Akropolis Reed Quintet, Feb 16 2026

I heard the Akropolis Reed Quintet at Music Mondays on Feb 16, 2026. I'd never heard of a reed quintet and thought maybe they had invented it but I found two other ensembles with the same instrumentation so isn't it nice to learn new things. The instruments are clarinet, oboe (doubling English horn), alto saxophone, bassoon, and bass clarinet. It's a tasty combo with a surprisingly broad range of colors.

They opened with a piece written for them, a Mass by Harriet Steinke. Each movement was an abstract depiction of the five movements of the Catholic Mass: Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei. It was a lovely piece, the music had clarity and directness with great writing for the instruments. The biggest thrill of the piece - - I heard an overtone for the first time in my life! The bassoon played the main theme of the first movement many times which went 1 3 4 5 (my apologies to those of you who don't know what that sounds like). At one point he held onto the last note for a while and I heard that note a octave or two octaves higher than he was playing it. I looked at the other players and none of them had their instruments up to their mouths. Clearly that was an overtone, the space of the church picking up on that note and supplying its own note.

The piece needed a little more variety in texture. It seemed to be built out of one, two, up to five players playing a phrase together, all of them ending at the same time, taking a pause, and playing another phrase. It was rare that one or two players played something and the others played something on top of it with some overlap of who was playing and who was not. This kind of counterpoint and rhythmic variety creates a lot of interest for the listener. I started to crave it.

The clarinet player had what sounded like a Maalox Moment in the Credo. I'm not sure that was in the score. The Sanctus sounded like a piece for chorus - - rich, warm, and vocal. The Agnus Dei was tender and personal with a few unexpected harmonies adding a bit of drama. This movement opened with a rhapsodic solo for saxophone, joined in unison by the clarinet. The tune was stuck in my head throughout the intermission, something that doesn't happen often with new music.

The second half opened with an arrangement of "God Bless the Child" done by Remy Le Boeuf and sung by Kenneth Overton. Gorgeous writing for the quintet, deeper and more complex than the Steinke, more satisfying for me. Overton has a beautiful voice but his pitch got a little wonky now and then when he (to use a singer term) went off the voice. This happens when you sort of pull back and sing in an unsupported way. It's nice for a particular effect, especially in a more popular style like this song, but it has to be well handled or you have problems with pitch (like he did). Not a big deal, I'm sure other people didn't notice it.

The piece had an interlude for just the instruments. It had a metric vitality, I couldn't quite place the beat, that was exciting. The singer came back in and sang the bridge and the last verse again. It was a joy to hear this well-known song in a new context.

The last piece was what I was most excited to hear, an arrangement of Gershwin's An American in Paris done by Raaf Hekkem. It was a delight. Talk about hearing a familiar piece in a few way, this was something else. Each of the players got a chance to do something special: the clarinet really wailed at a few points, she was clearly enjoying that. The English horn took the trumpet solo and make it super sexy, maybe the sexiest thing an English horn has ever done. The saxophone had the big jazzy tune near the end, that made perfect sense and he really ran with it. The bassoon and bass clarinet impressed me with their ability to blend into the texture and not just be the bass line. I suspect this had a lot to do with the craft of the arrangement.

Here's a recording of them doing the piece. The sexy English horn movement starts at about 8:19. It doesn't have the impact in this recording, maybe it only has that vibe in person. The big jazzy tune for the saxophone happens around 13:13.

On the subject of metric vitality and not quite knowing where the beat is, Gershwin has a stunning moment of that in this piece. I guess I'd say you know where the beat is but it's surprising how it shifts without a change in tempo. It has a bigger impact in this pared-down setting, it's more diffused with a full orchestra. It starts at about 14:37. And the culmination of that moment (14:57) has a playfulness that I haven't heard in the original version.

One other general note - - I love how they move around so much.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1GRfT7N4mU