Imagine soft string instruments playing light melodies that remind you of the cool and soft feeling of spring time. This is the feeling one will experience when listening to the musical sounds of the five-member quintet, Imani Winds.

Imani Winds is the premier wind quintet in North America. On April 19 this wind quintet will perform on the campus of Fayetteville State University at 7 pm. This event will be held in the J.W. Seabrook Auditorium. There is no cost to attend, and the community is strongly encouraged to come out to enjoy some great music.

Imani Winds has received recognition for its contributions to the music industry. In 1997, the group was nominated for a Grammy award.

The name Imani means “faith” in Swahili, and is what the group reflects since first beginning its career. The ensemble consists of five members: Valerie Coleman on the flute, Toyin Spellman-Diaz on the obo, Mariam Adam on the clarinet, Jeff Scott on the French horn and Monica Ellis on the bassoon.

Coleman formed the group. Coleman stated that the idea came to her during her first year of graduate school. “I wasn’t thinking of just any wind quintet,” she said, “but of a group of virtuoso musicians of color who join together to change the conventional view that classical music is somehow ‘exclusive’ and too stuffy to be accessible.”

Each member has intense musical backgrounds; they have studied at top schools like; Juilliard and the Manhattan School and Stony Brook.

Members of the quintet adore artist like; Prince, Herbie Hancock, Manhattan Brass Quintet, and of course, Michael Jackson. They have an impressive background that includes collaborations with jazz artists. However, such collaborations are unique in the musical genre of classical music.

Adam said, “Classical musicians don’t often get the opportunity to combine so many disparate musical and even visual elements into a performance. So we like to plan each program like a five-course mean. Sometimes it’s all a form of tapas, but mostly it has a structure that opens the ears of new listeners and hopefully prepares them for all different sounds they can hear along the way.”

The quintet spends a lot of time touring, but in their downtime they love to indulge in some of their favorite things, which include: “eating, exercising, sleeping and more eating.

They are extremely appreciative of the influence they have received since establishing themselves as “one of the most successful chamber-music ensembles in the United States.”

They are no strangers to the city of Fayetteville. Their free performance on April 19 in the Seabroook Auditorium will mark the quintets second time performing at the university.

To learn more about Imani Winds visit the website at www.imaniwinds.com.

PHOTO: Imani Winds will perform at Seabrook Auditorium on the Campus of Fayetteville State University on April 19.