CYSO Jubilee Woodwind Quintet with Taki Salameh, 18, composer

This week, chamber music on Introductions: five principal players from Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras present wind quintet music by Paul Taffanel, Carl Nielsen and Paul Hindemith; plus the world premiere of an original work by the group’s bassoonist, Taki Salameh. The program finishes with two of Taki Salameh’s solo works for winds. The Jubilee Woodwind Quintet is part of Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras’ chamber music program, and was formed in September 2021. The members are Anika Veda, flute; Zach Allen, oboe; Henry Lazzaro, clarinet; Danica Tuohy, horn; and Taki Salameh, bassoon. Their name, Jubilee, was chosen in recognition of the CYSO’s 75th Anniversary. All members play with the CYSO Symphony Orchestra and CYSO’s Classical Orchestral Repertory Ensemble (CORE). This season Jubilee has performed in Mozart’s Magnificent Voyage with Classical Kids Live, at the Barnett Chamber Music Competition, for the Chicago Arts and Music Project, and for DePaul University’s clarinet studio class. They are coached by Dr. Donald DeRoche. Members of the Jubilee Wind Quintet have appeared on Introductions before: Anika Veda gave a solo flute recital in October 2020; Zach Allen and Taki Salameh were interviewed in conjunction with a CYSO Tchaikovsky broadcast in January 2022; and Danica Tuohy played horn in a previous CYSO wind quintet broadcast in June 2020. Taki Salameh is a composer and bassoonist who studies at the Interlochen Arts Academy. He is interested in promoting equity as well as collaborating with other artists through his work. Outside of his studies, Taki has enjoyed numerous chamber music experiences that have led to being a semifinalist in both the M-Prize and Fischoff International Chamber Music Competitions. He received Merit in the National YoungArts Foundation competition in classical composition and is a recipient of the Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award. Taki currently studies with Dr. Eric Stomberg and Dennis Michel for Bassoon; and with Nick Diberardino and Dr. Sean Friar for Composition. Playlist Paul Taffanel: Wind Quintet: I. Allegro con moto Carl Nielsen: Wind Quintet, Op. 43: I. Allegro ben moderato II. Menuet Taki Salameh: Wind Quintet * Paul Hindemith: Kleine Kammermusik: IV. Schnelle Viertel V. Sehr lebhaft CYSO Jubilee Woodwind Quintet: Anika Veda, 17 flute Zach Allen, 17, oboe Henry Lazzaro, 16, clarinet Danica Tuohy, 17, horn Taki Salameh, 18, bassoon Dr. Donald DeRoche, conductor * Taki Salameh: Winter Grass Anika Veda, flute Taki Salameh: Scattered Dawn Harrison Kim, clarinet