Play Our Chamber Music Game: Dolce Suono Ensemble’s “Fall for Chamber Music”

George Walker (1922-2018) Wind Set for Woodwind Quintet (1999) Excerpt from I. = 63

The celebrated American composer George Walker received commissions and performances from the The Philadelphia Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and other major ensembles and organizations. In 1996, Walker became the first African-American composer to be awarded the Pultizer Prize in Music, among his many awards. He was an acclaimed pianist and highly respected educator, serving on the faculties of Rutgers University, Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University, the University of Delaware, and other institutions. A composer with ties to Philadelphia, Walker graduated from the Curtis Institute of Music with diplomas in composition and piano in 1945, the first African-American musician to graduate from Curtis.

DSE Wind Quintet Artists:

  • Mimi Stillman, flute
  • Katherine Needleman, oboe
  • Doris Hall-Gulati, clarinet
  • William Short, bassoon
  • Jeffrey Lang, horn

Chamber Music Game

[Works best on computer or tablet.] To gain a better understanding of the inner workings of a piece of chamber music, mix and match the tracks below to hear different combinations of instruments in this one-minute excerpt from George Walker’s Wind Set. To play, click on the instruments you’d like to hear, then click on “play.” To start over, click “reset.”

You can explore this game alone or with others. If someone else selects the tracks to listen to, can you name which instruments are playing? Please tell us about your experiences listening to chamber music in this fresh way. We welcome your comments at info@dolcesuono.com.

Thank you to our “Fall for Chamber Music” project sponsors: William Penn Foundation, The Musical Fund Society of Philadelphia, The Presser Foundation, Philadelphia Cultural Fund