Grammy-Nominated Imani Winds
at C.W. Post Chamber Music Festival July 28
Will conduct master class for festival participants and evening concert for the public as
part of festival’s Concert Series

Brookville, NY – Iamni Winds, the Grammy-nominated wind quintet, will lead C.W. Post Chamber Music Festival students in a master class Tuesday, July 28, followed by a public concert that evening in Hillwood Recital Hall at the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University.

The master class and concert are part of the 28th Summer Season of the C.W. Post Chamber Music Festival, which runs July 13-31 at the campus on Northern Boulevard (Route 25A) in Brookville. The concert, featuring selections by Bozza, Ligeti and Paquito D'Rivera, is scheduled for 8 p.m. Tickets are $20 for the public and $10 for seniors and students, and will be on sale at the door one hour prior to the performance. Tickets may be purchased or reserved in advance by calling the Festival Office at (516) 299-2103.

The Imani Winds performance is one in a series at the C.W. Post Chamber Music Festival. Other concerts include The Pierrot Consort with guest artist Elisa Koljonen on Friday, July 17; the 42nd Infantry Division Band of the New York State National Guard on Wednesday, July 22; The Pierrot Consort with guest artists Frank Cassara, percussion and Junah Chung, viola on Friday, July 24, and festival participant concerts July 29, 30 and 31. For concert and festival details, visit www.liu.edu/cwpost/svpa/music/festival.

Jeff Scott, French hornist for Imani Winds and a veteran of Broadway shows including "The Lion King" and member of the Alvin Ailey and Dance Theater of Harlem orchestras, is an alumnus of the C.W. Post Chamber Music Festival. In addition to Scott, the Imani Winds members are Valerie Coleman, flute, Toyin Spellman-Diaz, oboe, Mariam Adam, clarinet and Monica Ellis, bassoon.

Imani Winds has established itself as more than a wind quintet. Since 1997, the ensemble has taken a unique path, carving out a distinct presence in the classical music world with its dynamic playing, culturally poignant programming, genre-blurring collaborations, and inspirational outreach programs. With two member composers and a deep commitment to commissioning new work, the group is enriching the traditional wind quintet repertoire while meaningfully bridging European, American, African and Latin American traditions.

The group is in the midst of its Legacy Commissioning Project, an ambitious five-year endeavor launching Imani Winds into its second decade of music making. The ensemble is commissioning, premiering and touring ten new works for woodwind quintet written by established and emerging composers of various musical backgrounds. The select composers originate from different points of the globe bringing experience not only in classical music, but jazz, Middle Eastern, Latin, and harder to define sounds.

The wide range of programs offered by Imani Winds demonstrates their mission to expand the wind quintet repertoire and diversify sources of new music. From Mendelssohn, Jean Françaix, György Ligeti, and Luciano Berio, to Astor Piazzolla, Elliott Carter and John Harbison; to the unexpected ranks of Paquito D'Rivera and Wayne Shorter, Imani Winds actively seek to engage new music and new voices into the modern classical idiom. Imani members Valerie Coleman and Jeff Scott both regularly contribute compositions and arrangements to the ensemble's expanding repertoire, bringing new sounds and textures to the traditional instrumentation.

The primary focus of the C.W. Post Chamber Music Festival, one of the region's premier musical events, is the study and performance of standard instrumental chamber music, including string quartets, woodwind quintets and mixed chamber ensembles. The Festival includes a series of instrumental and performance master classes, a concerto competition, chamber orchestras, and a series of public concerts at Hillwood Recital Hall and Tilles Center for the Performing Arts. This summer's schedule will also include educational residencies with members of The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and members of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra.

For more information about the C.W. Post Chamber Music Festival, contact Susan Deaver, Festival director or Dale Stuckenbruck, assistant director at (516) 299-2103 or visit the Festival Web site at www.liu.edu/cwpost/svpa/music/festival.

Posted: July 2, 2009