Last year, the musical brothers Brantley staged a benefit concert for their sister, Felicia, who needed a liver transplant. This year, Paul Brantley is expanding the cause while condensing the bill.

The "classical" Brantley, cellist Paul, will perform with pianist Steve Beck at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Jabez S. Hardin Performing Arts Center in Evans in a concert benefiting the Georgia Transplant Foundation.

Mr. Brantley, who played in the pop-oriented benefit last year, said this will be the first time in 13 years that he's played a classical concert in his hometown. He said playing here is especially appealing because the community and music he heard growing up influences his wide-ranging composition and musical interests.

"New York City is New York City," he said in a recent telephone interview of his current city of residency. "But I feel like the kind of program I'm putting together is the result of growing up in Augusta. Maybe I've lost my Southern accent, but I'm still from the South. It's part of who I am."

As a musician and composer, Mr. Brantley has played with rock stars such a Phish's Trey Anastasio and Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, and has composed classical pieces inspired by the prose and poetry of the likes of E.E. Cummings and James Joyce. He said his eclectic musical interests are the product of coming from a musical family in a musical town.

"When I was growing up, in the late '60s and early '70s in Augusta, there were just so many kinds of music I was exposed to and loved," he said. "I mean, I remember going over to a studio in North Augusta where my brothers were recording and meeting James Brown. That's the sort of thing that, for a music lover, is life-changing."

Mr. Brantley embraces all instruments as a composer, writing for intimate ensembles and for full orchestras. As a player, he's a cellist through and through. He said there's something about the tone and tactile nature of the instrument that makes it appealing.

"I mean, you literally hug the instrument," he said with a laugh. "You can feel it vibrating through your whole body. And tonally, it really encompasses all ranges. It really is an amazing instrument."

Although most of the pieces for the benefit will be early 20th century selections, Mr. Brantley said he has included a couple of his own works.

"I've tried to stop thinking about genre and thinking about art," he said. "I don't mean Art with a capital A, but rather the process of creating. That's what's important."

Reach Steven Uhles at (706) 823-3626 or steven.uhles@augustachronicle.com.