BY KAREN BOSSICK

During the winter of 2019 the power went out in Brooklyn’s immigration detention center, leaving detainees shivering with no heat. As the cold wore on, they protested against their harsh conditions by banging on the bars of the facility.

Their banging could be heard outside the center. And those that heard it included Andy Akijo and members of the Imani Winds. They decided to do a piece about the collective sound of protest, even conducting a workshop with incarcerated men at Rikers Island.

The sound those men made pounding drumsticks on the table was incorporated into Akijo’s composition “BeLoud, BeLoved, BeLonging.” And Imani Winds will perform it Saturday night at The Argyros in Ketchum as part of their program “Black and Brown: A Celebration of Composers of Color.”

The thrice-Grammy-nominated wind quintet, which won its first Grammy this year, will perform at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 13, at The Argyros. Tickets are $35 and $60, available at https://theargyros.org/calendar/imani-winds/

“The composition examines this notion of incarceration, whether someone is convicted of crime or  wrongfully detained. It reminds us that we should not forget about the humanity of people,” said Mark Dover, a Grammy-nominated clarinetist who augments playing with Imani Winds and other groups by teaching clarinet at Rutgers University, and Curtis Institute of Music.

Imani Winds was founded in 1997 by Valerie Coleman, who gave it the name “Imani,” a Swahili word that means “faith”--one of the principles of Kwanza. She put together a wind quintet of musicians of color. And in the years since, the group known for its adventurous programming, imaginative collaborations and dynamic playing in venues like Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center and the Kennedy Center. Group members have also conducted masterclasses to thousands of students each year at such institutions as the Eastman School of Music.

Dover, who grew up in Ann Arbor, Mich., became a big fan of the group after hearing them while in high school and college. A few years after he finished graduate school in 2012 in New York City, he was invited to audition and happily joined the group eight years ago, becoming the first musician to replace an original member.

“Wind players who are serious about music know about Imani Winds,” he said. “I loved their artistry and the way they explore styles of music outside classical music.”

The group often performs newly commissioned works from voices that reflect historical events.

Recent projects, for instance, include Jessie Montgomery’s composition inspired by her great-grandfather’s migration from the American south to the north and a work by Carlos Simon that celebrates iconic figures of the African American community, such as Bessie Smith and Herbie Hancock.

“It’s always been important for the group to hold a lens out to the world around them and not just play music that was written in the past but to commission music by living composers,” said Dover. “We want to think about things that are happening in the world around us and think about how we can reflect that musically. Music doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It’s a living breathing thing, and it can be lens into how we view the world.”

In addition to Dover, the group is made up of flutist Brandon Patrick George, oboe player Toyin Spellman-Diaz, player Kevin Newton and bassoon player Monica Ellis.

Their 2021 studio album “Bruits” received a 2022 Grammy nomination for Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance. They recently released an album of Imani founding horn player Jeff Scott’s “Passion for Bach and Coltrane,” which won the 2024 Grammy Award for Best Classical Compendium.

The album was inspired by J.S. Bach’s “Goldberg Variations” and John Coltrane’s “A Love Supreme and envisages Bach and Coltrane playing music together in heaven.

Saturday’s program will feature Paquio D’Rivera’s “Aires Tropicales.” It will also feature a Billy Coleman piece, “I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to be Free,” that Dover arranged.

“Billy was a legendary jazz pianist who wrote the song as an instrumental. Lyrics were added later and the song was made famous by Nina Simone. It’s an inspiring song that ended up becoming an anthem for the Civil Rights movement of late 1960s and early ‘70s. It’s a gospel song, a song we take to church,” said Dover.

Dover has also performed with the Manhattan Chamber Players, the Detroit Symphony, among others. And, with an extensive background in jazz and improvised music, he even offers himself as a frequent collaborator with the American funk band Vulfpeck, which played to a sold-out Madison Square Garden.

But he has a soft spot in his heart for Imani Winds’ mission.

“We’re always trying to play music that speaks to us that is meaningful and powerful in our live and that is aesthetically pleasing, as well,” he said. “We put that in the air and hope it will resonate with our audience.”