Quintet Sirocco
• Rebecca Libera • Taiki Azuma • Ronnal Ford • Cat Keen Hock • Matthew Libera •
Founded in 2011 by graduate students at UNC Greensboro, Quintet Sirocco joins a small group of international ensembles dedicated to expanding the visibility of the reed quintet. Consisting of oboe, clarinet, bass clarinet, alto saxophone, and bassoon, the reed quintet produces a unique range of tonal colors compared to other wind chamber ensembles. As a group of experienced woodwind doublers, QS has the unique ability to expand the standard reed quintet instrumentation to include other reed instruments, such as the english horn, E-flat soprano or alto clarinets, contrabassoon, and soprano or tenor saxophones in a kaleidoscope of possibilities. Sirocco regularly performs throughout central North Carolina, engaging audiences with innovative performances in concert halls, art galleries, breweries, and wherever our next project leads us.
Visit the "EVENTS" tab for information on upcoming performances. We hope to see you at our shows!
Visit the "EVENTS" tab for information on upcoming performances. We hope to see you at our shows!
News from QS...
• We <heart> New Music! QS is thrilled to be join the UNCG Composition Studio in residence during the Fall 2017 semester. We are working with four talented composition students on new works for reed quintet, and you're all invited to hear the results of this endeavor! Join us Friday, November 10th at 5:30pm in the Recital Hall at UNCG for a concert of World Premieres, and if you're interested in a look "behind the scenes," you can attend our masterclass/open rehearsal with the composers earlier that afternoon, from 3-5pm. --August 2017
• Congratulations are in order! Two of our founding members have landed tenure-track university teaching positions - way to go, guys! Trevor Davis (bass clarinet) is on the faculty of Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, Louisiana, and Xin Gao (saxophone) joined the faculty of Truman State University in Kirksville, Missouri. We're proud of you both! --August 2017
• Viva la Revolution! QS is thrilled to be a part of the inaugural season of Classical Revolution Greensboro. For more information, follow Classical Revolution GSO on Facebook and Twitter. We're performing on April 19, 2015 at 8pm at Gibb's Hundred Brewing in downtown Greensboro. :)
• QS is hitting the studio! We love live music, but do you know else we love? Taking our favorite music with us wherever we go - and soon you will be able to take QS every where you go! That's right, friends. This year we are hitting the studio and recording our first studio album showcasing reed quintet compositions by some of our closest friends and fellow graduates of UNCG. This project has been generously funded by the UNCG School of Music's Special Projects in Music Grant, which awarded us $1,000 in project funds supported by the Joy Culbreth Morrison Graduate Fellowship in Music and the Doris Huffines Bernhardt Graduate Award in Music. We send a tremendous thank you to these supporters! More information will be forthcoming as our plans are finalized… stay tuned!
• *Recording Update!* Check, check... is this mic on? QS spend the weekend of Feb. 28-March 1 in the recording studio, and we had a blast! Shout out to Bill Stevens at Ovation Sound for his recording expertise and brilliant ears. We are thrilled to finally put this project together and can't wait to have the final product ready for you to enjoy.
• Are you ready for some new music? September 24 - 27, 2013 marks the 10th Annual UNCG New Music Festival - an exciting event with lectures, classes, and a wild variety of concerts. We're performing Sherwood Shaffer's exciting Quintet for Reeds on September 24th at 7:30pm. You don't want to miss it! Check out the New Music Festival webpage for more detailed information. See you there!
• A huge THANK YOU! goes out to The Music Academy of North Carolina for featuring us as Guest Artists on their 2013 Summer Faculty Concert Series! We wish you the best of luck with future performance series, and hope to be back on your stage again soon. Stay tuned for postings of videos from this concert!
• We were awarded Runner-Up in The Savvy Musician in Action's 2013 Chamber Ensemble Competition!
In receiving this honor, we joined two other chamber ensembles (Clocks in Motion, and C Street Brass) in presenting an innovative, multi-media performance on Thursday, June 6th at the Tapp's Art Center in downtown Columbia, South Carolina.
We'd like to shout out a special thank you to David Cutler for creating this amazing experience and inviting us to be a part of the fun! And further thanks to Michael Harley, for adeptly coordinating every aspect of our performance, and Lance LaDuke and Andrew Hitz, all for their advice and encouragement.
If you're interested in more information on The Savvy Musician in Action Retreat on Music Entrepreneurship and Leadership, follow this link to the event website. We encourage you to consider attending the next workshop - it will change your life, for the better!
• Congratulations are in order! Two of our founding members have landed tenure-track university teaching positions - way to go, guys! Trevor Davis (bass clarinet) is on the faculty of Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, Louisiana, and Xin Gao (saxophone) joined the faculty of Truman State University in Kirksville, Missouri. We're proud of you both! --August 2017
• Viva la Revolution! QS is thrilled to be a part of the inaugural season of Classical Revolution Greensboro. For more information, follow Classical Revolution GSO on Facebook and Twitter. We're performing on April 19, 2015 at 8pm at Gibb's Hundred Brewing in downtown Greensboro. :)
• QS is hitting the studio! We love live music, but do you know else we love? Taking our favorite music with us wherever we go - and soon you will be able to take QS every where you go! That's right, friends. This year we are hitting the studio and recording our first studio album showcasing reed quintet compositions by some of our closest friends and fellow graduates of UNCG. This project has been generously funded by the UNCG School of Music's Special Projects in Music Grant, which awarded us $1,000 in project funds supported by the Joy Culbreth Morrison Graduate Fellowship in Music and the Doris Huffines Bernhardt Graduate Award in Music. We send a tremendous thank you to these supporters! More information will be forthcoming as our plans are finalized… stay tuned!
• *Recording Update!* Check, check... is this mic on? QS spend the weekend of Feb. 28-March 1 in the recording studio, and we had a blast! Shout out to Bill Stevens at Ovation Sound for his recording expertise and brilliant ears. We are thrilled to finally put this project together and can't wait to have the final product ready for you to enjoy.
• Are you ready for some new music? September 24 - 27, 2013 marks the 10th Annual UNCG New Music Festival - an exciting event with lectures, classes, and a wild variety of concerts. We're performing Sherwood Shaffer's exciting Quintet for Reeds on September 24th at 7:30pm. You don't want to miss it! Check out the New Music Festival webpage for more detailed information. See you there!
• A huge THANK YOU! goes out to The Music Academy of North Carolina for featuring us as Guest Artists on their 2013 Summer Faculty Concert Series! We wish you the best of luck with future performance series, and hope to be back on your stage again soon. Stay tuned for postings of videos from this concert!
• We were awarded Runner-Up in The Savvy Musician in Action's 2013 Chamber Ensemble Competition!
In receiving this honor, we joined two other chamber ensembles (Clocks in Motion, and C Street Brass) in presenting an innovative, multi-media performance on Thursday, June 6th at the Tapp's Art Center in downtown Columbia, South Carolina.
We'd like to shout out a special thank you to David Cutler for creating this amazing experience and inviting us to be a part of the fun! And further thanks to Michael Harley, for adeptly coordinating every aspect of our performance, and Lance LaDuke and Andrew Hitz, all for their advice and encouragement.
If you're interested in more information on The Savvy Musician in Action Retreat on Music Entrepreneurship and Leadership, follow this link to the event website. We encourage you to consider attending the next workshop - it will change your life, for the better!
Compositions for Quintet Sirocco
2011 Joshua Marquez - A Certain Shade of Sertraline Brian Koenig - A Journal of Dreams 2012 Sherwood Shaffer - Quintet for Reeds Sherwood Shaffer - Highland Games 2013 Antonio Truyols - Quintet Sirocco Antonio Truyols - score to Le Voyage Dans La Lune, performed with the original 1912 film 2015 Nick Rich - Half Remembered 2017 UNCG Residency Project Compositions: Indiria Everett - False Groove Grace Gollmar - Brine Waves Yunfei Li - Mouche Isaac Ward - Opening the Shudders |
To hear audio clips from recent QS performances,
check out our public profile on Soundcloud. Give us a shout out while you're there! (tip: right click the button above to open link in a new page)
While you're at it, follow us on Facebook and Twitter for performance updates and special announcements! |
©2017 R. Catherine Keen Hock. All Rights Reserved.
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