What is Vent?
Vent brings together some of the UK's best professional instrumentalists in an authentic wind octet. Formed in the 250th anniversary year of Mozart's birth, we play the "Harmoniemusik" of the great composer and his contemporaries on period instruments.

Exploring under-performed classical wind music
"Harmoniemusik" is the 18th century term for music performed by wind players at functions - frequently outdoors, but also as dinner music. At the time, it was fashionable to have a wind octet playing background music consisting of original compositions and arrangements of popular arias. A huge amount of music was produced for this purpose which Vent, as the specialist period octet, can bring back to life in 2006.