Portland Ovations Presents Imani Winds, 5/2

Portland Ovations presents Imani Winds, North America's premier wind quintet at Hannaford Hall, USM Portland campus for an evening concert Thursday, May 2nd at 7:30pm.

Imani Winds is one of the most successful chamber music ensembles in the U.S. Their innovative programs and commitment to commissioning new works are evident in their Portland Ovations debut, which will include Carlos Franzetti's Serenata; Jason Moran's Cane, commissioned by the quintet; Henri Tomasi's Cinq Danses; and special arrangements for the quintet of Claude Debussy's Bruyere and Igor Stravinsky's Rite of Spring, concluding Portland Ovations season long centennial celebration of the work. Made up of musicians, Valerie Coleman (flute/composer), Toyin Spellman-Diaz (oboe), Mariam Adam (clarinet), Jeff Scott (French horn/composer) and Monica Ellis (bassoon) this quintet has received many awards including the 2007 ASCAP Award, the 2002 CMA/ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming and a Grammy Award nomination for their recording The Classical Underground. The Washington Post states, "Imani Winds represents nothing less than the future of the once-quaint notion of the wind quintet."

Tickets for Imani Winds are $36 for Ovations' Members, $40 for the general public and a limited amount of $10 student tickets, are also available. Support for the Imani Winds performance is provided by the Maine Arts Commission, the Maine Humanities Council, the Center for Cultural Exchange Foundation, the Davis Family Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. To purchase tickets, visit www.portlandovations.org, contact PortTIX at 207-842-0800 or stop by the box office window at Merrill Auditorium.