Since the group's founding five years ago, the Arizona Graduate Winds has gained national recognition for its mastery of chamber music, and so it was a surprise when in August the group renamed itself the Fred Fox Graduate Wind Quintet.
The name was changed to honor Fox, a symphony and studio musician, scholar and educator who topped off his impressive musical career by serving as a master teacher at the University of Arizona School of Music, where his visits and residences inspired wind and brass students.
Prof. William Dietz, who mentors the group, said, "After a 40-year career in orchestras throughout the United States, Fox has retired to share his teaching insights with emerging artists."
An anonymous gift created the Fred Fox Graduate Wind Quintet, and the group will play an 11:30 a.m. concert at the Academy Village Tuesday in the Arizona Senior Academy Building.
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The quintet has competed nationally and performed in the Alfonso Ortiz Tirado Festival in Mexico. It won the Music Teachers National Association State Competition twice in the past three years, and won regional competitions in Tucson, Santa Barbara and Hawaii. It regularly performs concerts in Tucson that are aired on Arizona Public Media's classical radio station.
Members of the quintet are chosen by competitive national auditions. All of the musicians are master's degree students at the UA School of Music. They are mentored by the Arizona Wind Quintet faculty.
The quintet consists of musicians from all over the country. Diana Schaible, flute, comes from Idaho; Rebecca Dixon, oboe, from Washington; Ashley Knecht, clarinet, from Minnesota; Travis Jones, bassoon, from Tennessee; and Gray Ferris, horn, from Virginia.
Tuesday's program will include Ferenc Farkas' "Early Hungarian Dances" from the 17th century, as well as fellow Hungarian composer Gyorgy Ligeti's "Six Bagatelles." It will also feature the "Wind Quintet in E-flat Major, Opus 88, No. 2" by Anton Reicha (a Czech contemporary of Beethoven), and American composer Samuel Barber's "Summer Music," a cornerstone of the woodwind quintet repertoire.
Academy Village is an active-adult community located off Old Spanish Trail six miles southeast of Saguaro National Park East.
If you go
• What: Fred Fox Graduate Wind Quintet
• When: 11:30 a.m. Tuesday
• Where: Arizona Senior Academy Building at Academy Village, 13715 E. Langtry Lane
• Admission: Free; donations accepted
• Reservations: Recommended; email info@arizonasenioracademy.org or call 647-0980
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