Seeing live chamber music can be a transcendent mind-body experience, akin to getting a tattoo underwater, or making out during an eclipse. Transcend boredom with today's Groupon: for $17, you get one ticket to a Sheldon Friends of Chamber Music performance (up to a $35 value). Performances take place in the Ethel S. Abbott Auditorium of the Sheldon Museum of Art in Lincoln. Choose from three performances:

• The Ames Piano Quartet on Friday, February 18 at 8 p.m.
• The Trio Nuovo on Sunday, March 13 at 3 p.m.
• The Castalia Trio on Saturday, April 16 at 8 p.m.

One of the nation’s oldest presenters of chamber music, the Sheldon Friends of Chamber Music introduces classical and contemporary compositions to audiences with their annual concert series of elite performances. Due to its intimate nature and small-group instrumentation, chamber music is often described as “the music of friends,” while the music of coworkers still consists of bubbling water coolers and the hum of a broken fax machine. The Ames Piano Quartet, Iowa State University's resident chamber ensemble, polishes ossicles with piano-quartet pieces blending the emotional sound of strings with orchestral piano. The song-spinning members of Trio Nuovo forge their diverse musical backgrounds to present a compelling musical experience featuring work by Shostakovich, Arensky and Chausson. Having completed residencies in Paris, Versailles, Shanghai, and Beijing conservatories, the Castalia Trio charms concert halls with its mastery of classical tunes.

With comfortable tiered seating and capacity for only 294 audience members, the Ethel S. Abbott Auditorium provides an intimate venue for chamber music performances. Each performance is preceded by a brief lecture to prepare patrons for the approaching waves of aural felicity, while postshow receptions offer audience members a chance to meet with performers and ask if they take requests. Seating is assigned on a first-come basis, so arrive early for a prime view.