Shelter Island Friends of Music to host Imani Winds

Shelter Island Friends of Music presents the Grammy Award winning group Imani Winds in “Black and Brown II: A Celebration of Composers of Color” on Saturday, April 6 at 6 p.m.

The quintet will play the music of Paquito D’Rivera, Valerie Colman, Carlos Simon, Billy Childs, and others, including music especially written for and commissioned by Imani Winds.

Imani Winds won a 2024 Grammy Award for Best Classical Compendium for their work on “Passion for Bach and Coltrane.” The quintet members are Brandon Patrick George (flute), Toyin Spellman-Diaz (oboe), Kevin Newton (french horn), Mark Dover (clarinet) and Monica Ellis (bassoon). Ms. Spellman-Diaz will be replaced by oboist Mekhi Gladden for this concert.

With over 25 years of playing music, the three-time Grammy nominated group has led both “a revolution and evolution of the wind quintet through their dynamic playing, adventurous programming, imaginative collaborations and outreach endeavors that have inspired audiences of all ages and backgrounds,” according to their website. Gramophone said, “the ensemble’s hot rapport churns with conviction throughout.”

They perform in venues including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and the Kennedy Center and at Chamber Music Northwest, Chautauqua Institution and Banff Centre festivals. They have also performed throughout Asia, Brazil, Australia, England, New Zealand and Europe.

Members of the quintet are deeply committed to music education. Imani Winds Chamber Music Festival was launched in 2010, an annual summer program dedicated to career development and musicianship for pre-professional instrumentalists and composers.

In 2019, the group extended their mission even further by creating the non-profit organization, Imani Winds Foundation, to support, connect and continue their outreach and in 2021, they were appointed as the first-ever Faculty Wind Quintet at Curtis Institute of Music.

Their work is in the classical music section of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C.

This is the third concert of the Friends of Music’s 47th consecutive season, which will feature at least seven concerts. There is no admission fee for the concert at the Shelter Island Presbyterian Church; donations are always appreciated. A reception with the musicians follows the concert. 

Visit shelterislandfriendsofmusic.org for more information and the rest of our 2024 season.