Imani Winds, the Grammy-nominated, multicultural ensemble of flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon and French horn, will perform March 3 at 7:30 p.m. in the Performing Arts Center at Rockwell Hall on the campus of Buffalo State College. 

The concert, which is hosted by the college’s Music Department, is free and open to all.

Together for 13 years, Imani Winds was conceived as a way to advance the chamber repertoire and provide a platform for classical musicians of color.   The quintet sounds like jazz, Afro-pop, Latin or contemporary.  Its name derives from Swahili, meaning “faith,” and alludes to the African-American and Latin American ancestry of the quintet’s members: flutist Valerie Coleman, oboist Toyin Spellman-Diaz, clarinetist Mariam Adam, French hornist Jeff Scott and bassoonist Monica Ellis.   Scott and Coleman compose much of the quintet’s music.

The group is in the midst of its Legacy Commissioning Project, a venture that aims to showcase 10 new works for wind quintets by composers of various musical backgrounds, including classical, jazz, Latin and Middle Eastern music styles.

Through its concerts, compositions and outreach, Imani Winds has distinguished itself as having taken a unique path in classical music, enriched the traditional quintet genreFor more information about Imani Winds, visit http://www.imaniwinds.com/main/. For more information about the concert, call (716) 878-3005.
and engaged audiences with culturally poignant programming that bridges European, America, African and Latin American traditions.