Thu 3/7 @ 7:30PM
When flutist Valerie Coleman founded Imani Winds in 1997, her goal was to have a wind quintet made up of all Black and Latin members and to focus on non-European music. As is the case with many long-running small ensembles, members and music have changed over the years. Coleman herself moved on to focus on other projects, including composing, in 2018. Only bassoon player Monica Ellis, a 1995 Oberlin graduate, remains from the original group; Coleman’s replacement Brandon Patrick George is also an Oberlin grad, class of 2008.
So it’s appropriate that the ensemble’s next appearance in northeast Ohio will be at Oberlin College’s Warner Concert Hall. There Ellis, George, horn player Kevin Newton and clarinetist Mark Dover will be joined by guest oboe player Mekhi Gladden, stepping in for Toyin Spellman-Diaz, currently on leave.
They’ll be collaborating with cellist Seth Parker Woods, pianist Cory Smythe, and actor Michael Braugher (Oberlin ’14) on Fallen Petals of Nameless Flowers, written by retired Imani Winds horn player Jeff Scott (now an associate professor of horn at Oberlin), with text by Richard Laidler. It tells the stories of four Michigan juveniles sentenced to life without parole who were later released when the U.S. Supreme Court found their sentences unconstitutional in 2012.
The program also includes Damien Geter’s “I Said What I Said,” Carlos Simon’s “Giants (Bessie Smith, Cornel West, Herbie Hancock),” Andy Akiho’s “BeLoud, BeLoved, BeLonging,” and Billy Taylor’s “I WIsj I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free.”
Admission is free and no ticket is required. A preconcert panel discussion starts at 6:45 in Warner Concert Hall.
Free admission. No tickets required.