I first came across the wind quintet Quintessence in 1998 at a concert presented at the Space cafe, a funky venue situated on the Isle Of Dogs London. How would this wind quintet throw off the shackles of over two hundred years of composing history? After 5 minutes it already had.

By combining a mix of works from the second half of the last century with its own commissions, the performance was set against an ever changing backdrop of images, suddenly more than only one of your senses was in operation. The programme moved seamlessly from Malcolm Arnold to Tansy Davies (French horn in Divine Comedy/commissions from The London Sinfonietta etc.) Quintessence's own commission Pinnacles, which includes the extended doubles of alto flute, cor anglais and bass clarinet. You were part of the whole , not interrupted parts,the audience response was rapturous.

In 2000 the quintet presented the world première of Philip Cashian's Among the bleached suns and stars, at the Harrogate International Festival. Again the senses were teased by the spatial effects of an off stage horn combined with the ghostly sounds of a bass flute. Also its first CD was released on the Classical Music Co. Label with a performance/reception at the Warehouse London SE1.

Continuing its exciting commissioning policy, 2001 found the quintet presenting two world premières, Classical Blues by Mike Westbrook (which includes the use of alto flute, cor anglais, bass clarinet and contrabassoon) and the evocative Endgame by Joe Duddell.

Spring 2002 had the quintet heading North to tour Scotland. Recitals were given in Aberdeen, Thurso, Kirkwall (Orkney), Fort William, Kirkaldy and Kelso. The challenging programme included two new commissions: Na Sa Ma by the Scottish composer Jane Gardner (funded in part by the Ralph Vaughan-Williams trust) and Skara Brae by Gareth Brady. The response was spectacular.

In October 2002 the quintet presented a extensive tour in Taiwan, performing in Taipei, Hsin-Chui, Taichung, Nantou County, Koashung City and Hualien County. This exciting outreach work is supported by the British Council Taiwan, Total Arts and Music on the Edge.

Ensemble Q

The quintet has recently expanded its palette of colours by adding extra instruments to the standard quintet lineup. This extension is called EnsembleQ. The composers Ian Vine ,Tansy Davies, and Gareth Brady have composed new works for this expanded group, which saw this larger ensemble presenting its enlarged look at Blackheath Concert halls and Turner Sims in 2003. The concert at Blackheath received this glowing review

A new CD, Untold, featuring the groups most recent commissions was released in 2004 for the FMR label. The quintet's first CD is also available now on the same label.

2006/07

Recent performances have been given in Siddlesham, Newark, New Morden, Kensington and in June 2006 Quintessence headed west to Hereford.

Education

A key element to the groups work is presenting a stimulating education policy. Full details can be found at Ensemble Q's own website and at the British Council's own education in music site.