Unraveled’ by the Akropolis Reed Quintet – part of the CandleKids Series at the Smith Theatre at Howard Community College. Photo provided by Akropolis.
If you feel the need for reeds, ‘Unraveled’ by the Akropolis Reed Quintet is the perfect concert. This group of five super talented musicians takes listeners on an amazing, interactive musical adventure. And this isn’t your usual black-and-white wearing super serious classical musical group. The Reed Quintet is innovative, youthful, and full of enthusiasm. Along with a well-executed blend of classical and contemporary music, the group teaches the audience about the instruments and about music in general.
…this was one of the best concerts I’ve ever attended – and a great way to get young people interested in music.
The group of five includes Tim Gocklin on the oboe, Kari Landry on the clarinet, Matt Landry on the saxophone, Ryan Reynolds on the bassoon, and Andrew Koeppe on the bass clarinet. The concert starts with Matt asking the audience about the different types of instruments (woodwinds, brass, percussion, strings). From there, the group starts moving and grooving to their first number.
Each member of the group introduces the sound of their specific instrument and tells the audience what reeds are, even passing an example around. Two of the instruments – the oboe and bassoon – use double reeds, and Tim and Ryan goof around showing that double reeds can be played even if they’re not connected to their instruments. (And kids like nothing better than adults being goofy.)
The group plays a prelude from Gershwin, explaining a prelude is a piece which opens a concert and doesn’t have form, parameters or rules. After the prelude, the group has the audience define a ‘melody’ and tells sections of the audience to stand when their respective instrument plays the melody in the piece. This is a fun way for audience members to get involved – and to get up and stretch their legs instead of just sitting for an hour-long concert.
Following the melodies, Kari, the clarinetist, reads ‘The Best Story Ever,’ a story accompanied by the quintet’s music. Hats and basic costumes are used to keep the audience entertained. But really, the music is enough. When it is suggested that the story should be sad, the quintet plays ‘A Time For Us’ from Romeo and Juliet; when the story should be romantic, a Schumann number is played. Kari should be commended for both narrating the story and playing her clarinet in each of the pieces.
The concert concludes with a Duke Ellington piece and a Question and Answer session from the audience. Given the young, energetic musicians, the interactive quality of the concert, and the quintet’s amazing musical ability, this was one of the best concerts I’ve ever attended – and a great way to get young people interested in music. In this case, the reeds rule.
Running Time: Approximately one hour.
“Unraveled” by Akropolis Reed Quintet was only for one day, Sunday, February 26, 2 & 4 pm at Smith Theatre, Horowitz Visual & Performing Arts Center. For more information about the CandleKids Series, click here.
