Conservatory of Music
The Conservatory of Music seeks to educate young musicians at the highest level. The Conservatory offers rigorous programs designed to prepare students for professional lives as performers, composers, scholars, and teachers.
News
Conservatory Embarks on West Coast Tour in January 2009
By Marci Janas ’91 - Nov 07, 2008The Conservatory, called “a hotbed of contemporary-classical players” by the New York Times, will present its special brand of cutting-edge contemporary music as part of its inaugural West Coast tour in January 2009. The first two stops feature award-winning alumni ensembles eighth blackbird and the Prima Trio with members of the Oberlin Contemporary Music Ensemble in San Francisco at the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre on Sunday, January 11, at 7 p.m. and in Seattle at Illsley Ball Nordstrom Recital Hall in Benaroya Hall on Tuesday, January 13, at 7:30 p.m. The Oberlin Conservatory Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Bridget-Michaele Reischl, performs in Los Angeles at Walt Disney Concert Hall on Saturday, January 24, at 2 p.m. The afternoon performance is highlighted by the world premiere of Hanging Cliffs, composed by critically acclaimed composer Huang Ruo ’00, 2008 winner of the prestigious International Composition Prize sponsored by the Luxembourg Society for Contemporary Music. The Conservatory presents the Los Angeles program in Finney Chapel on Monday, January 19, at 7 p.m. The Oberlin concert is free and open to the public. Oberlin's West Coast tour is generously supported by Jolyon F. Stern ’61, President and CEO of DeWitt Stern Group, Inc.
Oberlin Jazz Septet's January Tour Includes a Performance at Jazz at Lincoln Center
By Charlotte Landrum - Dec 22, 2008The Oberlin Jazz Septet (OJS), an ensemble featuring some of the most talented young musicians studying at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, will take their music on the road this January. From January 20 to 28, 2009, the OJS will play concerts and lead workshops for aspiring young musicians in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, New York, Washington, D.C., and Richmond, Virginia.
Professor of Violin Marilyn McDonald
Playing for the President: Michael Lynn and Marilyn McDonald to Perform at Inaugural Luncheon
Marci Janas ’91 - Dec 16, 2008Up on the balcony of Statuary Hall in what used to be the Old Senate Chamber, overlooking the Washington glitterati gathered for the traditional bi-partisan inaugural luncheon—this one in honor of Barack Obama’s inauguration as the 44th President of the United States, on Tuesday, January 20—will be Professor of Violin Marilyn McDonald and Professor of Recorder and Baroque Flute Michael Lynn. They are members of a small chamber ensemble that has the distinct honor of presenting a program of music for the historic event.
Violinist Jennifer Koh's Grammy-Nominated CD
Another Year, Another Slate of Grammy Award Nominations for Oberlin Alumni
Lillie Chilen ’08 - Dec 18, 2008The announcement of the 2009 Grammy Award nominees this month gave cause for Oberlin to celebrate yet another year of Grammy success among its high-performing, high-achieving alumni. Oberlin-trained musicians have received nominations in several classical music categories.
Harvey Pekar
Leave Me Alone!, a Jazz Opera by Harvey Pekar and Dan Plonsey, to Premiere at Oberlin
By Charlotte Landrum - Dec 10, 2008The iconic underground comic book author Harvey Pekar will make his operatic debut at the Conservatory this January in Leave Me Alone!, an autobiographical jazz opera. A collaboration by two Cleveland natives, the opera combines a libretto by Pekar with music by saxophonist and composer Dan Plonsey. The world premiere performance in Finney Chapel on January 31, 2009, at 8 p.m. will feature musicians from the Conservatory and College, and will be streamed live to an international audience online at www.LeaveMeAloneOpera.com.
Tune by Pianist Sullivan Fortner ’08 Featured on JAZZIZ CD
Marci Janas ’91 - Dec 11, 2008Pianist Sullivan Fortner’s ’08 tune, I Can’t Believe This Happened, is included on Jazziz on Disc for October 2008, the companion CD to JAZZIZ magazine. Fortner performs his elegant up-tempo ballad on the recording, joined by Christopher Mees ’09 on bass and Alex Ritz ’08 on drums—members of his eponymous trio—and he is featured in the magazine’s editorial spread. Garroch Neil ’08 and Noah Weiss ’09 engineered the track, which was produced and recorded at the Conservatory in May 2008.
A collection of bass viols stands at ease in the Selch home in New York City. Photo credit: Elliott Kaufman
An Endowed Professorship Accompanies the Donation to Oberlin of the Selch Collection of American Music History
Nov 24, 2008Dean of the Conservatory David H. Stull is honored to announce that Patricia Bakwin Selch, widow of noted collector and music scholar Frederick R. Selch, has donated to Oberlin her husband’s entire collection, which includes nearly 700 instruments and some 6,000 books, including rare first editions and important primary source material. An additional gift from Mrs. Selch will endow the Frederick R. Selch Professorship of Musicology. Her philanthropy lays the groundwork for establishing the Frederick R. Selch Center for American Music at Oberlin. “Generations of students, faculty, and visiting scholars will benefit immeasurably from this extraordinarily generous donation,” says Dean Stull. The story of this seminal collection, the man who amassed it, and what having it at Oberlin means for the institution is told in Heidi Waleson’s cover article for the 2008 issue of Oberlin Conservatory, “Object Lessons: The Selch Collection of American Music History.”
Excellent Air Quality: 21 Conservatory Students Join Harpist Yolanda Kondonassis on a Recording That Helps the Environment
By Marci Janas ’91 - Sep 29, 2008Yolanda Kondonassis has combined her commitment to raising awareness of the threat of global warming with her passion for music and her joy in working with young musicians on her newest recording for Telarc, Air. Kondonassis and the Conservatory will donate a portion of their royalties from the sale of Air to the Environmental Defense Fund.
In December 2008, Amazon.com named Air one of the best classical music instrumental recordings of 2008.
Construction Begins of Phyllis Litoff Building, Oberlin's New Home For Jazz Studies
By Marci Janas ’91 - Aug 14, 2008The syncopated sounds of jackhammers and backhoes heralded the much-anticipated groundbreaking for the Phyllis Litoff Building on July 30, 2008, when site clearing for the project began on the Oberlin College campus. Construction on the environmentally innovative home for jazz studies at the Conservatory began in earnest on August 8, 2008. Krill Construction of Cleveland, Ohio, is the general contractor for the project, which is expected to take 14 months to complete. Plans are for the building to open during fall semester 2009, and arrangements are being made for a gala dedication ceremony and grand opening. More detailed information will be announced at a later date.
View Slide Show
