Civitasolis Reed Quintet

11/02/2025

Today we wanted to celebrate how far we have come and ask for your help over the last 2 DAYS of our Kickstarter Campaign. Check out this throwback to our performance of Heroes and Villains at ClarinetFest in Colorado!

Thank you to everyone who has made this journey possible and for those who have contributed to this project. This is a dream come true for us!

If you haven’t yet, consider backing our Kickstarter. We have 2 days left and just about $212 left to reach our goal!

11/01/2025

Another Throwback this Saturday to our first performance of Elliott’s piece, “Heroes and Villains!” This collaboration was originally started in 2019, and we can’t believe we now have a full CD of Elliott’s pieces just a few years later.

If you haven’t yet, consider backing our Kickstarter. We have 3 days left and just about $700 left to go!

10/31/2025

Throwback to our first recording session with Elliott on his work “Heroes and Villains!” We are so thrilled to announce that we are around $700 to our Kickstarter goal! Thank you all so much for your support! We can’t wait to share more of this music with you all. If you haven’t backed this project, it’s not too late! Visit our Kickstarter to check it out today at the kink below.

Link to Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/crq-debut-album/civitasolis-reed-quintets-debut-album-heroes-and-villains?ref=nav_search&result=project&term=Civitasolis&total_hits=1

10/29/2025

We are getting so close to our goal! Thank you to everyone who supported this project. We could not do this without you! If you haven’t donated yet, please consider helping. Only $1,000 to go to reach our goal!

Kickstarter Link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/crq-debut-album/civitasolis-reed-quintets-debut-album-heroes-and-villains

10/21/2025

We are just over halfway to our goal! Thanks so much to everyone who supported us so far! We really appreciate all of you. If you haven’t donated yet, please consider checking out our project here and donating. Even a small donation helps greatly! Link in Bio to Support.

10/21/2025

We are just over halfway to our goal! Thanks so much to everyone who supported us so far! We really appreciate all of you. If you haven’t donated yet, please consider checking out our project here and donating. Even a small donation helps greatly!

Civitasolis Reed Quintet's debut album, featuring two new compositions by Marlyand-based composer, Elliott Grabill.

10/19/2025

Last but not least, we are featuring our oboist, Luis Gallo Quintero, talking about his favorite moment in Travilah.

Luis: One of my favorite movements to perform is the first movement of Travilah. It’s full of color, energy, and contrast, with lush lyrical lines, rich harmonies, quarter tones, and complex rhythms. I love how the instruments interact and blend throughout. I also love how Elliott develops the movement from a simple motif that I get to introduce on the English horn, which makes it even more fun to play.

Check out more of the album on our Kickstarter page - Link in Bio.

10/17/2025

Today we are featuring our bassoonist, Alexandra Castro, talking about her favorite moment in Travilah.

Alex: Two of my favorite movements from Heroes and Villains are the second and third movements!

The second movement opens with this a nice and mysterious bassoon solo that starts a conversation with the English horn, gradually joined by the rest of the winds. The whole thing feels like you’re walking through shadows... then suddenly, it shifts! The bass clarinet jumps in, and the mood moves from dark and eerie to something a bit more playful, but still with that edge.
Then comes the third movement — full-on energy. It’s playful, yes, but with this underlying weight to it, like a circus that’s a little off-kilter. Fun, and just a little bit intense. 🎪🖤

Check out more of the album on our Kickstarter page - Link in Bio.

10/16/2025

Today we are featuring clarinetist Amy Humberd talking about her favorite moment in Travilah.

Amy: One of the highlights for me about Elliott’s piece is the third movement of Travilah. I love the niente entrances and the way the sounds move together and are passed through the group. This movement always gives me a feeling of nostalgia. The way the different colors of our instruments blend together while also maintaining their uniqueness is one of my favorite parts of these kind of movements, and it is easy to appreciate in this movement in particular.

Check out more of the album on our Kickstarter page - Link in Bio.

10/15/2025

Next up on our album features is saxophonist Beth King-Bennett!

Beth: My favorite part of the album is the addition of tenor sax in movement 1 & 3 of Travilah. Tenor isn’t common in reed quintet but I love how it combines with the English horn, bass clarinet, and bassoon to create this dark, rich color. I like the juxtaposition of the tenor’s quarter tone line with the chordal harmonies in the other four voices.

Take a listen to to excerpts form this and other movements from the CD on our Kickstarter page (Link in bio)

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10/12/2025

Over the next few days, we wanted to reflect on some of our favorite moments from our new album. First up is Ryan Pereira, our fabulous bass clarinetist.

Ryan: My favorite moment of the album was playing the spontaneous soprano clarinet duet in the fourth movement of Heroes and Villains. The introduction of the circus melody that evolves deeper into chaos is one of the highlights of the entire piece for me, and the two clarinets together give the movement a ton of character.

Take a listen to to excerpts from this and other movements from the CD at the link below.

KICKSTARTER LINK: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/crq-debut-album/civitasolis-reed-quintets-debut-album-heroes-and-villains

10/11/2025

Our Kickstarter is officially 40% funded! Thanks everyone who has donated to our project so far. This would not be possible without support from so many wonderful people. If you haven’t, head on over to our Kickstarter page (Link in bio) and see what this album is all about.