Award-Winning Quintets Perform April 15 at Nichols Concert Hall

Showcasing two of its accomplished ensembles-in-residence, the Music Institute of Chicago presents Quintet Attacca and Axiom Brass in a joint concert April 15 at Nichols Concert Hall, 1490 Chicago Avenue, Evanston.

Quintet Attacca will perform George Gershwin’s Three Preludes, Irving Fine’s Partita for Wind Quintet, and R. Murray Schafer’s Minnelieder—Love Songs from the Medieval German for Mezzo-Soprano and Wind Quintet, featuring Music Institute faculty member and mezzo-soprano Julia Bentley.

Axiom Brass will perform David Sampson’s Morning Music, James M. Stephenson’s Celestial Suite, and Astor Piazzolla’s Ave Maria, arranged by Axiom founding member Dorival Puccini, Jr.

About Quintet Attacca

Quintet Attacca is an ensemble dedicated to bringing the unique sound of the wind quintet to all types of audiences; to this end, the quintet has played in venues across the Midwest, with extensive programming in Chicago. Quintet Attacca was the Grand Prize Winner of the 2002 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, one of only two wind quintets in the competition’s 35-year history to receive the Grand Prize. The quintet has spent the past three years in residence with the Chicago Chamber Musicians’ Professional Development Program, as well as being in residence at the Music Institute of Chicago and Lake Forest College.

About Axiom Brass

Winner of the 2008 International Chamber Brass Competition and prize winner of the 2010 Fischoff Chamber Music Competition, the Preis der Europa-Stadt Passau, the Plowman Chamber Music Competition, and the Jeju City International Brass Quintet Competition in South Korea, Axiom Brass is dedicated to enhancing the musical life of communities across the globe. Axiom’s commitment to education and its blend of virtuosic performances and dynamic teaching have inspired young audiences, earning the ensemble the 2011 Fischoff Educator Award. Axiom’s repertoire ranges from jazz and Latin music to string quartet transcriptions, as well as original compositions for brass quintet. In addition to being an ensemble-in-residence at the Music Institute of Chicago, Axiom Brass has been appointed to the faculty of Boston University Tanglewood Institute for summer 2012.

About the Music Institute of Chicago

The Music Institute of Chicago believes that music has the power to sustain and nourish the human spirit; therefore, our mission is to provide the foundation for lifelong engagement with music. As one of the three largest and most respected community music schools in the nation, the Music Institute offers musical excellence built on the strength of its distinguished faculty, commitment to quality, and breadth of programs and services. Founded in 1931 and one of the oldest community music schools in Illinois, the Music Institute is a member of the National Guild of Community Schools of the Arts and accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music. Each year, the Music Institute’s world-class music teachers and arts therapists provide the highest quality arts education to more than 5,000 students of all ability levels, from birth to 101 years of age at campuses in Evanston, Highland Park, Lake Forest, Lincolnshire, Winnetka, and Downers Grove. The Music Institute also offers lessons and programs at the Steinway of Chicago store in Northbrook and early childhood and community engagement programs throughout the Chicago area and the North Shore. Nichols Concert Hall, an education and performance center in downtown Evanston, reaches approximately 14,000 people each year. The Music Institute’s community engagement and partnership programs reach an additional 6,500 Chicago Public School students annually. The Music Institute offers lessons, classes, and programs through four distinct areas: Community School, The Academy, Creative Arts Therapy (Institute for Therapy through the Arts), and Nichols Concert Hall.

Quintet Attacca and Axiom Brass perform Sunday, April 15 at 3 p.m. at Nichols Concert Hall, 1490 Chicago Avenue, Evanston. Tickets are $25 for adults, $15 for seniors and $10 for students, available online or 847.905.1500 ext. 108.

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