Akropolis has always been spoiled with brilliant composers. Whether the music came from our friends in the University of Michigan Composition Department, or the people we connected with along the way, we’ve had it better than most developing groups. Most of us in Akropolis played previously in wind quintets, and we all remember the trail of "classics" that every undergrad has to play. Milhaud's La cheminée du roi René, Nielsen's massive Quintet, the kinetic life of Barber's Summer Music... these are the classics you are trained on. Now it's true, half the fun of existing in the reed quintet world is the utter sense of discovery every time you play a new orchestration or try a new piece. But as we continue to bring new works into the canon, we hope someday that a future group of undergrad reed players turns to Ton ter Doest, Babur Tongur, or Roger Zare (to name a few) with the same reverence as Barber.
And what's really exciting is that we're not the only ones that hold this desire. There are other reed quintets right now commissioning truly breathtaking pieces for this instrumentation. The reed quintet population is growing constantly, and with it the repertoire. I think it’s safe to say the foundations of the reed quintet repertoire are almost complete. I look around, seeing reed quintets at colleges and universities around the world - three at Florida State University alone – and professional efforts in all parts of the world, and I can’t help but think we are very nearly there. And now that we have this foundation, this wonderful, varied catalog of works that reed quintets can find from Akropolis, Calefax, composers themselves, or other reed quintets, I can’t help but ask:
What’s next?
Photo left to right: Asher Kelly Oboe, Adam Drake Bassoon, Natalie Szabo Bass Clarinet, Cole Belt Saxophone, Corinne Smith Clarinet at Florida State University
That’s a broad question, with many broad hypothetical answers. It is probably impossible to answer completely at this moment in history. Will the reed quintet establish itself as a legitimate chamber music force like its counterpart the wind quintet, or the have the legacy of repertoire that the string quartet claims? We have a ways to go still, but my prediction is yes. With every new group and every new piece, the idea of five reed instruments playing together is less of a novelty.
As all of us – fellow reed quintet performers, composers, audiences, internet groupies, and shetland sheepdogs alike – participate in this unique moment in classical music history, we should remember to catalog this foundation that we are completing. What we are doing now should survive not just until the end of our groups, or the end of our lives, but through the future generations of performers and audiences.
I am drawn to a video of the Philadelphia Wind Quintet interviewing Samuel Barber shortly after completion of his legendary wind quintet, “Summer Music”:
You can tell that the musicians knew even then that they had something that would still be important and loved for decades to come. “Summer Music” is now 62 years old and easily one of the most well known works for wind quintet.
As Akropolis chose composers to commission for our 3rd album, The Space Between Us, we wanted to ask people who we knew were capable of creating masterworks for this ensemble, pieces that 62 years from now will command the same reverence as “Summer Music”. I believe we’re well on our way with composers John Steinmetz, Rob Deemer, David Beidenbender, and Joel Puckett.
We don’t have a camera crew or a studio set, but we have iPhones, willing composers, and a story to tell. We have enthusiasm and the belief that what the reed quintet community is doing now should be saved so that in 62 years someone can find records like the videos we’ve filmed below. Please enjoy with us these inside looks into the processes of composers John Steinmetz and David Beidenbender, and please stay tuned for updates as well as videos from the other composers we are working with.
~Ryan Reynolds
Bassonist and Music Arranger