The Faculty of Sensing: Woodwind Quintet

The City of Tomorrow wind quintet commissioned The Faculty of Sensing from George Lewis, collaborating with the Blair Wind Quintet, the Western Wind Quintet, the Wingra Wind Quintet, and the Oregon Wind Quintet. The City of Tomorrow premiered the 15-minute piece in February 2024. For its title, Lewis looked to Anton Wilhelm Amo, the 18th-century African slave who, in Europe, became a Ph.D. of philosophy and taught at universities. He wrote that the body, not the mind, has the 'faculty of sensing.' Simple bluesy lines hide within dense textures.