Imani Winds is an American

wind quintet A wind quintet, also known as a woodwind quintet, is a group of five wind players (most commonly flute, oboe, clarinet, French horn and bassoon). Unlike the string quartet (of 4 string instruments) with its homogeneous blend of sound color, the in ...

based in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, United States. The group was founded by flutist

Valerie Coleman Valerie Coleman is an American composer and flutist as well as the creator of the wind quintet Imani Winds. Coleman is a distinguished artist of the century who was named Performance Today's 2020 Classical Woman of the year and was listed as “ ...

in 1997 and is known for its adventurous and diverse programming, which includes both established and newly composed works. The word Imani means "faith" in Swahili. They are also active commissioners of new music with the intent of introducing more diverse composers to the wind quintet repertoire.

Overview

The name "Imani Winds" was chosen by Coleman before she formed the quintet. She viewed it as a vision of what the quintet could mean to African-American and other underrepresented communities. Coleman wanted to form a chamber group to highlight the work of underrepresented composers and performers. Therefore, the group's initial members were all of

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

and Latino ancestry. The group first included Valerie Coleman on flute, Toyin Spellman-Diaz on

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range. ...

, Monica Ellis on bassoon, Mariam Adam on clarinet, and Jeff Scott on

french horn The French horn (since the 1930s known simply as the horn in professional music circles) is a brass instrument made of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. The double horn in F/B (technically a variety of German horn) is the horn most ...

. In 201
Mark Dover
replaced Mariam Adam, in 2018 Brandon Patrick George replaced Valerie Coleman, and in 2021, Kevin Newton replaced Jeff Scott. The group has released four CDs. Their first CD on a major label, ''The Classical Underground'' (

Koch Entertainment Koch Entertainment was an American record label and a distributor of film, television, and music. It was purchased by Canadian entertainment company Entertainment One in 2005. History First years The company began in 1975 as part of Koch Inter ...

), was released in January 2005 and was nominated for a

Grammy award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

in 2006. In 2001 they won the Richard S. Weinert Award for Innovation in Classical Music from the Concert Artists Guild. In 2002, they won the CMA/ ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming and the CMA/ WQXR Recording Award for their first album ''Umoja''. In 2007, they won the ASCAP Concert Music Award. Imani Winds have toured throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe, and participated in Chamber Music Society Two, a professional residency program of

The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center (CMS) is an American organization dedicated to the performance and promotion of chamber music in New York City. It is the largest organization of its kind in the country for chamber music. CMS's home is ...

. In addition, Imani has toured internationally and recorded with saxophonist Steve Coleman, performed with pop recording artists

Morley Morley may refer to: Places England * Morley, Norfolk, a civil parish * Morley, Derbyshire, a civil parish * Morley, Cheshire, a village * Morley, County Durham, a village * Morley, West Yorkshire, a suburban town of Leeds and civil parish * M ...

, and opened for

Cassandra Wilson Cassandra Wilson (born December 4, 1955) is an American jazz singer, songwriter, and producer from Jackson, Mississippi. She is one of the most successful female Jazz singers and has been described by critic Gary Giddins as "a singer blessed wi ...

and

Wynton Marsalis Wynton Learson Marsalis (born October 18, 1961) is an American trumpeter, composer, teacher, and artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. He has promoted classical and jazz music, often to young audiences. Marsalis has won nine Grammy Award ...

. They have performed with several notable jazz musicians such as

Wayne Shorter Wayne Shorter (born August 25, 1933) is an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Shorter came to prominence in the late 1950s as a member of, and eventually primary composer for, Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. In the 1960s, he joined Miles Dav ...

, Steve Coleman, Paquito D'Rivera, and Steffon Harris. They have appeared on radio programs including ''

Saint Paul Sunday ''Saint Paul Sunday'' is a Peabody Award-winning weekly classical music radio program that aired from 1980 to 2007, with encore broadcasts airing through 2012. It was hosted by Bill McGlaughlin for its entire run. At its height, it was America's ...

'', ''

Performance Today ''Performance Today'' is a Peabody Award-winning classical music radio program, first aired in 1987 and hosted since 2000 by Fred Child. It is the most listened-to daily classical music radio program in the United States, with 1.2 million listen ...

'', ''

,'' ''

News & Notes ''News & Notes'' was a National Public Radio program focusing on issues affecting African-Americans and African diaspora communities. The listenership was multiracial and international. The program aired for one hour each weekday and was hosted b ...

'', '' The Bob Edwards Show'', and ''

The World In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...

''.

Legacy Commissioning Project

Imani Winds began the Legacy Commissioning Project in 2008 with the intention of commissioning and premiering ten new works for wind quintet by composers of color and diverse backgrounds over a five-year period. The group has continued to commission and premiered more works after the initial five-year time frame, and the group has continued their original intent to introduce more diverse composers to the standard wind quintet repertoire.

Commissions

Discography

With Steve Coleman * 1999 – ''The Ascension to Light'' With Brubeck Brothers Quartet * 2008 – ''Classified'' With Chick Corea * 2012 - ''The Continents: Concerto for Jazz Quintet & Chamber Orchestra'' With

* 2013 – '' Without a Net'' With

Mohammed Fairouz Mohammed Fairouz (born November 1, 1985) is an American composer. He is one of the most frequently performed composers of his generation and has been described by Daniel J. Wakin of ''The New York Times'' as an "important new artistic voice". Fa ...

* 2013 – ''Native Informant'' With Edward Simon * 2018 – ''Sorrows & Triumphs''

References

External links

Imani Winds official site
at Jay K. Hoffman & Associates, Inc. site

Listening

Imani Winds on ''All Things Considered'' radio program
June 8, 2005
Imani Winds on ''Performance Today'' radio program
February 22, 2006
Imani Winds on ''News & Notes'' radio program
May 23, 2006
Imani Winds on ''All Things Considered'' radio program
June 11, 2007

Video

{{Authority control Musical groups established in 1997 Chamber music groups African-American musical groups Musical groups from New York City Wind quintets