Imani Winds On Free "Musical Dialogues" Program

The Hartford Symphony Orchestra presents "Musical Dialogues #9", hosted by HSO Music Director Edward Cumming, on Sunday, February 4, 2007 at 3:00 pm at Asylum Hill Congregational Church, 814 Asylum Avenue, Hartford. For this free program of music and conversation, Maestro Cumming will be joined by the distinguished young musicians of Imani Winds, the 2006 Grammy-nominated woodwind quintet that continues to push exciting musical boundaries.

The 2006-2007 Season is sponsored by RBC Dain Rauscher. The Hartford Symphony Musical Dialogues Series is presented by St. Paul Travelers Connecticut Foundation and supported by the National Endowment for the Arts.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS:

The five accomplished musicians of Imani Winds (Mariam Adams, clarinet, Valerie Coleman, flute, Monica Ellis, bassoon, Toyin Spellman-Diaz, oboe and Jeff Scott, horn) joined forces in 1997 to expand the boundaries of the traditional wind quintet and explore the links between European, African and American music traditions. The name Imani, which literally means "faith" in Swahili, embodies this mission. In their time together, this young ensemble of African/Latin American heritage has established a distinct presence in the classical music world for dynamic playing, innovative programming, and inspirational outreach programs, which often explore the culture and heritage of the African Diaspora while introducing Western classical traditions to diverse classroom audiences.

One need only look at a concert program offered by Imani Winds to appreciate their commitment to the expansion and diversification of the wind quintet repertoire. From Mendelssohn, Jean Françaix, György Ligeti, and Luciano Berio, to Astor Piazzola, Elliott Carter and John Harbison; to the unexpected ranks of Paquito D'Rivera, Tania León and Fred Ho, Imani Winds actively seek to bring new music into the wind quintet literature. Imani members Valerie Coleman and Jeff Scott both contribute compositions and arrangements to the ensemble's expanding repertoire.

The ensemble has adopted new textures and sounds into the quintet by employing folk influences and percussive elements, and through collaborations which have included Latin American legends such as Paquito D'Rivera and bandoneon player Daniel Binelli, as well as Gilbert Kalish and David Shifrin. Imani Winds toured extensively in 2005-06, including their San Francisco debut at the Herbst Theater. Additionally, they demonstrated their commitment to exploring new forms by creating and presenting a tribute to the legendary Josephine Baker on the 100th anniversary of her birth, reaching across disciplines to include dance and song. Titled "Josephine Baker: A Life of Le Jazz Hot," it is in collaboration with chanteuse René Marie and others, and premiered in Pittsburgh at the August Wilson Center last spring.

In the 2004-05 season Imani Winds released their first major-label recording, The Classical Underground (KOCH International Classics), which was subsequently nominated for a 2005 Grammy Award. Also that season, their Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center residency culminated in a recital in New York's Alice Tully Hall with renowned clarinetist/saxophonist/composer Paquito D'Rivera. The ensemble performed sextets with pianist Gilbert Kalish at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and appeared at La Jolla Music Society, Seattle's Meany Hall, Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, Ensemble Music Society of Indianapolis, made a return appearance at the Virginia Arts Festival, and made their Canadian debut at Ottawa's Christ Church Cathedral.

Past highlights include performances at Atlanta's National Black Arts Festival, Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall, Chicago Symphony Musicians Residency Program, the Ravinia Festival, the Kennedy Center, and the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society. During the 2003-04 season Imani Winds enjoyed national exposure with broadcasts on NPR's Saint Paul Sunday and Performance Today. The ensemble has completed two international tours with eminent saxophonist Steve Coleman and can be heard on his recording "The Ascension to Light."

Two-time winner of the CMA/ASCAP Award for "Adventurous Programming," Imani Winds was selected to become resident-artists of Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center in their professional residency program CMSLC II beginning in the 2003-04 season. More recently, the quintet received the 2003 "Meet the Composer" Commissioning Music/USA Award, and in 2004 debuted New York native Fred Ho's "Josephine Baker's Angels from the Rainbow." In 2001, Imani Winds won the Concert Artist Guild competition and subsequently became the CAG's first Educational Residency Ensemble in recognition of their outstanding educational mission and tremendous musical abilities. They are also recipients of the Artists International Annual New York Debut Prize.

In 2002, the group released their CMA/WQXR award winning debut recording entitled "Umoja" (featuring original works by Imani flutist, Valerie Coleman). "Classical Underground" was released on the KOCH label in January 2005 and their second CD for KOCH, titled "Imani Winds," was released in January of 2006. -- www.hartfordsymphony.org