As one of the country’s foremost woodwind quintets, Vento Chiaro captivates audiences with engaging performances and inspiring residencies. Founded at the Peabody Conservatory in 1997 and currently based in Boston, the ensemble places a strong emphasis on breaking down the traditional barriers that exist between performers and audience members. Vento Chiaro’s mission is to establish the woodwind quintet as a virtuosic ensemble through engaging performances of the highest level of artistic expression, cultivating a sense of community with audience members, and collaboratively exploring works of all time periods with particular emphasis on the art of contemporary composers.
Vento Chiaro has been the woodwind quintet in residence at the Boston University Tanglewood Institute since 2002. During the summer of 2017, the ensemble performed Gillingham’s Concerto for Woodwind Quintet and Wind Ensemble with the BUTI Young Artists Wind Ensemble at their season’s final concert in Ozawa Hall in honor of their 20th Anniversary. Vento Chiaro was the Ensemble in Residence at the Longy School of Music from 1999-2006, and has held short-term residencies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Providence College, Rockport Chamber Festival, The Rivers School Conservatory, Orange County School for the Arts, Virginia Arts Festival and secondary schools throughout the United States.
In addition to presenting their own recital series in the greater Boston area, Vento Chiaro performs in locations throughout New England and across the country. Their self-titled debut recording on Ongaku records received critical acclaim from Fanfare Magazine and Music-Web International, and they have frequently appeared on WGBH radio. In addition to performances of the standard repertoire, Vento Chiaro regularly collaborates with living composers and performers. They have premiered works by Justin Casinghino, Robert Dick, Howard Frazin and Michael Gandolfi and have other commissioning projects in the works.
Vento Chiaro has garnered top prizes in prestigious chamber music competitions including the silver medal at the Fischoff Chamber Music Competition and the Saunderson Award at the Coleman Chamber Music Competition. The ensemble was also a recipient of several grants from the Free For All Concert Fund which supported a series of free, accessible hour-long concerts and presentations in non-traditional venues throughout the Boston metro area.