The Philadelphia Woodwind Quintet was founded in 1950. All of the ensemble’s members held positions in the Philadelphia Orchestra under Eugene Ormandy. Its original members were Burnett Atkinson (flute), Anthony Gigliotti (clarinet), John de Lancie (oboe), Sol Schoenbach (bassoon), and Mason Jones (horn). Later members included William Kincaid (flute), Robert F. Cole (flute), Murray Panitz (flute), and Bernard Garfield (bassoon). In addition to many recording projects (now available as a complete four-CD set through Boston Records), the ensemble filmed a series of 30-minute kinescopes in cooperation with public television that were broadcast nationwide. In the early 1950s the quintet was invited to perform at the Spoleto Festival in Italy. The trip also included performances, staged in cooperation with the US Army, for American troops stationed in Iceland. In addition to their membership in the orchestra, all quintet members held university faculty positions. The ensemble disbanded following the conclusion of their last recordings in the 1960s.

The Philadelphia Woodwind Quintet was founded in 1950. All of the ensemble’s members held positions in the Philadelphia Orchestra under Eugene Ormandy.