Sweet sounds of all pitches and tones wafted through the Forest Hills Library basement on Saturday afternoon as the Queens Symphony Orchestra held a free performance and workshop on woodwind instruments.

The event was an exercise in bringing music to the masses, and it was designed to help people from all walks of life foster an understanding of the instruments that orchestra members work with every day.

Constantine Kitsopoulos, QSO's music director, began the one-hour event with a primer on single-reed and double-reed wind instruments. Using videos of live performances to demonstrate their sounds, he talked about well-known music makers such as the oboe, bassoon and clarinet, as well as the less recognized zurna, which was used by military bands during the Ottoman Empire and is prominent in Turkish folk music.

Kitsopoulos expressed a certain affinity for the oboe, which he said produces a "very soothing" sound.

Katherine Fink, QSO's principal flautist, had a wide array of wind instruments on display. She first talked about pan pipes, one of the first wind instruments that humans invented. They are simple to make, she said, as one only needs a bone or piece of bamboo as primary material.

Flutes come in all shapes, sizes and designs, Fink said, noting that bamboo flutes originate from Asia, while their metal counterparts come from Europe. She also showed the audience an ocarina, which is made of clay, and the end-blown Chinese shakuhachi, which is now popular in Japan.

She then played a piccolo, the name of which is derived from the Italian word for "little." The high-pitched piccolo is often used to add color to an orchestra, she said. Just like the zurna, the piccolo was once a favorite of military marching bands.

"It was easy to stick in your coat pocket and run if you had to," Fink said.

The presentation was part of an ongoing series, "Symphony 101," that QSO is offering at libraries throughout Queens. Last week, the group presented on string instruments at the Sunnyside Library. QSO will present its next workshop – on brass instruments – at the Forest Hills Library on Dec. 11 at 1 p.m.

Kitsopoulos said that QSO is making an effort to go deeper into Queens communities to educate people about music and the different sounds that are possible to make with instruments.

Karen Corenthal, who works in a Forest Hills nursing home and popped in for the workshop, was very impressed by the event. "I enjoy anything about music," she said. "We need more programs like that."