Montpelier Dances

Woodwind Quintet

Grade 6

16 minutes
  1. for the horn
  2. for the oboe
  3. for the flute
  4. for the bassoon
  5. for the clarinet

Listen to the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command Band Woodwind Quintet:

The woodwind quintet was an ensemble I long avoided composing for because a) chamber music is simply hard to write well, and b) this particular instrumentation is tough because each instrument is so different from the others.

My solution to the problem was to write five movements and concentrate on one instrument at a time.  In addition to simply taking center stage, each instrument plays a cadenza during its feature.  This is my most difficult piece to date–it’s a very challenging and rewarding work for daring quintets!