The Kalmar Quintet
The Kalmar Quintet, one of several student chamber ensembles in the Department of Music at Gustavus Adolphus College, will present its spring concert, Sunday, April 15 at 7:30 p.m. in Jussi Björling Recital Hall. This concert includes performances by the quintet as well as solo performances from each of its five members. The event is open to the public at no charge.
The Kalmar Quintet will open Sunday’s program with a set of two works: the third movement of the Suite for Woodwind Quintet by Robert Washburn and Henry Cowell’s Pastorale. The second set of the program will feature solo performances by each of the members of the Quintet. Bassoonist Abby Huff will open the set with the appropriately named Premiere Solo by Eugene Bordeau, followed by Kierst Finsand, oboe and Vincenzo Bellini’s Concerto. Flutist Antonio Herbert will continue the program with his solo performance of the movement Cafe 1930 from Astor Piazolla’s Historie du Tango, followed by Brittney Raasch, horn, and Franz Strauss’ Nocturno. Eric Dronen, clarinet, will conclude the set with the Adagio e Tarantella by Ernesto Cavallini. The final work on the program, The Quintet in Eb by Peter Müller, will bring the entire Kalmar Quintet back to the stage to end the program.
The Kalmar Quintet was organized in 2009 by five members of the Gustavus Wind Orchestra as an opportunity to perform woodwind quintet repertoire on a regular basis. The Quintet was included as part of the program on the wind orchestra’s Central European Concert Tour in January 2010 and has been playing regularly for the past three years. Three of the original members, Antonio Herbert, flute, Kierst Finsand, oboe and Eric Dronen, clarinet, remain in the Quintet. They have been joined by Brittney Raasch, horn and Abby Huff, bassoon, to fill the graduation vacancies of Logan Arndt, horn and Alexander Legeros, bassoon. The Quintet’s faculty coach is Ann Pesavento.
Sunday’s performance by the Kalmar Quintet will begin at 7:30 p.m. in Björling Recital Hall. The concert is free and open to the public.