Sonora Winds is a Twin Cities-based woodwind group that performs actively and enjoys playing rarely-performed music for winds.
They formed in 2016 with the goal of bringing accessible, lesser-known music to audiences through transformative performance experiences. Sonora Winds wants their patrons to discover and re-discover works that are worth hearing, but got lost in the midst of standardized performance programs. The group embarked on a recording project supported in part by grants from the Polish American Institute of Minnesota, and the Twin Cities Polish Festival to bring to the forefront lesser-known and some never recorded chamber music by Polish composers. The project brought three different instrument combinations onto one recording. The CD has been released this fall 2019 by MSR Classics Discover label. Following the recording, the group concentrated on programming in different venues across Minnesota and Wisconsin. Recently, Sonora was a recipient of a Travel Grant from University of Minnesota to tour Texas. At the same time, the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council supported Sonora’s community engagement efforts through Arts Project Support Grant to create a chamber concert series in retirement communities across St. Paul. Sonora Winds have been invited to perform at Chamber Music America’s Conference 2020 in NYC.
