About

We are Xylem! Isabel Lepanto Gleicher (flute), Kemp Jernigan (oboe), Dustin Chung (clarinet), Patrick Jankowski (french horn) and Michael Zuber (bassoon). We are a woodwind quintet comprised of four Yale School of Music, and one New England Conservatory graduates, who love to perform a wide variety of classical music. Our performances incorporate music from any era of classical music.

A xylem carries water and essential nutrients upward, from earth to outer leaf, allowing for a plant to thrive. It is essential for life, and in its mechanism it literally defies gravity's pull. We named our ensemble for this unassuming vessel of a plant because we believe strongly that music is vital, and we strive ever upwards.

One of our defining traits is our shared interest in advocacy and in the enrichment of life through music. We each have a secure and diverse background not only in performance, but in education as well. We are as comfortable playing Nielsen, Schoenberg, Reicha, or Barber in front of a crowd of middle school students as we are on stage before an audience of connoisseurs. We strive to find new ways to relate music to every person, young and old, and irrespective of class – through explanation, engagement, and adventurous programming – so that they might learn a little more about themselves and the world through their interactions with our music-making.

Music

Xylem performs a variety of repertoire, upon request. We have classical/romantic/modern repertoire originally written for woodwind quintets, as well as arrangements/transcriptions of our favorite pieces. Below is a list of some of the pieces we can perform, but we are constantly adding music to this list, and are interested in what audiences want to hear, and will program accordingly!
ADOLPHE, BRUCE
Night Journey
BARBER, SAMUEL
Summer Music
DANZI, FRANZ
Quintet in Bb Major, Op. 56 No. 1
Quintet in G minor, Op. 56 No. 2
Quintet in F Major, Op. 56 No. 3
D’RIVERA, PAQUITO
Aires Tropicales
DVORAK, ANTON
arr. Piano Quintet in A Major, Op. 23
FRANCAIX, JEAN
Quintet No. 1
HAAS, PAVEL
Blasserquintet
LANG, DAVID
Breathless
LIGETI, GYORGY
Six Bagatelles
MILHAUD, DARIUS
La Cheminee du roi Rene
MOZART, WOLFGANG AMADEUS
arr. Andante in C for flute and orchestra
arr. Overture to the Magic Flute
MUSSORGSKY, MODEST
arr. Pictures at an Exhibition
RAVEL, MAURICE
arr. Ma Mere L’Oyle
arr. Le Tomeau de Couperin
REICHA, ANTON
Quintet No. 2, Op. 88
Quintet No. 5, Op. 100
PIAZZOLLA, ASTOR
arr. Libertango
POULENC, FRANCIS
Sextet for wind quintet and piano
TOMASI, HENRI
Cinq Danses

Audio