Formed in 1997, Imani Winds is a woodwind quintet (Valerie Coleman on flute, Mariam Adam on clarinet, Toyin Spellman-Diaz on oboe, Monica Ellis on bassoon, and Jeff Scott on french horn) that focuses on illuminating the connection between culture from the African diaspora, (the word “imani” means “faith” in the African language Swahili) and the classical music in their repertoire. Demonstrating that classical music is much more diverse than usually thought of, they perform "Afro Blue" by Mongo Santamaria, Scherzo from "A Midsummer Night's Dream" by Felix Mendelssohn, "Yaravi" and "Jesus is a Rock in a Weary Land" arranged by William Grant Still, "Tomcats" from Opus Number Zoo by Luciano Berio, "Contradanza" by Paquito d'Rivera, and "Umoja" by Valerie Coleman (recorded in 2007 at C. D. Hylton High School in Woodbridge, VA).
Imani Winds: A Musical Journey