Grammy-winning Akropolis Reed Quintet brings 'fun, energetic' chamber music to Los Alamos

Fresh off the heels of their 2025 Grammy win for Best Instrumental Composition, the Akropolis Reed Quintet will perform in Los Alamos on Saturday, June 7. The concert program includes three works by contemporary classical composers, whom the group commissioned, as well as the 1934 song, “For All We Know,” popularized by Nina Simone.

“We’re opening the concert with this piece called ‘Venus of Willendorf’ by Ryan Lindveit, which is very new for us,” said Kari Landry, the group’s clarinetist. “It’s a killer, fun, energetic opener. The title alludes to this 30,000-year-old statue that has to do with vitality. So, it’s just a barn burner of a piece to open the concert.”

If you love good music but aren’t necessarily a classical music fan, Landry doesn’t want you to get scared off by the “classical” label.

“All of our music, we like to describe as really fun and energetic and accessible. So, it’s not gonna be something that is really hard to listen to, or too tough to grasp,” Landry said. “We like to bring a lot of energy and color and vivaciousness to the classical music of today.”

Another piece they’ll be performing is “A Soulful Nexus” by Derrick Skye.

“It’s heavily influenced by Persian classical music, which is something Derrick is extensively trained in, and it also has elements of electronic dance music, so it is just super cool,” Landry said. “It’s something we’ve been touring the last year, and it’s become an absolute staple and an audience favorite.”

Akropolis formed in 2009, when the five instrumentalists were all students at the University of Michigan.

“We all met in the orchestra together and wanted to do something fun and different on the side,” Landry said.

She ended up dating and eventually marrying another member of the quintet, the saxophonist Matt Landry. Along with the two of them, Akropolis is composed of the oboist Tim Gocklin, the bass clarinetist Andrew Koeppe and the bassoonist Ryan Reynolds (not to be confused with the actor of the same name).

Reed quintets are a fairly recent addition to the world of chamber music ensembles. The first one, Calefax, was founded in the Netherlands in 1985. Unlike a traditional wind quintet, which has a flute and a French horn, a reed quintet uses only reed instruments, including a saxophone and a bass clarinet.

“Since the instrumentation was so unknown, and there was hardly any music for it, we just started working with fellow student composers right out of the gate and started arranging our own things,” Kari Landry said. “That’s kind of what got us hooked.”

Since then, reed quintets have exploded in popularity.

“When we started out, there were maybe only five or so reed quintets in the entire world, and now there are hundreds all over the U.S. And we get to work with tons of amazing student ensembles at colleges,” Kari Landry said. “We’re just so happy to have kind of spearheaded that.”

Although many people assume that Akropolis’ name is a reference to ancient Greece, Kari Landry said, “No, it’s a totally random word.”

“We were just students in school. We didn’t think it would be a Grammy Award-winning group one day. So, we were just going down the rabbit hole of funny words,” Kari Landry said. “And the music school building was built out of bricks, so we started to Google the word ‘brick.’ The first thing that came up was Brick Township, New Jersey, and at the time their mayor was named Mayor (Stephen) Acropolis. We just thought that was a fun word.”

After performing together for 16 years, the members of Akropolis have formed strong bonds, and they’re constantly challenging one another creatively, according to Kari Landry.

“One of the great joys of working with people closely over many years is that you can really push each other to be the best you can be, because you develop such closeness and such candidness and such support for each other,” she said.

Kari Landry said the quintet is especially honored to be playing in Los Alamos.

“The chamber music series there is really astounding,” she said. “It’s one of the oldest in the region and they have tremendous ensembles. So, to be included in that series really means a lot.”

Grammy-winning Akropolis Reed Quintet brings 'fun, energetic' chamber music to Los Alamos