High-Impact Residency Amplifies Underheard Voices
Dickinson to welcome Imani Winds to campus
Acclaimed musical ensemble Imani Winds will present a concert this fall as part of a high-impact residency that will include master classes with students.
The ensemble's quarter-century career is distinguished by two Grammy Award nominations and performances at prestigious global festivals and in some of the world’s most prestigious venues, including Carnegie Hall and the Lincoln and Kennedy Centers. The multiple-award-winning ensemble also is represented in the music section of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Imani Winds is well-known for expressive and imaginative collaborations that engage wide-ranging audiences with traditional chamber music and new works. The commissions are key because of the limited scope of traditional chamber music.
Recognizing the need to expand the language and reference points of classical music, Imani Winds established the Legacy Commissioning Project, with an original goal of commissioning 10 composers of color in celebration of the ensemble's 10th anniversary. Sixteen years later, the commissions continue. Recent projects include a Jessie Montgomery composition inspired by her great-grandfather’s migration North, music by Andy Akiho reflecting on mass incarceration and a work by Carlos Simon celebrating iconic figures of the African American community.
Imani Winds begins its Dickinson residency with a Nov. 5 concert presenting that work by Simon, as well as music by composers Damien Geter, Paquito D’Rivera, Wayne Shorter, Andy Akiho and Billy Taylor. During the rest of its stay on campus, the ensemble will join the Dickinson community in master classes and composition readings. Imani Winds will also work with students and faculty to deliver outreach programs within local public schools.
Learn more about upcoming public arts events through Dickinson’s Calendar of Arts.
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Published October 18, 2023