While some students prefer to play instruments in a faculty conducted band, others have started their own ensemble.

Five St. Thomas women started a woodwinds quintet a year and a half ago, and they have been playing together ever since.

Junior Annie Kezar said the idea to start a student-run quintet came from her horn teacher. She later talked to senior Alexandra Gobell, and the quintet became a reality.

“I was looking for other opportunities to play and so my horn teacher suggested it,” Kezar said. “So I talked to Alexandra, the clarinet player, and I was saying ‘Hey, do you think we could do something like this? Do you think we’d have enough people?’”

Kezar is in both the woodwinds quintet and a separate student-run brass quintet.

Sophomore Liz Rasset said between the music, rehearsals are sprinkled with laughter.

“There’s a lot of giggling during rehearsal,” Rasset said. “We’ve gotten a lot better, but at first rehearsals would be so stop and go.”

Alison Bengtson can be reached at beng4632@stthomas.edu.