This is a really good addition to the rather sparse repertoire for piano and wind quintet, and is bound to prove very popular. The style is easy on the ear. Lush harmonies and sweeping melodies abound as all the instruments have solo and accompanying lines. The piano holds the underlying texture together smoothly. You don't need to be a virtuoso to play this piece which is a real bonus and I can guarantee that performers and audiences will love it!
Schocker's Sextet was written for and dedicated to Jenny Cline (flute) and the Monmouth Winds, who premiered the work in 2014. The Sextet, Cline writes, "sounds at times delicate and intimate and at other times almost orchestral." A March 2015 performance by Monmouth Winds is available on YouTube. The five elemental movements are 1. Earth, 2. Fire, 3. Wind, 4. Water, and 5. Ether, In Memory. For advanced performers.
