CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – Albemarle High School’s string quartet will take their skills in a new direction at the Paramount Theater later this month.

“Beatles vs. Stones – A Musical Showdown,” enters tribute bands of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones into a face-off on Apr. 21 at 7 p.m.

“They’re thrilled. They’re shocked, thrilled, excited, every adjective that you can imagine,” according to Orchestra Director Carrie Finnegan, who said the quartet is aware of the bands. She was surprised, however, to find that none of them could name any of the bands’ songs off the top of their heads.

“But they’ve kind of gotten into it a little bit in the last couple weeks,” she said. “So, that’s been fun to watch.” 

The Beatles’ “Eleanor Rigby” is well-known for its use of a double-string quartet to tell the melancholy tale of a lonely woman who tidies up after weddings and dies alone. But Alex Chen, Joanna Kim, Alyssa Lee, and Amy Wang will accompany “A Day in the Life,” “Hello Goodbye,” “Hey Jude,” “Gimme Shelter,” and “Ruby Tuesday,” as well.

Finnegan called the show an interesting platform.

“The genre, I don’t think, has died off at all,” she said. “But I think a lot of us may have forgotten how much there is to appreciate. I think it’s a great opportunity for the audience to come out and relive these bands but also to relive them in a new way.”

Tickets are $27.50 to $57.50 and may be purchased by phone at (434) 979-1333, at the Theater Box Office, or online at www.theparamount.net.