext. 1, essexwinterseries.com.