# Soni Ventorum Wind Quintet

The Soni Ventorum Wind Quintet was an American wind quintet that was officially founded in 1962 when Pablo Casals asked its members to become the woodwind faculty of his newly founded Conservatory of Music of Puerto Rico. It is known worldwide for its many international tours sponsored by the United States Department of State including three tours of South America and three of Europe. Over 25 original chamber works for winds have been written for the members of Soni Ventorum including compositions by Claude Arrieu, William Bergsma, Jean Francaix, Gerald Kechley, Joseph Goodman, John Verrall, and William O. Smith. In 1972 the quintet won the silver medal at the International Instrumental Ensembles Competition (Festival Villa-Lobos) in Rio de Janeiro.
The group had a long and stable history. Through its concerts, tours, and recordings, the Soni Ventorum Wind Quintet established an international reputation. For many years (beginning in 1968) Soni Ventorum was also the wind quintet-in-residence at the University of Washington School of Music.

## History

The quintet was founded in 1962 by Felix Skowronek, William McColl, Arthur Grossman, James Caldwell, and Christopher Leuba. Skowronek, McColl, and Grossman had been in the Seventh Army Symphony Orchestra in the 1950s and had formed the Seventh Army Wind Quintet. Members of the ensemble were on faculty at the Conservatory of Music of Puerto Rico, members of the Puerto Rico Symphony, and participants in the annual Casals Festival. During its years in Puerto Rico, the quintet went on several concert tours to the US mainland, which led to recording opportunities with the Lyrichord label.
In 1968 Soni Ventorum was hired by the University of Washington School of Music as the resident Woodwind Quintet. The group was active through June 2001.

## Discography

| Year | Title | Genre | Label | Notes |
| 1963 | Works by Mozart and Villa-Lobos | Classical LP | Lyrichord LLST 7168 | Reviewed: The New Records, March 1965; Audio, April 1965 |
| 1964 | "A Festival of Winds," Works by Hamerik and Morris | Classical LP | Desto 6401 | Featuring the Soni Ventorum Quintet and the New York Brass Quintet |
| 1964 | "Music for the Musical Clock" Works by Beethoven and Haydn, arr. Skowronek | Classical LP | Lyrichord LLST 7143 | Reviewed: The New Records, July 1965; High Fidelity, November 1965; The Grammophone, May 1967; Records and Recordings, September 1967 |
| 1965 | Music of Walter Piston, Ernst Krenek and Joseph Goodman | Classical LP | Lyrichord LLST 7158 | Reviewed: High Fidelity, October 1966; Saturday Review (listed in "Year's Best Recordings"), November, 1966 |
| 1968 | Electro-Vibrations: the Music of John Eaton | Classical LP | Decca DL71065 | Microtonal techniques |
| 1969 | Quintets by Reicha and Danzi | Classical LP | Lyrichord LLST 7216 | Reviewed: The New Records, May 1970 |
| 1970 | Cambini: Trois Quintetti Concertans | Classical LP | Ravenna RAVE701 | The New Records, July 1973; High Fidelity and Musical America, August 1972 |
| 1972 | "Soni Ventorum Plays Poulenc and Villa-Lobos" | Classical LP | Musical Heritage Society MHS3187 | Also released as a reel-to-reel 7.5 IPS 4-track Barclay-Crocker tape, MHS C3187 |
| 1972 | "Soni Ventorum Plays Villa-Lobos" | Classical LP | Ravenna RAVE702 | Reviewed: High Fidelity and Musical America, May 1973; Stereo Review,May 1973 "Recording of special merit" |
| 1972 | Two Quintets by Anton Reicha | Classical LP | Musical Heritage Society MHS 3248 | |
| 1975 | Two Quintets by Franz Danzi | Classical LP | Crystal S 251 | Reviewed: The New Records, June 1976. Re-released in 2011 in CD format |
| 1976 | "Winds from the Northwest" | Classical LP | Crystal S 351 | Flute and Bassoon. Reviewed: The New Records, June 1976 |
| 1977 | Quintets by Paul Taffanel, Jean Martinon and Claude Arrieu | Classical LP | Crystal S 253 | Reviewed: The New Records, September 1978; Fanfare, Jan./Feb., 1979; Consumers' Research, January 1979. The Taffanel quintet was re-released in 2011 in CD format. |
| 1978 | Works by Françaix, Arrieu, Ketting and Gerster | Classical LP | Crystal S 254 | Reviewed: The Clarinet, Winter 1983; The New Records, July 1981; Cosmopolitan, June 1981 |
| 1980 | "Music of Joseph Goodman and Joseph Alexander" | Classical LP | Serenus Recorded Editions SRS 12097 | Reviewed: Fanfare, July/August 1882; The New Records, May 1982 |
| 1981 | Four Quintets of Franz Danzi | Classical LP | Musical Heritage Society MHS 4621 | Reviewed: Fanfare, May/June 1982 |
| 1981 | "Music for Woodwinds, Chamber Ensemble and Voice" Works by W.O. Smith, Diane Thom and Joseph Goodman | Classical LP | Crystal S 257 | With Montserrat Alavedra, soprano. Reviewed: The Clarinet, Spring 1984; The New Records, February 1984 |
| 1981 | Quintets by Samuel Barber, Elliott Carter, Irving Fine and Joseph Goodman | Classical LP | Musical Heritage Society MHS 4782F | Reviewed: Fanfare, March/April 1984 |
| 1981 | "Two Quintets for Piano and Winds" The Mozart and Beethoven Quintets | Classical LP | Musical Heritage Society MHS 4375 | |
| 1982 | Quintets by Carl Nielsen and Jean Françaix | Classical LP and CD | Musical Heritage Society MHS 7132K | |
| 1984 | Works by Bergsma, Goodman, Zaninelli and Etler | Classical LP | Crystal S 258 | Reviewed: The New Records, October 1985; Ovation, November 1985; Fanfare, November/December 1985; American Record Guide, January/February 1986 |
| 1985 | "Six Works for Wind Quintet" Quintets by Ibert, Hindemith and Milhaud plus encores by Rimski-Korsakov, Fučik and Blanchet | Classical LP | Musical Heritage Society MHS 7364L | |
| 1986 | Six Quartets of Rossini and Twelve Bagatelles of Mayr | Classical 2-LP set | Musical Heritage Society MHS 922024A | |
| 1990 | "Soni Ventorum Plays Works of Jean Françaix and Ronald Roseman" | Classical CD | Musical Heritage Society 512759Y | |
| 1992 | Schoenberg Quintet, Op. 26 and W.O.Smith, Jazz Set for Wind Quintet and Solo Violin | Classical CD | Musical Heritage Society 51422K | With Aloysia Friedmann, Violin |
| 2011 | "Danzi and Taffanel. Soni Ventorum Wind Quintet" | Classical CD | Crystal CD 251 | Digitized remastering. Reviewed: Instrumentalist, July 2011; De Klarinet (Netherlands), July/August 2011; Fluit (Netherlands), September 2011; Fanfare, January/February 2012; The Horn Call, February 2012; The Flutist Quarterly, Fall 2011; Audiophile Audition – Classical Reissues, February 24, 2012; The Double Reed, Quarterly Journal of the International Double Reed Society Vol. 35 . No.1 July 2012 |
| 2013 | "Music for the Musical Clock – Haydn, Beethoven and Mozart" | Classical mp3 | Lyrichord LYR 6018 | Digitized remastering of Lyrichord LLST 7143 and part of LLST 7168. mp3 download only. Reviewed: MusicWeb International, 2013–2014 |
| 2013 | "Joseph Goodman – Walter Piston – Ernst Krenek – Heitor Villa-Lobos" | Classical mp3 | Lyrichord LYR 6924 | Digitized remastering of Lyrichord LLST 7158 and part of LLST 7168. mp3 download only. |
| 2013 | Quintets by Reicha and Danzi | Classical mp3 | Lyrichord LYR 6020 | Digitized remastering of Lyrichord LLST 7216. mp3 download only. Reviewed: MusicWeb International, 2013–2014 |