Metro Detroit group, winners of 2025 Grammy, to play free concert this weekend

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A southeast Michigan-based classical/jazz ensemble won its first Grammy earlier this year and will play two concerts – one of them free of charge – in metro Detroit this weekend.
The Akropolis Reed Quintet won the Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition for the composition "Strands" from their sixth album, "Are We Dreaming the Same Dream?" The ensemble joined forces with pianist/composer Pascal Le Boeuf and drummer Christian Euman for the track, in which Le Boeuf deconstructs the fabric of his American experience by recognizing the strands of his musical DNA, including influences from artists such as Dave Brubeck, Charles Mingus, Leonard Bernstein and Detroit jazz legend Geri Allen.
The group will play this Saturday, May 31, at Northville's Marquis Theater, and on Sunday, June 1, at Detroit's Basilica of Sainte Anne de Détroit, the latter being free to attend.
Akropolis is not your grandfather's typically expected, classical reed quintet, said clarinetist and artistic director Kari Landry.
'In the classical wind tradition,' said Landry, 'you have a flute and a French horn, and we don't have that. We have bass clarinet and alto saxophone instead. The five of us were students at the University of Michigan, and we all met in the bands and orchestras together and formed the group back in the 2008 – 09 school year, and it's been the same five of us ever since, which is really, really remarkable. And we're so proud of that.
'When we started out, the reed quintet was basically only in a few instances in the entire world, so there wasn't much music that existed for us to play. To date, we've created over 200 works for the reed quintet, and now there are hundreds of reed quintets, even just in the United States. So we're really proud of the instrumentation hopefully taking root within classical music, and that it'll be around for a long time.'
Landry is especially excited about Saturday's Northville date, a hometown gig for her.
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'Actually, my husband and I live in downtown Northville, and this is really the first time we've played in our little hometown community. It's going to be really, really fun for us. My husband, Matt, plays saxophone in the group, and we've been in this area for quite a long time. We're playing a good bit of newly commissioned works that have been in our touring book this past season.
'And, for Sunday, the Basilica is just such a gorgeous venue and concert space. And we have a world premiere that's happening there, by Harriet Steinke, who's a fabulous visiting composer who'll be there. It's called 'Mass,' and Harriet based it around the five movements that happen in a mass. All the way from the Kyrie and Gloria to Sanctus and Credo, except it's a contemporary, minimalist, sort of modern classical take on it, using those as loose inspiration. And that concert is free, which is really awesome.'
The group is still high from the unexpected Grammy attention, she said.
'The Grammy ceremony was just the coolest thing in the world,' she said, 'being a part of that community and getting to experience all of that. We honestly just went to have a good time – we had no expectation of winning, to be honest, and just wanted to say that we did this and soak it all in. I think it's going to be this moment that we'll remember forever. And it's meant so much, because we're the first ensemble of our kind to ever receive anything like that, let alone to even get a nomination. So it's meant a lot, and it's definitely opening up a lot of doors and opportunities.
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'It really makes us feel incredible about everything we've devoted to it over the last 16 years together.'
Landry credits Michigan for the quintet's continued success.
'I think it's because of the southeast Michigan community that we're still going really strong,' she said. 'You know, oftentimes it's not classical groups from the Midwest that get recognized in Los Angeles, or when it comes to these really, really prestigious competitions and awards. So it means a lot to us that we work from here.'
The Akropolis Reed Quintet will play from 3-4:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 31, at Northville's Marquis Theater, 135 E. Main St. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased at northvillemarquis.com.
They will also play from 4-5:30 p.m. on Sunday, June 1, at Detroit's Basilica of Sainte Anne de Détroit, 1000 Saint Anne St. That concert is free.
Learn more about the ensemble at akropolisquintet.org.
Contact Free Press arts and culture reporter Duante Beddingfield at [e-mail].
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Grammy-winning Akropolis Reed Quintet to play free concert in Detroit