Oberlin in the Media
Cave expert, 80, still spelunking (Mansfield News Journal)
November 13, 2009
Roger Brucker got himself into the thick of many an adventure while growing up in Shelby. Now, at age 80, the active Beavercreek resident said his exploits are far from over. Brucker, a veteran spelunker, is one of the nation's leading experts on Mammoth Cave in Kentucky and has co-authored five books on cave exploration. Although Brucker majored in fine arts at Oberlin College and became president of OIA Marketing Communications, where he worked for 50 years, Brucker said cave exploration was always a side "obsession."
Learn More2,000-Year-Old Scrolls, Internet-Era Crime (The New York Times)
November 12, 2009
Mr. Golb is, or was, a guerrilla fighter in a cyberbrawl over the Dead Sea Scrolls, a war about the origins of 2,000-year-old documents that has consumed the energy of academics around the globe. Mr. Golb is 49 years old and had 50 e-mail aliases. He used pseudonyms to post on blogs. Under the name of a professor he was trying to undermine, prosecutors charged, Mr. Golb wrote a quasi confession to plagiarism and circulated it among students and officials atNew York University. For a while, no one knew that 50 different names in the Dead Sea Scrolls debate were the prolific Mr. Golb, a graduate of Oberlin College who has a law degree from New York University and a doctorate in comparative literature from Harvard (dissertation: “The Problems of Privacy and Trust in Modern Literature, and their Relation to the Idea of Freedom”).
Learn MoreBattle of the Sexes, MozartStyle: Oberlin Opera Theatre captures music, humor of 'Cosi fan tutte' (The Morning Journal)
November 12, 2009
Oberlin Opera Theatre presents Mozart's lighthearted view of the battle between constancy and desire, flirtation and fidelity and, most important of all, men and women in Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's comic opera "Cosi fan tutte," with performances opening at 8 p.m. Wednesday at Hall Auditorium on the Oberlin College campus. "'Cosi' is a interesting piece," said Director Jonathan Field by phone from his Oberlin studio. "It's light at the beginning, dark in the middle and then a reassuring twist comes at the end where characters turn to the audience and say, in effect, 'Don't worry, things come to an end and then start afresh.'"
Learn MoreOSU students join to protect environment at Power Shift summit (The Lantern)
November 11, 2009
Hundreds gathered this weekend at Oberlin College to attend the Power Shift Ohio summit, one of several regional grass-roots movements determined to bring about change in climate policy. At the conference, several hundred students from across Ohio learned about pressing environmental and social justice issues, Reitman said. Students participated in panels such as “Biofuels: Food & the Enivronment” and “4,000 More Bikes: Making Oberlin an All-Bike Community,” which introduced students to innovative ways to take part in their own environmental effort.
Learn MoreFaculty Member David Lang Spoofs New Music in (Untitled) Score
November 03, 2009
Oberlin's Distinguished Visiting Professor of Composition and Composer in Residence David Lang "clearly has a healthy sense of humor," writes the New York Times. Lang's score for (Untitled), a new film satirizing the contemporary art world, employs a heavy artillery of novel sounds: "dropping chains into a bucket and kicking it, shredding paper, popping bubble wrap and smashing wine glasses." In addition to composing this fiercely avant garde repertoire for the film's fictional New Sound Ensemble, Lang also wrote the more "musically substantial" portions of the score. For all it pokes fun at the contemporary art world, the Times writes, (Untitled) "is ultimately on the side of experimental music and art and their champions, no matter how eccentric. For that alone this brave little movie deserves an audience."
Learn MoreOberlin Concert by Jennifer Koh ’97 Was "Sensitive and Bold," Says Plain Dealer
November 03, 2009
Jennifer Koh ’97 received acclaim from audiences and critics alike for her October 29 concert on Oberlin's Artist Recital Series. "Koh's program was a daring and intelligent thematic menu played with uncommon taste, flair and expressive acuity," writes Donald Rosenberg, music critic for the Plain Dealer. Her playing was "sensitive and bold," with "tonal suavity, clarity of texture and nuanced phrasing." The evening also marked the world premiere of a new video by Tal Rosner, created to be viewed in time to Koh's live performance of Esa-Pekka Salonen's Lachen verlernt. "The score surely can stand on its own, but the green and black dancing lines, nightscapes and sparks that accompany the violin add beguiling images to the narrative," Rosenberg writes.
Learn MoreFrederick Fisher's radical vision (L.A. Times)
November 02, 2009
The Los Angeles architect Frederick Fisher, who turned 60 earlier this year, is anything but a doctrinaire designer or a dogmatic personality. His houses, museum galleries and other buildings have over the years been executed in a relatively broad stylistic range, reflecting his curiosity, his interest in context and place and the diverse tastes of his well-connected clients. Fisher, who grew up in Cleveland, studied at Oberlin and UCLA and worked early in his career for Frank Gehry, cites no bigger single influence on his philosophical approach than architect Robert Venturi.
Learn MoreUniversities show increased use of renewable energy (Renewable Energy Focus)
November 02, 2009
A total of 332 schools in the US and Canada were evaluated on their use of renewable energy in the ‘College Sustainability Report Card 2010' produced by the Sustainable Endowments Institute. The rankings reflects 48 indicators in categories such as Climate Change & Energy, Green Building, Administration, Food & Recycling, Transportation, Student Involvement, Endowment Transparency, Shareholder Engagement and Investment Priorities. Of 149 schools which reported the use of renewable energy, a score of A- was awarded to 21 institutions including Oberlin College (OH)
Learn MoreArtistic Director of Symphony Space to Step Down (The New York Times)
November 02, 2009
Actually, Mr. Sheffer, 73, isn’t really going away. He will continue as the host of Selected Shorts, live and on the air. And he will retain the title of founding artistic director. But as of July 1, Symphony Space is to announce on Monday, he will hand off the mantle of artistic director to Laura Kaminsky, 53, whom he has been grooming as his successor. Ms. Kaminsky has a degree in music composition from City University’s graduate school. She attended Oberlin College, the High School of Music and Art and P.S. 87.
Learn MoreOberlin Conservatory and Viola Professor Peter Slowik Praised in Strad Article
October 29, 2009
A feature in the November 2009 issue of The Strad praised Professor of Viola Peter Slowik for his work with the summer program Credo, held annually on the Oberlin campus. "Oberlin College Conservatory, home to the festival, is no run-of-the-mill institution," observes writer Heather Kurzbauer, noting the college's progressive history as "a trendsetter in the early 19th century. In the new millennium," she continues, "a college famed for its combination of academic study and high-level music offers outstanding facilities and moral support for Credo’s mission." Slowik, "a man of limitless enthusiasm and purpose," personifies Credo's dual purpose of musical excellence and faith-based community service. "While many an esteemed pedagogue spends the summer months jetting off to masterclasses around the globe, Slowik gets down to the nitty-gritty of teaching in his own backyard," writes Kurzbauer. "Refuting the very notion that teaching can be tedious, Slowik infuses his lessons with the powerful dynamics of give and take." Excerpt only available online; subscription required to view full article.
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