Sunday, February 3, 2008

Imani Winds, African American Wind Quintet Enriching The Repertoire


Imani Winds is an innovative wind quintet comprised of African American musicians. Its website explains its name: http://www.ImaniWinds.com


"Since 1997, the Grammy nominated Imani Winds has been enriching the traditional wind quintet repertoire with European, American, African and Latin American traditions. As their Swahili name Imani ("faith") denotes, the five unabashedly adventurous musicians have followed their mission closely, carving out a distinct presence in the classical music world with their dynamic playing, culturally poignant programming, and inspirational outreach programs.”

To celebrate its 10th Anniversary, and to expand the repertoire of works for wind quintet by composers of color, it began a Legacy Project in 2007 which will continue to 2011. Here is an excerpt from its Winter newsletter:

All sorts of great things have happened in the past months. We performed in Paris with Wayne Shorter and premiered Valerie’s Afro-Cuban concerto. Our first recital at Oberlin College, Monica and Toyin's alma mater (go Oberlin!) was a big success, and we had a wide array of incredible concert experiences with young and young-at-heart audiences around the country.”

Imani+Winds" rel="tag">Imani Winds
Wind+Quintet" rel="tag">Wind Quintet
classical+music" rel="tag">classical music
Black+Quintet" rel="tag">Black Quintet
African+American" rel="tag">African American
expanding+repertoire" rel="tag">expanding repertoire

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