The Oberlin Jazz Septet (OJS) is a small jazz ensemble made up of the most outstanding student performers in the Jazz Studies Department at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music at Oberlin College. The department was founded by Chair of the Jazz Studies Department, Dr. Wendell Logan. Each year, the jazz faculty members nominate their best students for membership in the distinguished ensemble, which is directed by Professor of Jazz Studies and Double Bass Peter Dominguez. OJS members devise the group’s business plan for performing, recording, touring, and teaching throughout the year. The septet’s performance repertoire includes original compositions and arrangements of classic jazz.
In past years, the ensemble has been featured at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts; Jazz Aspen Snowmass; the Detroit, Elmhurst, and Notre Dame jazz festivals; top performance venues in Cleveland, Atlanta, Chicago, St. Louis, Washington D.C., Kansas City, Philadelphia, Denver, Richmond, Virginia, and Jacksonville, Florida; and at many high schools and arts programs throughout the United States.
The Oberlin Jazz Septet Winter Term tours feature two weeks of performances, clinics and master classes for selective high schools and arts programs in various cities throughout the United States. The OJS prepares performance repertoire that will include original compositions and arrangements of classic jazz. The students provide historical narratives for the clinics and present master classes on their respective instruments.
OJS receives valuable field experience by performing for different audiences daily/nightly and traveling as a unit. Tours also provide our students valuable social interaction with alumni, teachers, and students in a variety of settings.
Past OJS tours have successfully increased Jazz Studies exposure in important urban centers, brought Oberlin alumni together with advertised concerts, and provided the Conservatory with important recruitment of students from underrepresented communities.
