Long-time University benefactors John and Edith Blodgett, famous for their gift of the University's main swimming pool, have endowed the Music Department with its first-ever artists in residence program, which will begin next week.

The program, which will bear its benefactors' name, will bring a noted chamber ensemble to Harvard both to perform and to coach students. Professor of Music Christoph Wolff, in a prepared statement, called the program a "significant milestone in the history of the department."

The Michigan-based New World String Quarter next week will begin a three-year residency, during which they will provide workshops, demonstrations, lessons, and formal concerts. The quarter will spend four to eight days at Harvard four times each year.

"There is a need for performance, since much of the department is made up of composers," Edith Blodgett said yesterday. "When a student is a composer, he needs someone to perform his music. His level of music is such that it can only be performed by professionals."

The quarter's first performance will take place Friday, October 18 at 8 p.m. in Paine Hall. The concert is free and open to the public.