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
A marble statue of Handel, carved in 1738 by Louis-François Roubiliac
Oberlin’s Baroque Performance Institute, June 21 – July 5, Focuses on London, Featuring Music from Purcell to Handel
Charlotte Landrum - Jun 19, 2009The Baroque Performance Institute (BPI) begins its 38th season of concerts, lectures, and events this Sunday, June 21 at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. One of the finest summer workshops for early music specialists, BPI’s two-week program will focus this year on music in London between 1659 and 1759. This significant century of music making was book-ended by two of the greatest figures in English music: Henry Purcell, who was born in 1659, and George Frideric Handel, who died in 1759.
Baritone Edward Parks ’06 to Perform Free Concert at Oberlin on July 17
Katie Gluck ’10 - Jun 12, 2009Baritone Edward Parks, a 2006 graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, will return to his alma mater to perform a free concert on July 17th, 2009 at 8 p.m. in Kulas Recital Hall. The concert will open Oberlin’s 2009 Vocal Academy for High School Students, a longstanding Conservatory summer program, which Parks himself attended in high school. A member of the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, Parks recently won the Met National Council Auditions and the Marilyn Horne Competition.
Professor of Musicology Steven Plank Wins Prestigious Early Music Award
Marci Janas ’91 - Jun 05, 2009Professor of Musicology Steven Plank is the recipient of the Thomas Binkley Award for 2009, according to an announcement by Maria Coldwell, Executive Director of Early Music America (EMA). Plank will receive the award at a special ceremony on June 12, when the organization, which serves the field of early music, convenes its annual meeting at the Boston Early Music Festival. Plank, who is also Director of the Department of Musicology, is receiving the distinction in honor of his outstanding achievements in performance and scholarship as director of the Collegium Musicum at Oberlin College, which he has led since 1989.
Johanna Bronk sings in Les Arts Florissants at Oberlin
Oberlin Conservatory Students, Faculty, and Alumni Perform at the Boston Early Music Festival
Charlotte Landrum - May 22, 2009The Oberlin Conservatory of Music will again be a major presence at “the world’s leading festival of early music” (The Times, London). The 2009 Boston Early Music Festival will feature Oberlin faculty members, students, and alumni on June 11, 12, and 13, 2009. Concerts include a clavichord recital by David Breitman,Director of Oberlin's Historical Performance Division; a student production of Charpentier’s opera Les Arts Florissants; and a performance of music by Anna Bon, featuring Associate Professor of Cello Catharina Meints.
Rare 1950s Jazz Photographs on View at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music
Marci Janas ’91 - Feb 20, 2009
Frank Kuchirchuk, a retired photographer who took live performance photographs of some of the greatest jazz artists during the height of their careers, has donated his entire collection of jazz images to the Conservatory. The Frank Kuchirchuk Collection of Jazz Photography contains some 200 images, most of which are negatives that have never been seen by the public. The collection will be cataloged and archived within Oberlin’s Phyllis Litoff Building, which is currently under construction and scheduled to open early next year. A special exhibition of selected images from the Kuchirchuk Collection will be on view in the Conservatory Lounge. The exhibition opens on Saturday, May 9, with a reception at 6:30 p.m. Afterwards, the Oberlin Jazz Ensemble, directed by Wendell Logan, will perform in Finney Chapel at 8 p.m. in a concert dedicated to Kuchirchuk, who will be the special guest of honor for the evening.
Eighth blackbird and members of the CME perform Double Sextet in Seattle
Composer Steve Reich’s Pulitzer for Double Sextet and its Oberlin Connections
Marci Janas ’91 - Apr 21, 2009When it was announced on Monday, April 20, that composer Steve Reich had won the Pulitzer Prize for Music, several Oberlin connections soon became apparent. The winning work, Double Sextet, was commissioned by eighth blackbird, the acclaimed new music ensemble formed at Oberlin more than 10 years ago. Written in three movements for an ensemble of 12 (or an ensemble of six playing against a pre-recorded tape) Double Sextet received its all-live premiere in Oberlin and at the Kitchen in New York City last fall, with members of the Oberlin Contemporary Music Ensemble playing alongside eighth blackbird. And the version that the Pulitzer jury considered during its deliberations was the recording of the Oberlin performance in Finney Chapel, engineered by Director of Audio Services Paul Eachus and featuring seniors Leah Asher (violin); Eleanor Bors (cello); Esther Fredrickson (flute); Mark Cramer (clarinet); Thomas Fosnocht (piano); and Jennifer Torrence (percussion). American Public Media’s Performance Today is featuring that award-winning performance, and an interview with the composer, today, April 21.
Danielle Koplinka-Loehr Receives Watson Fellowship
Mar 18, 2009Oberlin College senior Danielle Koplinka-Loehr is one of 40 students “of unusual promise” nationwide selected to receive a prestigious Watson Fellowship, which carries with it a $28,000 stipend.
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.
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