Meet Joseph Kluesener of Paradise Winds in Phoenix

Today we’d like to introduce you to Joseph Kluesener, Paradise Winds.

Joseph, Paradise, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Members of Paradise Winds met at Arizona State University while completing graduate degrees in music performance. The birth of the ensemble was in the form of a reed trio (oboe, clarinet, bassoon), performing cocktail music at a local fundraiser held in Paradise Valley in 2009. The name was evocative and memorable enough, so it stuck, and that was our first public appearance as a professional ensemble.

Currently, the instrumentation features oboe, clarinet, bass clarinet, bassoon and saxophone(s) (performed by one player). This is two more artists than the original trio, and the current reed quintet instrumentation established with Paradise Winds in 2015 upon completing a residency in CA. The very first time the reed quintet appeared under our name, was during a Classical Revolution PHX event in 2010, entitled “Debut.” It was a concert featuring original premieres and an inaugural program of sorts by the alt classical platform, held at the Tempe History Museum.

For a time, Paradise Winds was a complement of wind players that were available when the leadership located performance opportunities. This brought on lots of creative limits in which artists thrive, but availability and consistency were also factors that resulted in the reed quintet setting. And all the while, the recordings, clinics and performances by our reed quintet heroes (aka pre-existing groups like the originators, Calefax Reed Quintet) continued inspiring us to lean into the reed quintet sound.

This adoration for the medium coupled with a change in a currently evolving management style led to a fusion album of light R&B/jazz songs in 2015/2016 and our first all-classical album in 2016/2017 consisting of works written by composers that knew us personally and are inspired by our unique sound. It is one of our biggest joys and points of pride, as is every audience member and student with whom we connect.

Has it been a smooth road?
A variety of obstacles and challenges emerged along the way, and they continue to evolve, too. It took trial and error to come up with a reliable and tolerable system that worked for all of us, and the wait was worth it. Changing management styles was a benefit for the ensemble, but each member is professionally pursuing an individual path while they maintain their role in Paradise Winds. This is a significant limit, but we support each other’s personal paths while working together toward common goals through Paradise Winds.

Finances, resources, repertoire, audience attrition, social media presence, content-building all present challenges that artistic organization face. We don’t let it limit our enjoyment of the art form, interacting with each other, and being there for each other. Sometimes people in our personal lives (colleagues, friends, spouses, relatives) question the depth and value of our commitments, but it is not overly problematic.

Having advanced degrees and professional experience means we don’t mess around when it comes to what we do. Of course we’re not saying we’re the best, but we are accomplished artists that represent a line of pedigree. What we’ve all seen by the age of our collective early-to-mid-30s is significant and unique, and most people are unable to even receive an offer for the opportunities we’ve been honored to pursue. It’s our biggest treasure as an ensemble, empowers our path and motivates our progress. We’ve received these gifts and we aim to transfer them back to our audiences and communities we visit.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Paradise Winds story. Tell us more about the business.
Paradise Winds perform classical woodwind chamber music for five artists, typically oboe, clarinet, bass clarinet and either soprano or alto saxophone – and each instrument requires a reed made of arundo donax, or river cane. Hence the nickname reed quintet.

Paradise Winds specialize in complexity with levity. We have a camaraderie that is unique. We have a charm and a charisma as a quintet. We are very diverse as individuals, but we developed our own signature as a group.

We have an endearing way of breaking down the wall between the stage and the audience, presenting intense, athletic displays of musicianship in an approachable fashion, like a family dinner.

Speaking of food, we are very into food. We cater our own events when the occasion calls for it. Not kidding. What do you think the food prepared by serious, trained, meticulous musicians tastes like?

As a stage presence, we possess energy, personality, a distinct and succulent blend, and fear no rhythm.  Our goal is to be the musician’s musician, and the musician’s ensemble while we produce a blend so efficient, that audiences can’t tell which one of us is playing.

How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
The industry is mysterious on our level. It has given us many academic opportunities, but we usually end up making our own commercial opportunities. We will continue loving each other and loving the music we make while we try to find our place in the industry.

Contact Info:

• Address:Phoenix, AZ
• Website: paradisewinds.org
• Email:theparadisewinds@gmail.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/theparadisewinds/
• Facebook: facebook.com/ParadiseWindsMusic/

Image Credit:
Afrodita Ellerman
Tiffany Pan

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