Imani Winds

RISE is out today!! Listen here:

https://ffm.to/rise-wkeh

This record is two years in the making. We have poured every ounce of ourselves into this music, and on the eve of our 30th season, we couldn’t be more overjoyed to bring it to you. Much of the music on this album runs the gamut stylistically, but it is bound together through the lens of the tension between oppression and liberation.

Pavel Haas’s Wind Quintet, which we feel is one of the great masterpieces of the repertoire, was almost lost during World War II. His life was tragically cut short when he was killed in Auschwitz in 1944. The album’s eponymous work, “Rise,” was co-commissioned by Imani Winds and composed by the singular Shawn E. Okpebholo | Nigerian-American Composer , who writes: “Unfolding as a musical journey through the ongoing struggle for racial justice, the piece offers three movements that reflect on progress, unity, and collective resolve.”

The final three tracks work almost as a suite, arranged by Mark Dover and featuring Kevin Newton on vocals. Mark heard Kevin singing in the minivan on tour too many times and knew he had to write for him. A decades-long fan of the music of Billy Taylor, Nina Simone, Donny Hathaway, and Stevie Wonder, Mark created reimaginings and odes to some of the greatest artists of the 20th century. Both “I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free” and “Someday We’ll All Be Free” were anthems of the Civil Rights Movement. Along with Stevie Wonder’s “Overjoyed,” they feature Kevin’s vocals, but this is still chamber music, with the voice interwoven into the ensemble’s texture.

RISE also marks an important moment for the quintet itself, bridging the transition between Imani Winds’ founding oboist, Toyin Spellman-Diaz (tracks 1–4 and 10), and its newest member, Mekhi Gladden (tracks 5–9). The passing of the musical torch has been a beautiful experience, and we couldn’t be more grateful to Toyin for all her gifts and to Mekhi for stepping so effortlessly into this new chapter with us.

Endless thanks to our amazing collaborators and musical community. Imani Winds friends and fam near and far, we love you and can’t wait for you to listen!

Swipe for full album credits →

🎶IMANI WINDS CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL - DAYS 3/4/5🎶

Lots of music making and learning happening all week at IWCMF! From coachings to concerts and a field trip to the MET museum, participants are experiencing the best of chamber music and community.

•Workshop with Keve Wilson: Creating the Career You Want
•Concert: Sugar Hill Salon, Juneteenth Concert: Recomposing America
•Masterclass: Leelanee Sterrett, horn
•Concert: Mark Dover and Friends
•Reading Session: Emerging Composers Program fellows with Imani Winds
•ECP Panel: Lines in Motion - Composition at a Crossroads with Curtis Stewart and Holland Andrews

🎶IMANI WINDS CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL - RECAP DAY 1 AND 2🎶

It’s been an exciting time at IWCMF so far! Participants from all over the country are here to learn from coachings, masterclasses, entrepreneurial workshops, community engagement activities, performances, a specialized Emerging Composers Program, and most importantly the joy of chamber music.

DAY 1-2 (pictured):
• Registration, Convocation and Activities
• Opening Concert: Imani Winds
• Seminar: A Pratical Guide to Rehearsing
• ECP Seminar and Workshop with Allison Loggins-Hull
• Seminar: The Art of Community Engagement
• Workshop: Support & Breathing Intensive

We’re off to Asia this week! ✈️

Join us at the Hong Kong Arts Festival 香港藝術節, and Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music in Singapore. We’re looking forward to connecting with audiences, students, and colleagues across the region.

Details below!

It might have been 10 degrees outside, but the amazing people of North Dakota packed the North Dakota Museum of Art and warmed our hearts! We look forward to next time! 💙

What a week!

We had a blast recording the premiere of ’s concerto “A Book Of Forgotten Creatures” with the Symphony under the great . Unfortunately the storm prevented us from bringing it to you live at the Kimmel Center, but we recorded and filmed it and can’t wait for you to hear it!

It was also an immense honor to open the Plenary Connect along with our dear friend . We loved every minute of it and encourage all to attend and support this wonderful organization that is so dear to our hearts.

❤️