Graduate Woodwind Quintet

Tonic Winds, the graduate woodwind quintet-in-residence at the CU Boulder Boulder College of Music, is united by commitments to education, artistry and musical outreach. The ensemble features musicians from Colombia, Alaska, California and Illinois. Quintet members serve as teaching assistants and mentors to the college’s vibrant applied studios and perform two recitals each year as well as outreach programs in the Boulder community and beyond—including an educational residency with the Aspen Music Festival and School. Tonic Winds—comprising flutist Alex Westervelt, oboist Lauren Breen, clarinetist Harold Gómez-Montoya, hornist Sophie Steger and bassoonist Ben Mangonon—are coached this semester by Professor of Bassoon Yoshi Ishikawa and other woodwind faculty.

This concert program brings together four visions of the woodwind quintet, each showing the ensemble’s ability to shift between wit, color, rhythmic energy and expressive depth. Eugène Bozza’s "Scherzo pour quintette à vent" opens the concert, with lightness and agility, using playful exchanges and intricate textures to highlight the ensemble’s virtuosity—and lights the spark for the rest of our program. Dai Fujikura’s "Cosmic Breath" expands the quintet’s sound world into a more atmospheric realm, inviting the listener into a landscape of breath and evolving colors. The next piece draws the audience back from contemplation as we transition to more concrete characters with Ibert’s "Trois pièces brèves." These concise movements deliver charm, elegance and sly humor, capturing the composer’s gift for clarity and character in miniature form. We finish with Alvin Etler’s "Quintet II for Woodwind Instruments" which brings rhythmic drive and counterpoint to the fore, revealing the ensemble’s dramatic modernistic edge. Together, these works contrast strongly in language and style while celebrating the woodwind quintet as a medium of extraordinary variety and personality.

This program features: Alex Westervelt, flute; Lauren Breen, oboe; Harold Gomez-Montoya, clarinet; Sophie Steger, horn; Ben Mangonon, bassoon.