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Imani Winds Preview to play twice in Northeast Ohio:
a conversation with hornist Jeff Scott and bassoonist Monica Ellis
by Mike Telin
When looking at the extensive list of chamber music groups that tour internationally on a regular basis, one quickly discovers that the roster of woodwind quintets occupies very little space on the page as compared to string quartets, piano trios or even percussion ensembles and new music groups. However, the Imani Winds have defied these odds and have carved a unique path into the world of classical chamber music for themselves through inventive programs, commissioning projects, and educational activities, and above all superb musicianship.
On Sunday, April 3 at 3pm, Imani will appear on the Wooster Chamber Music Series. On Monday, April 4 at 7:30, the Tuesday Musical Association will present this Grammy-nominated ensemble at the University of Akron’s E.J. Thomas Performing Arts Hall. The Akron program will include the world premier of Travesias Panamenas written by the Panamanian composer Danilo Perez and co-commissioned by Tuesday Musical.
We had the opportunity to speak to two of the group’s members — horn player and composer Jeff Scott, and bassoonist Monica Ellis — by telephone last week. Both of them are delightful people who offered up some important insights into how the group has taken the vision of the group’s founder, flutist and composer Valerie Coleman, and together made it a reality, something that at first even Jeff and Monica did not really believe would be possible.
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Mike Telin: Whose idea was it to form the group, and how did the five of you first come together?
Jeff Scott: Valerie is the visionary of the group and pretty much any project we talk about started as her brainchild.
As one of hundreds of flute players in New York City, she decided to take the bull by the horns, and started her own group, and made what we now call the telemarketing pitch. When we got together she already had ideas of doing competitions, and having her music performed, as she was already arranging and writing music for quintet. At that point, she really had envisioned everything that we are doing now.
You can imagine when she talked about how much money we might be making, and how much touring we would do and how many recording we would make, it was so funny because there was no precedent for that. Thank God for the visionaries.
MT: Have you found that being only one of a few touring woodwind quintets is a good or a bad thing in finding performances?
JS: It’s good and bad. In the beginning it was difficult, especially for our first management company to find bookings, because there just wasn’t a history of forward moving woodwind ensembles, and a wind quintet just hasn’t been something that has proven to be successful over the years.
Monica Ellis: Because there are not a lot of wind quintets who tour as much as we do, it is almost a Catch 22. It is a little easier to promote yourself, but because we are an anomaly, it can also make it more difficult. It does make the marketing of us even more important, because nobody really knows what they can expect from a wind quintet.
JS: We didn’t take the traditional route that quintets in the past have taken and I think people took a liking to that. Also, I think what really helped us to break through is the commitment we had to commissioning new works, as well as the fact that we have two composers and arrangers in the ensemble — myself and Valerie Coleman. At this point we contribute about 40% of the material that we perform. It is quite a large amount.
MT: The group does a lot of commissioning, and you will be premiering a new commission in Akron. How did that come about?
JS: Danilo Perez is the pianist for the Wayne Shorter Quartet. Wayne was commissioned to write a piece for Imani, and that led to a tour with him, so we met Danilo and realized that he was not only a great pianist, but an amazing composer as well. So we decided to commission him to write us a piece. It is a fantastic piece. He uses a lot of folk rhythms and melodies from Panamanian traditions. He also incorporates a lot of modern jazz influences as well. The piece is on fire, it really is on fire.
MT: On your latest CD, Terra Incognita, in addition to Wayne Shorter’s piece, there is a wonderful work by Jason Moran, which you are also playing in Akron. Tell me about him?
JS: Jason is interesting because of all the composers we have commissioned, he is the only one who had never written for woodwinds. While others may not have written for wind quintet, they had written for wind players. So when we were doing the workshops with him he really wanted to dive in, and would write and re-write as he began to understand the sounds and colors that could be created. In the end he produced a gem of a piece. Word quickly got around as to how good the piece was and different publishing companies were fighting for the rights to publish it.
MT: What are the issues that need to be overcome when working with a composer who has not really written for a wind quintet?
ME: I think the first thing is to understand that with a wind quintet, there is a lack of homogeneity in that none of the instruments sound the same. But when they do get over that, then the creativity can begin and the musical possibilities open up. The fact that they do sound different and they can produce such a big range of sounds means I can write a certain way I had never thought about before. For example, the bassoon does not always have to play the bass line. It is an instrument with a three and a half octave range.
I think that once they hear the pieces that both Jeff and Valerie have written for us they say, ‘Oh now I get it, and this is going to be fun’.
Actually the day before yesterday we had a rehearsal with Danilo via Skype. He was in Frankfurt on his way to South Africa. It was a video Skype, and kind of incredible when you think about it, but one of the things he mentioned was that because this group can do anything, and I mean this in a humble way, it allowed his creative processes to come through, and he was able to be free with his musical ideas.
MT: The group seems to have marketed itself quite well. The personality of the group really comes through on YouTubes and on your Web site. You’ve done an amazing job of marketing yourself through the Internet. Who takes care of this?
ME: Thanks for noticing — because we do work hard at that. We have had a publicist for about eight years, and early on we recognized that it was necessary to have someone to do that. It was just not our forte. You give us a difficult passage and we’ll figure out how to play it. But we did recognize that we could only do so much on our own. Our publicist, Stuart Wolferman, is a real Internet guru, and over the past two years has really brought us to another level when it comes to Web site presence and social networking. He helped us to up our game on that front, but it is the world we live in, and if you want to remain relevant, you have to do these things. The fact that we are classical musicians makes it even more important.
MT: You are the five original members?
JS: Yes, we are the original members, and until our oboe player had to take maternity leave, no one had missed a concert in twelve years. So we have been a pretty tight-knit ensemble from the very beginning.
MT: So what makes it work?
ME: I do ask myself that question sometimes, and at the beginning I think that our similar backgrounds played an important part, being that we are all African American and Latino, and that similarity when it comes to upbringing. But over the years that has become less important. Now I think there is something about our work ethic that has helped us to realize that the group is bigger then any one of us. That group has become more important then the individuals. We also each have a vested interest in the group’s success. There is no one artistic director. There is no one person who makes the rules. Everybody has the ability to contribute, so you do feel committed. But really we are just a bunch of silly classical music geeks. We love to laugh, and joke. Of course we are serious about the craft, but socially, we just want to have fun. We like going out and having good food. We do recognize that we are really good friends. It’s really great.
MT: Jeff, what is it like to be the only guy in the group?
JS: [Laughing] As you can imagine I get that question a lot. The real honest answer is that because we are all the original members and we have been together now for over 14 years, and because I am an only child and none of the four girls have brothers, we really have become brothers and sisters. But, if you want to know what it is really like, they argue and I stay quiet. Then at the right time I say something, or I give them some chocolate. On the road if they need someone to talk to, I am the brother they can talk to. It is that kind of thing. It is really sweet and I have to admit that is why we’re still together and why the music is so vibrant, because there is a whole lot of love, and a great spirit that comes through on the stage. We really do eat dinner together every day when we are on the road. It really is quite an amazing thing.
MT: When you were young players, did you ever imagine that you would be spending a good deal of time making your living playing in a woodwind quintet?
JS: Never! I used to play The Lion King, and I left the show in 2005 because the quintet was so successful. I had dinner with a friend last night, the horn player who took my place in Lion King, anyway we were reminiscing about 1997 when I had dinner with him and told him about this flute player, Valerie Coleman, who at the very first rehearsal with the quintet was already talking about how we were going to be touring the world. How we would be making x amount of dollars, making recordings and how one day I would be able to leave Lion King — and how I started laughing. Really we were just having that conversation last night. And it is funny but it happened.
ME: No, I did not. I certainly thought of myself being in an orchestra, but playing chamber music is not how I thought I would be making my living. And now I can’t think of doing anything else. Although you do need to find a group sound and blend, in a quintet there are five soloists and you do need to bring your own musical voice to the table. Miriam calls it 100% job satisfaction.
MT: Do you have any special greetings for your teacher George Sakakeeny?
ME: Of course! A big shout out to George and to the bassoon studio at Oberlin, my wonderful alma mater.
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Joining Imani Winds on stage for the April 4th performance at E.J. Thomas Hall in Akron will be The University of Akron Graduate Wind Ensemble performing Piazzolla’s Libertango for two wind quintets, arranged by Imani member Jeff Scott. The graduate ensemble is comprised of Cassandra Dries, flute; Michael Resanovic, oboe; Ann Hung, clarinet; Thomas Breadon, bassoon; and Ben Strecker, French horn.
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