AKROPOLIS REED QUINTET

Sunday, July 26, 2026 at 3:00 PM
Ventura College Performing Arts Center

Founded in 2009 at the University of Michigan, the GRAMMY Award-winning Akropolis Reed Quintet has established itself as one of the most adventurous and boundary-pushing chamber ensembles performing today. Described as "a sonically daring ensemble who specializes in performing new works with charisma and integrity" by BBC Music Magazine, the quintet comprises five reed players who have commissioned and premiered more than 200 works by living composers, making them true pioneers of the reed quintet as a modern genre. Their recordings have landed on the Classical Billboard Charts with each of their last three albums, including a debut at #2 in April 2024, and the group has earned seven national chamber music prizes, including the prestigious 2014 Fischoff Gold Medal.

Their most recent album, Are We Dreaming the Same Dream?, made history when it earned Akropolis the GRAMMY Award for Best Instrumental Composition at the 67th Grammy Awards in February 2025, making them the first reed quintet ever to take home that honor. Beyond the concert stage, Akropolis is a certified nonprofit organization with deep roots in community engagement, running the Together We Sound summer festival in Detroit, conducting year-long composition residencies at Detroit-area high schools, and hosting the Akropolis Chamber Music Institute in Petoskey, Michigan. Delivering 120 concerts and educational events worldwide each year at venues including Tanglewood, Bravo! Vail, and the University Musical Society, and described as "pure gold" by the San Francisco Chronicle, Akropolis Reed Quintet performs globally and is represented exclusively by Ariel Artists.