Celebrating their 16th season as “a sonically daring ensemble who specializes in performing new works with charisma and integrity” (BBC Music Magazine), the Akropolis Reed Quintet comprises five reed players and entrepreneurs unbounded by limits or categorization. Described by The Wire as a “collective voice driven by real excitement and a sense of adventure,” Akropolis has graced the Classical Billboard Charts with each of their last three albums, including #2 in April 2024. Winner of seven national chamber music prizes including the 2014 Fischoff Gold Medal, Akropolis is known for performing “works that brilliantly exploit their unique instrumentation” (Gramophone). Composed of the same five members that brought about its founding in 2009, Akropolis delivers 120 concerts and educational events worldwide each year and has premiered and commissioned more than 150 works by living artists and composers. Ever since “[taking] the chamber world by storm” (Fanfare), the five Akropolis artists have remained united by a shared passion to make music that sparks joy and wonder.
The ensemble’s sixth album, Are We Dreaming the Same Dream?, with two-time Grammy-nominated composer/pianist Pascal Le Boeuf and drummer Christian Euman, was released in April 2024 on Bright Shiny Things. Live performances of Are We Dreaming the Same Dream include University Musical Society, Chamber Music Corvallis at the PRAx Center, and the Williams Center for the Arts. Reflecting the influences of Geri Allen, Dave Brubeck, Charles Mingus and Leonard Bernstein (all of whom explored themes of American unity or disunity), the project probes the idea that diverse strands of experience, more than one unified “dream,” are what define America.
The quintet’s previous album, Hymns for Private Use (Bright Shiny Things, 2022) ranked in the top ten on the Classical Billboard Charts, drawing glowing reviews from critics. Featuring works by Nico Muhly and Annika Socolofsky, plus collaborations with seven small business owners, the album was praised by Textura for both its “resplendent” musical selections and the “exquisite playing” of the quintet.
Experimenters and creators at their core, the five artists of Akropolis are routinely lauded for their boldness and innovative spirit. As The Wire commented: “There’s nothing tentative in their approach, and that extends to their programming of multifariously challenging and imaginative new works.” Akropolis has collaborated with poets, a metal fabricator, dancers, small business owners, string quartets, pop vocalists, and others from all walks of life.
The quintet is also known for powerful collaborations with youth and others within its Detroit community. Certified as a 510(c)(3) nonprofit organization, Akropolis is the recipient of the 2015 Fischoff Educator Award, as well as seven consecutive grants from the National Endowment for the Arts. The ensemble runs a Detroit-based summer festival called Together We Sound and holds annual, school year-long music composition residencies at Cass Tech, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Detroit School of Arts high schools. Akropolis also produces the Akropolis Chamber Music Institute, a ten-day artist training and mentorship program in Petoskey, Michigan. With the belief that anyone can compose great music, Akropolis premiered and recorded more than thirty works by youth aged 12 to 22 during their 2023/24 season alone.
Described as “pure gold” by the San Francisco Chronicle, Akropolis Reed Quintet performs worldwide and is represented exclusively by Ariel Artists.