BRATTLEBORO — The Brattleboro Music Center's popular Chamber Series welcomes Windscape on Friday, April 20.
Created in 1994 by five eminent wind soloists, Windscape “has won a unique place for itself as a vibrant, ever-evolving group of musical individualists,” according to a news release.
This “unquintet” has delighted audiences throughout the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Asia with its innovative programs and accompanying presentations, taking listeners on a musical and historical world tour and evoking, through music and engaging commentary, the vivid cultural landscapes of distant times and places.
As Artists in Residence at Manhattan School of Music, the members of Windscape are master teachers, imparting not only the secrets of instrumental virtuosity but also presenting a distinctive concert series hailed for its creative energy and musical curiosity.
The series offers the perfect setting for the ensemble to devise new, “sometimes startling” programs and to experiment with new arrangements and repertoire combinations.
Members include bassoonist Frank Morelli, a Manhattan School of Music graduate and a student of Stephen Maxym, who was the first bassoonist ever to be awarded a doctorate by the Juilliard School. Morelli has more than 150 recordings for major labels to his credit; his recording of the Mozart Bassoon Concerto with Orpheus on the DG label won critical acclaim.
Randall Ellis, on oboe, received his bachelor of music degree from the North Carolina School of the Arts and his master of music degree from the State University of New York at Stony Brook, where he studied with Ronald Roseman. He is principal oboist of Lincoln Center's Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra, was associate principal oboist of the Seattle Symphony, and has toured extensively as a guest artist.
Flutist Tara Helen O'Connor is a charismatic performer sought after for her unusual artistic depth, brilliant technique, and colorful tone in music of every era. In addition to being a member of Windscape, O'Connor also is a member of the 1995 Naumburg Award-winning New Millennium Ensemble and is the flute soloist of the world-renowned Bach Aria Group.
Alan R. Kay is co-principal clarinetist and a former Artistic Director of Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and serves as Principal Clarinet with New York's Riverside Symphony and the Little Orchestra Society. His honors include the C.D. Jackson Award at Tanglewood, a Presidential Scholars Teacher Recognition Award, and the 1989 Young Concert Artists Award with the sextet Hexagon later featured in the prizewinning documentary film, “Debut.”
Hornist David Jolley has been acclaimed for his remarkable virtuosity as both orchestral soloist and chamber musician. Recently, he gave the world premiere of Ellen Taaffe Zwilich's Concerto for Horn with the Rochester Philharmonic and its New York premiere at Carnegie Hall with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra.