One of Atlanta’s contemporary music ensembles is inviting you out for a drink. Chamber Cartel is about to begin a six-concert series at Orpheus Brewing in Midtown. They’ll be performing works by Iannis Xenakis, John Luther Adams and other composers in a series they’re calling “Don’t Look Back: Beyond the Zero.”

There may not be an obvious connection between contemporary classical music and craft beer, but as it turns out, both entities go way back.

“We met in college,” Cartel founder Caleb Herron tells “City Lights” host Lois Reitzes. “We were at Georgia State together.”

Herron is referring to Jason Pellett, brewmaster and president of Orpheus, who majored in trumpet performance.

Herron and Pellett reconnected years after graduating and Chamber Cartel has since performed concerts at the brewery, including an album release show. The series at Orpheus includes six concerts between February and October. Herron says the first will include several throwbacks to the old avant garde, as well as newly commissioned work and a premier of a new piece titled “Melancholia” by composer Anthony Donofrio.

“[Audiences] can expect to hear a lot of different sound worlds in the new series,” Herron says.

Chamber Cartel’s concert series “Don’t Look Back: Beyond the Zero” begins Saturday, Feb. 11 at Orpheus Brewing.