Music archive entry

This quintet was completed in June of 2002. It was written primarily for the Hingham Wind Ensemble, a group of talented players located just South of Boston, Massachusetts, USA, who simply enjoy playing together and who have given immense support to this writer and his compositions. The members are Barbara Wall (Flute), Sally Davenport (Oboe), Mark Schlesinger (French Horn), Eric Oddliefson (Clarinet), and Roger McClentic (Bassoon). Thanks are also due to Ms. JenAlice Flaherty (French Horn) for her assistance in proof-reading the score.

The Quintet consists of three short movements, Allegro, Moderato and Allegro,with each piece having a melodic line with close harmonic accompaniment. The intent was to produce a piece meeting several objectives. It needed to be written without undue complexity or dissonance and in that respect to be playable by good musicians able to provide the necessary balance between instruments of considerable differences in size and volumetric output. Above all it needed to be enjoyed by the players and this appears to have been accomplished as the Hingham Wind Ensemble, after the first rehearsal, decided to add it their repertoire and to perform it in early 2003.

Mervyn McKee, is a resident of Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA and has composed several pieces for various combinations of Wind, Brass and Strings, many of which have been performed several times. He is a viola player in the Hingham String Ensemble and Mayflower Chorale Orchestra; also a violinist in the Quincy Symphony Orchestra and several other musical groups in the southeastern New England area.