Quintet of the Americas Presents Americans in Paris and Back Again Concert on April 27 at Community Mediation Services in Jamaica, Queens, New York

Quintet of the Americas, Queens’ renowned woodwind quintet, will present Americans in Paris and Back Again, a program that explores the influence on American composers of Nadia Boulanger, the famous 20th century composition teacher, on Friday, April 27 at 1:00 PM at Community Mediation Services, 89-64 163rd Street, Jamaica, Queens, NY.

Boulanger's influence was far and wide, with over 1,200 composers coming from all over the world to study with her. In this concert the Quintet will perform works by Aaron Copland, Leonard Bernstein, Elliott Carter, Astor Piazzolla, Irving Fine, and Quincy Jones, all composers who were directly influenced by her, as well as music by Bruce Stark, one of the next generation of composers who felt her influence.

`The Quintet will also include an arrangement of An American in Paris by George Gershwin. Ironically, though Gershwin went to Paris to study with Boulanger, she refused to teach him, claiming he already had a unique style and she couldn't teach him anything.

The April 27 event is free and open to the public. For more information, call 718-230-5189 or visit https://www.facebook.com/events/1939360709710209/. This concert is ADA accessible. For MTA transportation information, visit http://tripplanner.mta.info/_start.aspx.

Founded in Bogota, Colombia in 1976, the Quintet has specialized in bringing music from the Western hemisphere to audiences in the United States since its arrival in New York in 1979. The group has enjoyed an international career that has taken them to concert halls throughout the Americas and Eastern Europe, including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Symphony Space, and the Library of Congress. Members of the Quintet are Karla Moe, flute, Matt Sullivan, oboe, Paul Won Jin Cho, clarinet, Barbara Oldham, horn, and Gina Cuffari, bassoon. They are currently in residence in The Department of Music and Performing Arts in The Steinhardt School at New York University. Visit their website at http://www.quintet.org and become their friend at http://www.facebook.com/groups/325982319921/. Quintet photos are available at http://quintet.org/press.html.

This program is made possible with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. These programs are supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council. Additional funding comes from The Jarvis and Constance Doctorow Family Foundation and from generous individuals. Special thanks to the Hon. Melinda Katz, Borough President of Queens, and the Queens Delegation to the New York City Council.

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