Imani Winds Quintet to be featured during Black History Month

By WILL HEHEMANN 

CoLLege oF Fine ArtS AnD CommuniCAtion meDiA oFFiCe 

The University of Central Arkansas’s Black History Month activities will include the Imani Winds quintet at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 23 at the Donald W. Reynolds Performance Hall. 

The concert is free and open to the public. 

“The ensemble is made up of five African-American members: flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon and horn,” said Dr. Lorraine Duso, assistant professor of music at UCA. “One might think they play band music, but actually they play a wide variety of music from European to African-American to Latin traditions.” 

Imani Winds infuses chamber music with the sound of woodwind instruments, a unique departure from the traditional string quartet. Much of the ensemble’s repertoire consists of original compositions written by its own members specifically for a wind quintet. 

Since 1997, the Grammy-nominated quintet has performed at such major venues as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and Kennedy Center, playing alongside well-known artists like Yo-Yo Ma and Daniel Binelli. 

After researching the quintet online, Duso got in touch with UCA’s Office of Minority Services and Dr. Jeff Jarvis, chair of the Department of Music. It seemed like booking the quintet was a serendipitous opportunity for both the Minority Service’s Black History Month Celebration and the music department. 

The Boston Globe said that Imani Winds is recognized as one of the leading wind quintets in America and “revels in challenging preconceptions about ‘classical’ music and musicians.” 

Currently, Imani Winds is commissioning, premiering and touring 10 new works for woodwind written by a diverse selection of contemporary composers. 

For more information, contact Duso at 501-450-5769 or lduso@uca.edu.