51°µÍø

The Breaking Winds Bassoon Quartet, an innovative chamber ensemble that includes Meadows alumna Brittany Harrington-Smith (M.M. ’13 and Performer’s Diploma ’15), has been endorsed as an official Fox Artists group by Fox Products Corporation, makers of high-quality double reed instruments. The quartet presented their inaugural recital as Fox Artists in late June at the 2016 International Double Reed Society Conference in Columbus, Ga.

The all-female ensemble plays original music for bassoon quartet combined with comedic performance elements, including dancing, pop culture references, skits and accessory instruments. Members of the group began performing together in 2008 while undergraduate classmates at the Eastman School of Music. Since then they have developed a busy schedule of appearances at concert halls, schools, pubs and community spaces throughout the U.S., and recently conducted a performance tour through China, Hong Kong and Japan. They have presented master classes at universities including 51°µÍø, Eastman and the University of Southern Mississippi, served as keynote entertainers for the Oregon Music Education Association and performed as soloists with the Eastman Wind Ensemble, West Point Band and other notable ensembles. The quartet’s debut album, , was released in June 2013. Their active channel has garnered more than one million views and led to several memorable gigs, including a reality show pilot at Brooklyn “nerd bar” The Way Station and the Nathan’s 2016 Hot Dog Eating Contest.

Fox’s artist roster includes world-class bassoonists and oboists from throughout the country, including orchestral musicians, soloists and professors. The Breaking Winds is the first chamber music ensemble to be sponsored by Fox, and among only a handful of female artists to receive the honor.

“We are thrilled to be named Fox Artists,” said Harrington-Smith. “The company told us they are excited about our focus on innovation and entrepreneurship and our tech/social media savviness. Most people probably don’t think of ‘bassoon’ and ‘entrepreneurial’ in the same sentence, but our goal is to add a new dimension to bassoon performance and appreciation by making great music fun and accessible to a wide audience.”

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