Celebrating over a quarter century of music making, the three-time GRAMMY® nominated group has led both a revolution and evolution of the wind quintet through their dynamic playing, adventurous programming, imaginative collaborations and outreach endeavors that have inspired audiences of all ages and backgrounds.

The ensemble’s playlist embraces traditional chamber music repertoire and newly-commissioned works reflecting the times in which we live. Recent and upcoming projects include a new double quintet by Arturo Sandoval, featuring Boston Brass; a Jessie Montgomery composition inspired by her great-grandfather’s migration from the American south to the north; and a work by Carlos Simon celebrating iconic figures of the African American community — commissioned works included in their long-standing Legacy Commissioning Project. Reflecting on the issues of mass incarceration, Imani Winds’ 11th studio recording, “BeLonging” by and with Andy Akiho, was released in June 2024.

Imani Winds has toured with virtually every major chamber music series, performing arts center, and summer festival in the U.S. They regularly perform in prominent venues including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and the Kennedy Center, and have performed throughout Asia, Brazil, Australia, England, New Zealand and Europe.  Residencies include performances, workshops, and masterclasses to thousands of students each year at institutions such as the University of Chicago, Eastman School of Music and Duke University.

Appointed in 2021 as Curtis Institute of Music’s first ever Faculty Wind Quintet, Imani Winds commitment to education runs deep. The highly successful Imani Winds Chamber Music Festival, launched in 2010, is an annual summer program devoted to musical excellence and career development for pre-professional instrumentalists and composers.  In 2019, the group extended their mission even further by creating the non-profit organization, Imani Winds Foundation, which exists to support, connect and uplift their initiatives.

Imani Winds’ travels through the jazz world include their association with luminary musicians and composers Wayne Shorter, Paquito D’Rivera and Jason Moran. Their ambitious project, “Josephine Baker: A Life of Le Jazz Hot!” featured jazz songstress René Marie in performances that brought the house down in venues across the USA.

In 2021, Imani Winds released their 9th studio album, “Bruits” on Bright Shiny Things Records, which received a 2022 GRAMMY® nomination for “Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance.” Gramophone states, “the ensemble’s hot rapport churns with conviction throughout.” Imani Winds has recordings on Koch International Classics and E1 Music, including their 2006 GRAMMY® nominated recording, “The Classical Underground”. They have also recorded for Naxos and Blue Note and released an acclaimed arrangement of Stravinsky’s “Rite of Spring” on Warner Classics. They are regularly heard on all media platforms including NPR, the BBC, and SiriusXM, among others.

To date, one of Imani Winds’ most humbling recognitions is a permanent presence in the classical music section of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington DC.

Recent highlights include the world premieres of several major works, most notably Nisei — a sweeping new concerto for cellist Jeffrey Zeigler — which headlined this year’s Sun Valley Music Festival. Another standout: Sculptures, a groundbreaking, triple GRAMMY®-nominated work for Omaha Symphony honoring renowned visual artist Jun Kaneko. Finally, BeLonging, a powerful and highly-acclaimed new collaboration with Imani Winds with strong political undertones, which received two GRAMMY® nominations.

Equally at home writing chamber music and symphonies, Akiho was the Oregon Symphony’s 2023-2024 composer-in-residence. Other recent engagements include commissioned premieres by major orchestras including the New York Philharmonic, National Symphony Orchestra and Shanghai Symphony among others, and a sold-out run of “Seven Pillars” at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, choreographed by Benjamin Millepied and performed by Sandbox Percussion and LA Dance Project.

Akiho’s awards have included the Rome Prize and the Lili Boulanger Memorial Prize and he has been recognized by prestigious organizations including the American Academy of Arts and Letters, Harvard University Fromm Commission, Barlow Endowment, New Music USA, and Chamber Music America. His compositions have been featured by organizations such as Bang on a Can, American Composers Forum, The Intimacy of Creativity in Hong Kong, and the Heidelberg Festival.

An active steel pannist, Akiho has performed his works with Imani Winds, the LA Philharmonic’s Green Umbrella Series, the Berlin Philharmonic’s Scharoun Ensemble, the International Drum Festival in Taiwan, and more. Akiho’s recordings No One To Know One, The War Below, Seven Pillars, Oculus, Sculptures, and BeLonging feature brilliantly crafted compositions inspired by his primary instrument, the steel pan.

As a steel pannist, Akiho has a deeply physical relationship with playing, which undoubtedly informs his compositions. His style is further shaped by a nontraditional trajectory as a composer: having spent most of his 20s playing steel pan by ear in Trinidad and New York City, Akiho only began writing music at age 28. Still, these social and musical roots remain foundational. Akiho frequently composes into the late hours at coffee shops, nightclubs, and restaurants, taking breaks to get to know those around him. Similarly, Akiho develops relationships with his collaborators, as he writes for people, not instruments.

Akiho was born in 1979 in Columbia, SC, and is currently based in Portland, OR and New York City.