91ֱ��’s Tim Weiss Wins 2025 Ditson Conductor’s Award</h1> <article> <h1>91ֱ��’s Tim Weiss Wins 2025 Ditson Conductor’s Award</h1> <p>eburnett — Wed, 29 Oct 2025 14:16:01 +0000</p> <span>91ֱ��’s Tim Weiss Wins 2025 Ditson Conductor’s Award</span> <span><span>eburnett</span></span> <span><time datetime="2025-10-29T10:16:01-04:00" title="Wednesday, October 29, 2025 - 10:16">Wed, 10/29/2025 - 10:16</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Professor of Conducting <a href="/timothy-weiss">Timothy Weiss</a> has joined an esteemed list of conductors recognized as champions of contemporary American music.</p><p>Weiss is the 2025 recipient of the <a href="https://ditsonfund.org/conductors-award">Alice M. Ditson Fund Conductor’s Award</a>, the oldest continuing award honoring conductors for distinguished contributions to American music. Established by Columbia University in 1945, the Ditson Award has been presented to luminaries including Leonard Bernstein, Marin Alsop, John Adams, Christoph von Dohnányi, and 91ֱ�� alumnus Robert Spano ’84.</p><p>Augusta Read Thomas, Ditson Fund Committee member and a composer whose work Weiss has frequently programmed at 91ֱ��, <a href="https://music.columbia.edu/news/tim-weiss-wins-2025-ditson-conductors-award">praised Weiss</a> for his “powerful skill and imagination for new possibilities for music.” </p><p>Thomas will present the award to Weiss in person on November 1, during the 91ֱ�� Contemporary Music Ensemble’s <a href="/events/concert-contemporary-music-ensemble-9938">concert</a> in Warner Concert Hall. He will receive $5,000 and a citation from Columbia University Interim President Claire Shipman.</p><div class="align-right"> </div> <p>“I am so honored to receive this prestigious award,” Weiss says. “It has been my great pleasure and passion to give voice to the work of living composers.”</p><p>Since 1992, Weiss has directed the Contemporary Music Ensemble and the 91ֱ�� Sinfonietta, maintaining a high level of performance and artistry across both groups. His bold programming for those ensembles—spanning a vast array of contemporary music and including numerous premieres and commissions—earned him an <a href="https://newmusicusa.org/nmbx/rewarding-the-risk-takers-ascaps-awards-for-adventurous-programming/">Adventurous Programming Award</a> from the League of American Orchestras in 2002. </p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-subhead field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Prestigious honor celebrates contributions to American music; longtime professor joins elite company.</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2025-10-29T12:00:00Z">Wed, 10/29/2025 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Stephanie Manning ’23</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2356">Conservatory</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=3341">Conservatory Faculty</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2373">Awards and Honors</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-programs field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=35616">Conducting</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-faculty field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/timothy-weiss" hreflang="und">Timothy Weiss</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/conservatory/divisions/conducting-and-ensembles" hreflang="und">Conducting and Ensembles</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/conservatory/divisions/contemporary-music" hreflang="und">Contemporary Music</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">Professor of Conducting Tim Weiss, seen here leading 91ֱ��'s Contemporary Music Ensemble in a 2024 performance at Bang on a Can's Long Play Festival in New York, is a tireless advocate of new music.</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Fadi Kheir</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-flex-content field--type-entity-reference-revisions field--label-hidden vertical-spacing--basic field__items"> <div class="field__item"> <div id="obj-45278" class="paragraph paragraph--type--pb-el-bq paragraph--view-mode--default"> <blockquote class="blockquote--quotemark" data-text-color-red data-text-size-giant> <p>I want to express my deepest gratitude to the composers, my colleagues, the generations of 91ֱ�� students, and the ever-curious 91ֱ�� audiences that have been on this decades-long journey with me.” <em>—Tim Weiss</em></p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <div class="field__item"> <div id="obj-45279" class="paragraph paragraph--type--para-el-copy paragraph--view-mode--default o-flex--basic-copy basic-copy"> <p>During his 91ֱ�� tenure of more than three decades, Weiss has helped launch the ensembles eighth blackbird—winner of multiple Grammy Awards—and the International Contemporary Ensemble, and has mentored future stars in the contemporary music field. He has led 91ֱ�� students on multiple tours to Carnegie Hall and other renowned venues, and recorded numerous albums featuring CME on the 91ֱ�� Music label, including a trio of releases in 2021: <em>The 91ֱ�� Concertos</em>, <a href="/news/oberlin-music-label-presents-works-andrew-norman-juan-trigos-and-benjamin-broening"><em>Norman | Trigos | Broening</em></a>, and <em>Hartke | Ogonek | Jones</em>.</p><p>“I share this award with the 91ֱ�� community, which has always been the perfect environment for a rich, creative life,” Weiss says. “I want to express my deepest gratitude to the composers, my colleagues, the generations of 91ֱ�� students, and the ever-curious 91ֱ�� audiences that have been on this decades-long journey with me.”</p><p>“Tim Weiss has played a defining role in the musical life of our country, and it brings tremendous joy to see him recognized with this richly deserved award,” says Dean of the Conservatory <a href="/william-quillen" data-entity-type="node" data-entity-uuid="ae2f8811-f23e-458f-87e3-6d455d557536" data-entity-substitution="canonical" title="William Quillen">William Quillen</a>. “On a personal note, Tim is an ideal colleague, teacher, and friend, and we could not be prouder or more grateful that he's a member of the 91ֱ�� community.”</p><p>In addition to his work at 91ֱ��, Weiss heads the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble at the Aspen Music Festival and School, and the artist-driven Zohn Collective, for which he is co-director and founder. He is a regular guest of the Arctic Philharmonic Sinfonietta in Norway, where he served as artistic director for six years and received a 2024 Grammy nomination for the album <em>Missy Mazzoli: Dark with Excessive Bright</em>.</p><p>Weiss earned a Bachelor of Music in trombone performance and music education from Northwestern University, and went on to earn graduate degrees from the University of Michigan and the Royal Conservatory in Brussels, Belgium.</p><hr><p><em><strong>Stephanie Manning is a freelance writer based in Cleveland. She studied bassoon performance, arts management, and journalism at 91ֱ��.</strong></em></p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-article-header field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">0</div> </article> <article> <h1>91ֱ�� Alumni and Faculty Celebrated for Composition Achievements</h1> <p>cstrauss — Tue, 05 Mar 2024 21:44:20 +0000</p> <span>91ֱ�� Alumni and Faculty Celebrated for Composition Achievements</span> <span><span>cstrauss</span></span> <span><time datetime="2024-03-05T16:44:20-05:00" title="Tuesday, March 5, 2024 - 16:44">Tue, 03/05/2024 - 16:44</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>The American Academy of Arts and Letters—an honor society of artists, architects, composers, and writers—announced the 20 recipients of its <a href="https://artsandletters.org/pressrelease/2024-music-awards">2024 Awards in Music</a>. A number of 91ֱ�� Conservatory alumni and a member of the Conservatory faculty were awarded prizes or scholarships. The honor celebrates and supports both established and emerging composers. 91ֱ��’s five honorees run the gamut of these career phases.</p> <div class="grid grid--1-2 left-right"> <p>Vocal performance alumnus <a href="https://rhiannongiddens.com/">Rhiannon Giddens ’00</a> was awarded the Virgil Thomson Award of $40,000, which goes to an exceptional American composer of vocal works. Giddens work was recently recoginized with the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for Music for her opera <em>Omar</em>.</p> </div> <div class="grid grid--1-2 right-left"> <p>The Benjamin H. Danks Award of $20,000, given to a composer of ensemble works was granted to double degree alumnus and composer <a href="https://www.aaronhelgeson.com/">Aaron Helgeson ’05</a> (BM in composition and BA in theater). Helgeson serves as Associate Professor of Composition and Music Theory at Montclair State University’s Cali School of Music. His music has received awards and grants from institutions like the Fromm Music Foundation, Aaron Copland Fund, Barlow Endowment, ASCAP, and American Composers Forum. Recordings of his music are available on Carrier Records, 91ֱ�� Music, and Innova Recordings.</p> </div> <div class="grid grid--1-2 left-right"> <p>91ֱ�� Conservatory composition faculty <a href="/jesse-jones">Jesse Jones</a> received the Walter Hinrichsen Award, established by the C. F. Peters Corporation for the publication of a work by an American composer. The Rome Prize- and Guggenheim-winning composer has also just <a href="https://ezraquartet.bandcamp.com/album/ezra">released a new album with his group EZRA</a>, which includes nine works written by Jones. This musician collective is focused on the creation of genre-crossing and style-inclusive new music and consists of banjo virtuoso and 91ֱ�� Conservatory composition student <a href="https://maxallard.com/">Max Allard</a>, world-renowned mandolinist Jacob Jolliff, and bassist Craig Butterfield, with Jones on guitar and keyboard instruments.</p> </div> <div class="grid grid--1-2 right-left"> <p>Composer and conductor <a href="https://www.justinweissmusic.com">Justin Weiss ’17</a> (B.M. in Music Composition with a minor in Music Theory) is currently a PhD Fellow in Composition at the University of Chicago where he studies with Augusta Read Thomas and is conductor of the university’s New Music Ensemble. He has received a Charles Ives Scholarship of $7,500.</p> </div> <div class="grid grid--1-2 left-right"> <p>Composer <a href="https://isaacsantoscomposer.wordpress.com/">Isaac Santos ’22</a>, now a PhD candidate in Princeton University’s Department of Music, also received a Charles Ives Scholarship of $7,500.</p> </div> <style type="text/css">.basic-copy .grid.grid--1-2 {; margin: 2rem 0; } .basic-copy .grid.grid--1-2.left-right { grid-template-columns: 1fr 2fr; } .basic-copy .grid.grid--1-2.right-left { grid-template-columns: 2fr 1fr; } .basic-copy .grid.grid--1-2.right-left > :first-child { grid-column: 2; grid-row: 1; } .basic-copy .grid.grid--1-2.right-left > :last-child { grid-column: 1; grid-row: 1; } .basic-copy .grid p { margin-top: 0.125rem; margin-bottom: 0; } </style></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-subhead field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">American Academy of Arts and Letters awards prizes and funding to four alumni and a member of the Composition Department faculty</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2024-03-05T12:00:00Z">Tue, 03/05/2024 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Cathy Partlow Strauss ’84</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2356">Conservatory</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=3878">Conservatory of Music</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2368">Alumni</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2974">Conservatory Alumni</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-programs field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=33331">Composition</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=35596">Voice</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=35616">Conducting</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-faculty field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/jesse-jones" hreflang="und">Jesse Jones</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/conservatory/divisions/contemporary-music" hreflang="und">Contemporary Music</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/conservatory/divisions/music-theory" hreflang="und">Music Theory</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/conservatory/divisions/vocal-studies" hreflang="und">Vocal Studies</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Yevhen Gulenko</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Conducting at 91ֱ��</h1> <p>jreinier — Fri, 17 Feb 2023 21:32:05 +0000</p> <span>Conducting at 91ֱ��</span> <span><span>jreinier</span></span> <span><time datetime="2023-02-17T16:32:05-05:00" title="Friday, February 17, 2023 - 16:32">Fri, 02/17/2023 - 16:32</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>When <a href="https://www.mauricecohn.com/">Maurice Cohn</a> ’17 stepped off the plane to conduct the Cincinnati Symphony, he had only a few days to prepare. Strikes in France had grounded the orchestra’s regular maestro, Louis Langrée, and Cohn, 27, had been offered an opportunity to fill in for the performance of <em>Also sprach Zarathustra</em> by Richard Strauss. </p> <figure class="captioned-image obj-right"> <figcaption>Maurice Cohn.<br> Photo by Sylvia Elzafon. </figcaption> </figure> <p>“It was terrifying, but also extremely rewarding and a lot of fun. The Cincinnati Symphony is a truly incredible orchestra, and I felt very lucky to get the chance to work with them,” shares Cohn, who currently holds the position of assistant conductor with the Dallas Symphony. “It was a wonderful high-adrenaline, high-satisfaction musical experience.” </p> <p>And audiences and critics agreed: The <em>Cincinnati Business Courier</em> published a <a href="https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2022/10/22/review-substitute-steps-in-to-conduct-thrilling.html">rave review</a> of the performance, writing, “Cohn’s leadership showed depth, musicality and expressive power,” and that his “auspicious debut left me wishing to see him return for another visit, and soon.” </p> <p>But what we see during a performance is a tiny fraction of a conductor’s real work. In a way, Cohn started preparing for that concert many years ago in 91ֱ��’s conducting program, led by professor <a href="/raphael-jimenez">Raphael Jiménez</a>. </p> <figure class="captioned-image obj-left"> <figcaption>Raphael Jiménez<br> Credit: John Seyfried</figcaption> </figure> <p>Jiménez advises, “I constantly tell my conducting students: Don't be fooled by watching conductors’ performances, because what you are watching is very faded.” Every small movement in a performance is just a reminder of what the conductor has already developed in rehearsal—so what might have required a big cue at first eventually just requires a wink. </p> <p>And conducting is so much more than the movements you make. Jiménez sees conducting as a service requiring a deep knowledge of the music, as well as your musicians. “You have a lot of talent in your hands, and it’s your job to get the best out of them. So you need phenomenal ears. You need to know the score extremely well. Your number one job is to listen.”</p> <p>Jiménez spends a lot of time mentoring students, such as Cohn. 91ֱ��'s conducting students start with four semesters of conducting classes, led by Jiménez as well as Professor of Music Education <a href="/jody-kerchner">Jody Kerchner</a>; <a href="/timothy-weiss">Tim Weiss</a>, the director of 91ֱ��’s Contemporary Music Ensemble; and Ben Johns and <a href="/gregory-ristow">Gregory Ristow</a>, who direct the vocal ensembles. </p> <p>The program works to develop conductors holistically, taking advantage of 91ֱ��’s well-rounded education. Jiménez shares, “Some first-year students come in and say, ‘Hey what is happening? I should be conducting now.’ But I say, you need to take a history class, you need to take music theory, and really understand the music. By sophomore year, they start to understand the huge responsibility it is to be in front of these people that trust you with their talent.”</p> <figure class="captioned-image"> <figcaption>Professor Raphael Jiménez coaches conducting student Immanuel Mykyta-Chomsky during an 91ֱ�� Orchestra rehearsal. Photo by Joshua Reinier.</figcaption> </figure> <p>After finishing the sequence of classes, 91ֱ�� students receive close mentorship and real-world experience for the rest of their time as undergraduates. Conducting students assist in preparation and in performances of the conservatory’s Contemporary Music Ensemble, 91ֱ�� Orchestra, and 91ֱ�� Opera; they conduct composition students’ pieces; and they have directed wind, brass, and choral ensembles, as well as the Arts & Sciences Orchestra and productions of the 91ֱ�� Musical Theater Association. Out in the community, these students regularly serve as assistant conductors with the Northern Ohio Youth Orchestra, which partners with 91ֱ��. Enterprising conducting students also find generosity among their classmates who participate in ad-hoc ensembles and they mount their own performances. </p> <p>Cohn—a double degree graduate who earned a his Conservatory bachelor's in cello performance—has a fond memory of conducting his cello professor, <a href="/darrett-adkins">Darrett Adkins</a>, when he appeared as soloist with the Arts & Sciences Orchestra—Cohn’s first big break, as the faculty conductor of the ensemble was away on sabbatical. He describes it as “one of the top three musical moments of my life: playing with [Adkins] after studying with him.” </p> <p>Mentorship continues long after students graduate. After Cohn conducted the Cincinnati Symphony, Jiménez gave his former student a call to debrief. “We’re talking all the time,” Jiménez shares. “It's something that I enjoy.”</p> <p>91ֱ��’s conducting program has produced many prominent names including <a href="https://www.robertspanomusic.com/">Robert Spano</a> ’84, <a href="https://www.oaklandsymphony.org/artist/michael-morgan/">Michael Morgan</a> ’79, <a href="https://jeannettesorrell.com/about/">Jeannette Sorrell</a> A.D. ’90, and <a href="https://www.jamesfeddeck.com/">James Feddeck</a> (B.M. ’05, M.M. ’06), to mention just a few. And, that number is growing fast. Several recent 91ֱ�� graduates, including Cohn, have received the prestigious Career Assistance Award from the Solti Foundation U.S.—Matthew Straw ’20, currently completing his master's degree at Eastman; Farkhad Khudyev ’08, director of the University of Texas at Austin Butler School of Music Symphony Orchestra; and Tiffany Chang B.M., M.M. ’08, faculty at Berklee College of Music and a frequently engaged guest conductor. Benjamin Martin ’22, now studying composition at the University of Chicago, recently returned to 91ֱ�� to conduct the world premiere of <a href="/news/oberlin-opera-theater-presents-world-premiere-alice-tierney-jan-27-29-0"><em>Alice Tierney</em></a>, a new opera by Melissa Dunphy and Jacqueline Goldfinger. Many other students are studying conducting at prestigious programs, including Alan Truong ’21, one of two conductors accepted to Juilliard’s conducting program this year, and Fanye Yuan ’20, now studying at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler in Berlin. </p> <p>But like conducting itself, it’s not the awards that show the real work of a conductor—it’s the depth of your understanding, musicianship, and humanity. That’s what Cohn remembers so fondly about his experience at 91ֱ��. “A lot of schools will tell you they’ll help you become who you want to be. But more importantly, 91ֱ�� helps you discover the <em>kind</em> of person you want to be. It changes your mind about what you think is important, what your priorities are. That’s not something that happens everywhere.”</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-subhead field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">91ֱ��'s conducting program has produced distinguished alumni as well as up-and-coming names including Maurice Cohn '17.</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2023-02-17T12:00:00Z">Fri, 02/17/2023 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Joshua Reinier</div> <div class="text-content field field--name-field-intro-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>What we see a conductor do during a performance is just the tip of the iceberg—the real work starts years before.</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2974">Conservatory Alumni</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2356">Conservatory</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-programs field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=35616">Conducting</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-faculty field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/raphael-jimenez" hreflang="und">Raphael Jiménez</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/conservatory/divisions/conducting-and-ensembles" hreflang="und">Conducting and Ensembles</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">Maurice Cohn conducting the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Sylvia Elzafon, courtesy Dallas Symphony Orchestra.</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Michael Morgan '79, Bay Area Conductor and Arts Advocate, Dies at 63</h1> <p>eburnett — Tue, 24 Aug 2021 13:46:32 +0000</p> <span>Michael Morgan '79, Bay Area Conductor and Arts Advocate, Dies at 63</span> <span><span>eburnett</span></span> <span><time datetime="2021-08-24T09:46:32-04:00" title="Tuesday, August 24, 2021 - 09:46">Tue, 08/24/2021 - 09:46</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Michael Morgan recognized early what many never recognize at all: that each artist bears the responsibility for cultivating the next generation of artistry.</p> <p>The longtime music director of the Oakland Symphony and a lifelong believer in the power of music to elevate communities, Morgan died August 20, 2021. He was 63.</p> <p>“We have lost our guiding father,” the symphony’s executive director, Mieko Hatano, said in a statement as news of Morgan’s passing began to circulate.</p> <p>Over the course of 30 years in Oakland, Morgan relished the dual nature of his role: to facilitate compelling performances of a broad range of repertoire—from well-known masters to unknown local composers—and to ensure that his orchestra reached out to its community at every turn. Through regular programming in the Oakland schools and innovative concerts that showcased the music of marginalized cultures, the symphony under Morgan became a model of outreach and education for music organizations everywhere.</p> <p>He perpetually appealed to those on the margins of his world, in part because he had long felt like an outsider himself.</p> <p>“Being a classical musician, being a conductor, being Black, being gay—all of these things put you on the outside, and each one puts you a little further out than the last one,” he told <em>Georgia Voice</em> in 2013, in advance of a guest appearance with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. “So you get accustomed to constructing your own world because there are not a lot of clear paths to follow and not a lot of people that are just like you.”</p> <p>Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Morgan was introduced to the piano at age 6, when his biologist father purchased one for the family home for $10. By 12, Morgan was conducting school and church orchestras, and soon after rose to the stand of the D.C. Youth Orchestra. He studied composition at 91ֱ�� and at Tanglewood, where he learned from legendary conductors Gunther Schuller, Seiji Ozawa, and his longtime mentor, Leonard Bernstein.</p> <p>Just one year beyond his 91ֱ�� studies, Morgan catapulted into the spotlight in 1980 by winning the Hans Swarowsky Conducting Competition in Vienna; two years later, he assumed the role of Leonard Slatkin’s assistant conductor with the St. Louis Symphony. Also that year, Morgan made his operatic debut at the Vienna State Opera, in a production of Mozart’s <em>Abduction from the Seraglio</em>. He later recounted that he hoped simply to escape the hall without being booed, but he ultimately was invited to return.</p> <p>Morgan called the Vienna engagement “The most pretentious thing in my biography, which is full of pretentious things,” but it was also a welcome springboard to his role as assistant conductor of the Chicago Symphony—the first Black conductor appointed to a title position. There he served for five years, first under the baton of Georg Solti, then Daniel Barenboim. He became music director of the Oakland Symphony in 1991.</p> <p>Resolved to avoid the itinerant life of many high-profile conductors, Morgan contented himself with building a vibrant and varied career almost entirely in the Bay Area. In addition to the Oakland Symphony, he was artistic director of the Oakland Youth Orchestra and served for 16 years as music director of the Sacramento Philharmonic and Sacramento Opera. He was artistic director of Festival Opera for more than a decade and music director of the Bear Valley Music Festival. Since 1993, he also served as music director of the Gateways Music Festival, dedicated to supporting the professional development of musicians of African descent and to inspire communities through performance.</p> <p>When Morgan traveled—to festivals, or to guest-conduct major orchestras in Atlanta and New York and elsewhere—he made sure to interact with each region’s schoolchildren, his mission to cultivate future musicians and audiences never relegated solely to his home turf. And wherever he went, he exalted the work of little-known composers when Mozart or Brahms could have sufficed.</p> <p>“He launched new works by an entire generation of grateful composers,” Daron Hagen said of Morgan, who premiered a piece by the young composer in 1992—at the helm of the New York Philharmonic.</p> <p>Unceasingly passionate in his day-to-day work, Morgan was also endlessly cheerful, and his ubiquitous good humor and trademark high-pitched laugh capably disarmed audiences and everyone else in his presence.</p> <p>Lee Koonce ’82, president and artistic director of the Rochester, New York-based Gateways Music Festival, called Morgan’s death a tremendous loss for the international classical music community.</p> <p>“I believe that his greatest legacy will be his honesty as a human being and as a musician, his fearlessness in the breaking of traditions, his ability to authentically connect the orchestra with the local community beyond the concert hall, and showing us a new model for what an American ‘maestro’ could be,” Koonce said. “If the United States had 20 more Michael Morgans leading major orchestras across the country, I suspect that all the conversations we’ve had over the years about the lack of diversity in classical music and its lack of relevance would be virtually nonexistent.”</p> <p>As the arts world scrambled to reinvent itself amid the pandemic, Morgan continued the work he had done all his life. In 2020, he curated a series of virtual programs for the San Francisco Symphony that highlighted intersections between classical music and distinctive musical styles deeply rooted in the Bay Area: jazz and hip-hop, as well as sounds of China and Mexico.</p> <p>“I tell people who are undertaking projects like this that they shouldn’t worry about trying to change the world,” he said at the time. “The simple fact of going from absolute zero to something means that this effort can have a disproportionate impact.”</p> <p>Despite his outward resilience and charisma, Morgan lived a quiet life with his mother and sister. He suffered from chronic kidney disease since 1989, and he endured dialysis every day for seven years until undergoing a successful transplant in May 2021. Three months later, complications surfaced that resulted in a severe infection.</p> <p>Morgan’s roommate at 91ֱ�� was Steven Isserlis ’78, a cellist from Britain who went on to become a world-renowned soloist and chamber musician. To Isserlis and others at 91ֱ��, Morgan was known affectionately as “Mikey.” In a Facebook post shared shortly after Morgan’s death, Isserlis recounted his friend’s musicianship, his cutting wit, that unforgettable laugh, and the camaraderie that bridged continents throughout their lives.</p> <p>“I can only hope that wherever he is now, he’s cackling with delight at the old friends he’s meeting—and getting together orchestras of angels to conduct,” Isserlis wrote. “Goodbye, Mikey—there will never be anyone like you.”</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-subhead field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Oakland Symphony music director championed lesser-known repertoire, emphasized the orchestra’s role in the community.</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2021-08-24T12:00:00Z">Tue, 08/24/2021 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Erich Burnett</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2356">Conservatory</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2412">Obituaries</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2974">Conservatory Alumni</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-programs field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=35616">Conducting</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/conservatory/divisions/contemporary-music" hreflang="und">Contemporary Music</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">courtesy Oakland Symphony</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Arts and Sciences Orchestra Collaboration Premieres December 15</h1> <p>eburnett — Thu, 10 Dec 2020 16:09:48 +0000</p> <span>Arts and Sciences Orchestra Collaboration Premieres December 15</span> <span><span>eburnett</span></span> <span><time datetime="2020-12-10T11:09:48-05:00" title="Thursday, December 10, 2020 - 11:09">Thu, 12/10/2020 - 11:09</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>91ֱ��’s <a href="https://sites.google.com/prod/view/oaso">Arts and Sciences Orchestra</a>—the ensemble dedicated to talented college students and members of the community—presents its <a href="https://calendar.oberlin.edu/event/oberlin_arts_and_sciences_orchestra_concert_broadcast">climactic performance</a> of the fall semester at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, December 15, on YouTube premiere.</p> <p>The wide-ranging program features music from the Hollywood film <em>Captain Marvel</em> by Pinar Toprak, the emotionally charged <em>Haunted Topography</em> by David T. Little, and Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy, Op. 80.<span id="cke_bm_319S" style="display: none;"></span><br> </p> <p>If it seems something like a fantasy that such a performance—virtual or otherwise—could happen while incidence of COVID-19 spikes to unprecedented levels, it seems far less so in light of the determination of the ensemble’s director, Assistant Professor of Conducting <a href="/node/121916">Tiffany Chang</a>, a 2009 conservatory graduate.</p> <p>The concert martials the efforts of the University of Rochester Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra, and Chamber Singers; a distinguished lineup of 91ֱ�� alumni vocalists; faculty pianist <a href="/node/6801">Peter Takács</a> (pictured right); the <a href="/node/304811">Verona Quartet</a> (91ֱ��'s quartet in residence for 2020-21); the <a href="/node/3181">91ֱ�� Dance Department</a>; a chorus made up of students and friends of 91ֱ��—and of course, the Arts and Sciences Orchestra, which also included 16 conservatory musicians, many of them as teaching assistants.</p> <p></p> <p>Chang chose the selections from <em>Captain Marvel</em> in response to sustained input from her orchestra students, who routinely ask to perform film music—but also for the significance of its Turkish composer, Pinar Toprak, the first woman to compose an original score for a Marvel movie.</p> <p>“I felt that it was the right choice, given all that’s happened in the world recently,” says Chang, who arranged the three excerpts for the unusual instrumentation available to her, including a considerable wind section and minimal strings.</p> <p></p> <p>Little’s <em>Haunted Topography</em> afforded the opportunity for collaboration between Chang’s orchestra and the 91ֱ�� Dance Department. Dance student Tyfun Zaidi ’24 developed original choreography to Little’s evocative work, about a mother coming to grips with the death of her son in the Vietnam War; 91ֱ�� dance students recorded performances of Zaidi’s choreography in locations across campus—some well-known, some obscure—and around 91ֱ��. (A still image from the video is seen at right.)</p> <p>Choral Fantasy—which Beethoven wrote in 1808 as the concluding piece of a benefit concert that also included the premieres of his fifth and sixth symphonies—had already been envisioned as part of 91ֱ��’s continuing celebration of the 250th anniversary of the composer’s birth. It was originally scheduled to take place in October in Finney Chapel, in a world not gripped by pandemic. Instead, it was painstakingly prepared by Chang’s musicians and those from Rochester who joined in the collaboration, with each musician or ensemble provided a previously recorded track as a guidepost for their own contribution, and each successive track ultimately blended, layer by layer, into a final recording.</p> <p>Audio for the Toprak and Beethoven was produced by Grammy Award-winning engineer Stephen Roessner, a faculty member at Rochester. The accompanying video presentation—as well as the audio for Little—was produced by Chang, who oversaw numerous video shoots during rehearsals on campus and devoted untold numbers of hours to splicing shots at her computer.</p> <p></p> <p>For the piece’s six solo vocal roles, Chang sought input from conservatory voice faculty for high-profile recent graduates who might be interested. She wound up with sopranos <a href="https://www.caitlinaloia.com/">Caitlin Aloia ’20</a> (a winner of 91ֱ��’s 2020 Senior Concerto Competition) and <a href="https://www.juliadawsonopera.com/">Julia Dawson ’11</a> (of the Frankfurt Opera), mezzo-soprano <a href="https://www.rebeccaprintz.com/">Rebecca Printz ’16</a> (Tanglewood and Marlboro fellow), tenors <a href="https://www.l2artists.com/carlos-enrique-santelli/">Carlos Enrique Santelli ’14</a> (2018 Metropolitan Opera Competition winner) and <a href="https://www.danielmcgrewtenor.com/">Daniel McGrew ’15</a> (Tanglewood fellow), and baritone <a href="http://www.elliottcarltonhines.com/">Elliott Carlton Hines '12</a> (Stuttgart Opera).</p> <p>Also featured is a virtual choir made up of more than 60 91ֱ�� students, faculty, parents, alumni, staff, and other musicians from around the world, led by Olivia Fink '21.</p> <p>“A lot of our choir and orchestra members have mentioned that they really appreciated feeling like they were playing with other people,” says Chang. “They felt like they were playing in an actual orchestra because of the track we provided.”</p> <p>In addition to 35 minutes of music, the program includes a brief intermission segment that peers behind the scenes and includes reflections from participants in the project.</p> <p>91ֱ��’s collaboration with Rochester—which includes Choral Fantasy as well as <em>Captain Marvel</em>—grew in part out of Chang’s friendship with Rochester conductor Rachel Waddell, whom Chang met in 2019 at the Hart Institute for Women Conductors, presented by the Dallas Opera.</p> <p>“We actually didn’t start by saying, ‘Oh, let’s combine our orchestra ensembles!’” Chang says. “I was designing this virtual component because I knew we wouldn’t be able to have a real, live one. I really didn’t want it to be a traditional livestream experience. I wanted a more visually engaging experience that adds to the music in some way or that correlates to the music in some way.”</p> <p>Ultimately, the challenges faced by Chang mirrored those of her Rochester colleagues. Joining forces for the performance, as well as the semester’s workshops and other shared experiences, simply made sense to everyone involved.</p> <p>“It’s amazing that we were able to pull this off,” says Chang, who devoted countless hours to producing the final piece, in addition to various trailers and other promotional materials. “To have all of these moving pieces fall into place exactly when they were supposed to…it’s a miracle. I can’t imagine if something would have happened in, say, October. If we would have had to shut down or modify our activities further, none of this would have been able to happen.”</p> <p>For that miracle, Chang credits the steadfast dedication of 91ֱ�� students and administrators, who adhered to the campus’ stringent guidelines and sustained an extremely low rate of infection throughout autumn, even as cases spiked in surrounding communities and elsewhere.</p> <p>“The plan I devised in summer went surprisingly smoothly,” she says. “It happened just as planned.”</p> <p>However compelling, Chang knows the prerecorded program can’t replace a live musical experience—“and I certainly hope it doesn’t replace the live concert experience,” she says.</p> <p>“But I also hope this way of presenting music and musicians creates a little more intimacy and more of a sense of the power of collaboration, that there is a lot of power in bringing a lot of people together.”</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2020-12-10T12:00:00Z">Thu, 12/10/2020 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Erich Burnett</div> <div class="text-content field field--name-field-intro-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Virtual performance draws upon musicians from the college, community, conservatory, and elsewhere.</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2356">Conservatory</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2385">Community</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=3328">Musical Opportunities for College Students</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2370">Ensembles & Orchestras</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-programs field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=35616">Conducting</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25281">Musical Studies</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/conservatory/divisions/conducting-and-ensembles" hreflang="und">Conducting and Ensembles</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/musical-studies" hreflang="und">Musical Studies</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Courtesy of Tiffany Chang</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Gene Young ’60, Former 91ֱ�� Trumpet Professor, Dies at 79</h1> <p>eburnett — Fri, 23 Jul 2021 14:22:56 +0000</p> <span>Gene Young ’60, Former 91ֱ�� Trumpet Professor, Dies at 79</span> <span><span>eburnett</span></span> <span><time datetime="2021-07-23T10:22:56-04:00" title="Friday, July 23, 2021 - 10:22">Fri, 07/23/2021 - 10:22</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Six years after graduating from 91ֱ�� Conservatory, Gene Young ’60 returned to his alma mater to teach trumpet. By the time he moved on from 91ֱ�� 13 years later, his impact on students had spread beyond the brass section.</p> <p>Young left to indulge his passion for conducting—first at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, then at the Peabody Institute, where his love of new music found a vehicle in the Peabody Camerata, the ensemble he founded in 1987 and directed for many years.</p> <p>Young died June 19, 2018, in Coventry, Connecticut. He is remembered by former students and colleagues as an exacting and intense conductor, who prepared his scores with great precision—often memorizing them—and who nurtured his musicians with consistent waves of encouragement and praise. He was revered for his broad knowledge of orchestral repertoire, whether it was 200 years old or two.</p> <p>“Gene was way beyond comparison when it came to his talents as a conductor,” longtime friend Charlie Schlueter, retired principal trumpet of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, wrote of Young in 2020. “His knowledge of repertoire was astounding, not only of standard orchestral literature, but particularly 20th- and 21st-century composers. His understanding and ability to convey the essence of those works not only to his trumpet students at 91ֱ��, but to all the young musicians he conducted…was beyond measure.”</p> <p>Born and raised in Middletown, Ohio, Young studied trumpet, piano, and conducting at 91ֱ��, including a junior year at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria, as part of the conservatory’s study-abroad program. While still a student, he took part in the American Wind Symphony Orchestra’s inaugural season in 1957, and he continued to perform in its trumpet section—on tours along Pennsylvania’s Allegheny, Monongahela, and Ohio rivers—for several years afterward.</p> <p>Young married Elizabeth Esterquest ’60 in October 1960, and together they raised three sons. He served in the U.S. Army from 1962 to ’65, performing in the West Point Band while taking lessons with New York Philharmonic principal trumpet William Vacchiano, a legendary performer and a key influence in Young’s decision to turn to teaching.</p> <p>Returning to 91ֱ�� to join the faculty in 1966, Young directed the 91ֱ�� Wind Ensemble and was principal conductor of the conservatory’s New Directions program, through which he brought a long list of acclaimed composers to campus, among them Milton Babbitt, Morton Feldman, Olivier Messiaen, and Iannis Xenakis.</p> <p>His trumpet pedagogy emphasized mastery of fundamentals—and especially proper embouchure, or lip placement, which is essential for preventing injury and for hitting the instrument’s highest notes. He authored a well-respected book on the subject, <em>Embouchure Enlightenment</em> (Tromba Publications), in addition to a tome titled <em>The Trumpets of Edgard Varése</em> (E.C. Kerby).</p> <p>After 91ֱ��, Young joined the faculty of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and founded its Contemporary Chamber Orchestra soon after. He returned to the American Wind Symphony Orchestra as assistant conductor for its 1983 tour of maritime performances from the Texas-Mexico border to the East Coast to the Great Lakes.</p> <p>Young transitioned once again in 1984, to the faculty of Peabody, where he formed the Peabody Camerata and the Peabody Institute Chamber Orchestra, and also directed the Peabody Youth Orchestra for many years.</p> <p>“I remember Gene Young as an intelligent, gifted musician and conductor,” Joseph Schwartz, a former longtime piano professor at 91ֱ��, wrote in 2019. “We were sorry to see him leave, but were glad that he found a wonderful position at Peabody.”</p> <p>From 1988 to 1997, Young conducted New York City’s historic Goldman Memorial Band at Lincoln Center. He also taught at the Hartt School at the University of Hartford, the University of Connecticut, New England Conservatory, Manhattan School of Music, the Eastman School of Music, and the Tanglewood Festival. His trumpet students secured positions in major orchestras across the U.S. and around the world, including the symphonies of Boston, Seattle, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Sydney, Australia.</p> <p>“Gene Young was that true rarity amongst musicians...someone with an authentic passion and gift for the music of his time,” pianist and Peabody professor Leon Fleisher once said of his colleague in Baltimore.</p> <p>As a performer, Young began his career with the New Orleans Philharmonic, later serving as principal trumpet of the St. Louis Sinfonietta, the Mobile (Alabama) Symphony Orchestra, and the American Wind Symphony Orchestra, and performing with the Santa Fe Opera Orchestra.</p> <p>He appeared as a performer or conductor on numerous recordings, including those of two 91ֱ�� composers: jazz studies professor Wendell Logan (<em>Proportions</em>, on the Orion label) and former composition professor Olly Wilson (<em>Piece for Four</em>, on CRI). He also wrote several works of his own, including the song cycle "Herb Songs" and two commissioned theater pieces, <em>Banish Evil from this Place</em> and <em>Englespiel</em>. Some of his works were premiered by the Peabody Camerata.</p> <p>Young returned to 91ֱ�� as the Edgar Distinguished Visiting Artist in Conducting during the 1996-97 academic year, during which he conducted the Contemporary Music Ensemble and the 91ֱ�� Wind Ensemble, and guest-conducted the 91ֱ�� Orchestra. During that time, he also guided the development of Eighth Blackbird, the sextet made up of 91ֱ�� students that went on to win multiple Grammy Awards.</p> <p>“Gene was an important force in the very early days of <a href="https://www.eighthblackbird.org/">Eighth Blackbird</a>, at a time when most of the group were still undergraduates at 91ֱ��, and our future was entirely uncertain,” Eighth Blackbird founding cellist Nicholas Photinos ’96 wrote in 2019. “We were working on Schoenberg's First Chamber Symphony, and Gene was our coach, guide, and general encourager on that journey. It has been many years since then, and many years since we have seen Gene, but we remember him and his mentorship fondly.”</p> <p>Young is survived by his second wife, Linda Surridge, and his children.</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-subhead field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Conservatory alum remembered for his enthusiasm and love of new music.</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2020-09-16T12:00:00Z">Wed, 09/16/2020 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Erich Burnett</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2356">Conservatory</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2412">Obituaries</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-programs field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=35616">Conducting</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/conservatory/divisions/contemporary-music" hreflang="und">Contemporary Music</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">courtesy 91ֱ�� College Archives</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>A Conversation with Phlox Ensemble Conductor Sophia Bass</h1> <p>hhempste — Thu, 30 Jan 2020 17:10:52 +0000</p> <span>A Conversation with Phlox Ensemble Conductor Sophia Bass</span> <span><span>hhempste</span></span> <span><time datetime="2020-01-30T12:10:52-05:00" title="Thursday, January 30, 2020 - 12:10">Thu, 01/30/2020 - 12:10</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>The Phlox ensemble, an orchestra and choir promoting women and trans individuals in classical music, is an intensive winter term project that provides a space for students of traditionally underrepresented gender identities and those with a commitment to gender inclusion to engage with classical music, and celebrate repertoire by composers of these identities.</p> <p>The Phlox ensembles will present two events during the final week of winter term, featuring a program of primarily women composers, ranging from Fanny Mendelssohn to 91ֱ�� <a href="/timara" target="_blank">TIMARA</a> student, Rachel Gibson.</p> <p>We sat down with student conductor and senior Sophia Bass to find out more about her thoughts on this project.</p> <p><strong>Sophia, how did you become involved in the Phlox ensemble? </strong></p> <p>It happened in a roundabout way. After I completed my sophomore year at 91ֱ��, I decided to take a year's leave of absence to pursue my own independent study in music. During my time away, I scored a thesis film entitled ‘‘Thicker than Water’’ in association with Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts. This is where I started to find my own voice as a female composer of color. In fall 2018, I began conducting studies with Visiting Assistant Professor of Conducting <a href="/tiffany-chang" target="_blank">Tiffany Chang</a> ’09. Working with her is what inspired me to take the ‘‘Thicker than Water’’ composition further. One day, when I was sitting at home in my PJs, I had this crazy idea to record the 22-minute film soundtrack with a live orchestra. Even though I had only had a semester and a half of conducting at the time, I challenged myself to do it . I assembled a 45-piece orchestra, from musicians in the conservatory and in the Arts and Sciences Orchestra , and in April 2019, we recorded a live session of the composition where I led as the conductor. Because of that project, I was approached by Anne Pinkerton, an oboist who participated in the recording, about the Winter Term Phlox Orchestra. When she explained their mission to promote gender inclusivity in classical music, and asked if I would be open to participating in their spring concert as student conductor, I was happy to come on board!</p> <p><strong>Why is this project, and projects supporting women and trans people in the classical music scene, meaningful to society and for you personally? </strong></p> <p>We are living in a time in which there is greater awareness of the lack of diverse gender representation in the classical music scene, and strides are being made to amend that. For example, this past fall I participated in a research project that made large-scale efforts to unearth the hidden legacy of African American composer and 91ֱ�� alumna, Shirley Graham Du Bois. My research was part of a StudiOC cluster class that was spearheaded by professors Fredara Hadley and Tamika Nunley. Du Bois is the first known African American woman to have written a major opera, but her opera hasn’t been performed since 1932 and efforts are being made to stage it on campus in December. This project, along with the Winter Term Phlox Orchestra, are important because they help to further the wide efforts toward gender inclusion within classical music by providing greater awareness and access, both in the classroom and on the stage.</p> <p>For me personally, it was not until I stepped to the podium as a conductor that I had to learn my own confidence as an African American female conductor. The things I have learned from Shirley Graham Du Bois’ life as a black woman who had to navigate spaces in the classical music scene also inspired me to find my place on the podium.</p> <p><strong>What is it that you're most excited about in this coming year? </strong></p> <p>I am in the process of writing my first symphony, which I hope to have completed and recorded before I graduate. I am also looking forward to continuing my conducting studies with my teacher, Professor of Conducting <a href="/raphael-jimenez" target="_blank">Raphael Jiménez</a>. </p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2020-01-30T12:00:00Z">Thu, 01/30/2020 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Hannah Schoepe ’20</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2379">Student Life</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2402">Winter Term</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2370">Ensembles & Orchestras</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=3318">Music</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2356">Conservatory</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=3155">91ֱ�� Orchestra</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-programs field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=33031">TIMARA</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=35616">Conducting</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-faculty field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/raphael-jimenez" hreflang="und">Raphael Jiménez</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/conservatory/divisions/conducting-and-ensembles" hreflang="und">Conducting and Ensembles</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">Sophia Bass, Phlox ensemble student conductor.</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Courtesy of Sophia Bass</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>91ֱ�� Arts and Sciences Orchestra Offers Non-Music Majors Access to Conservatory</h1> <p>hhempste — Tue, 14 May 2019 16:20:09 +0000</p> <span>91ֱ�� Arts and Sciences Orchestra Offers Non-Music Majors Access to Conservatory</span> <span><span>hhempste</span></span> <span><time datetime="2019-05-14T12:20:09-04:00" title="Tuesday, May 14, 2019 - 12:20">Tue, 05/14/2019 - 12:20</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>The 91ֱ�� Arts and Sciences Orchestra (OASO) has evolved in the 10 years since <a href="/tiffany-chang">Tiffany Chang</a> ’09 was a student on campus. Chang has come full circle by returning to campus to head the large ensemble as visiting assistant professor of conducting. She recalls how different the group was at the time, before it was designated the OASO.</p> <p>“During my fifth year, a few college string players approached me,” says Chang. “They wanted to start an orchestra for college students because they couldn’t find any opportunities to play. At the time, I was studying conducting and music education, and I was on track to study conducting in graduate school. I said, ‘Sure, I’ll help put this together.’ We rehearsed once a week on the weekend and performed once a semester.’’</p> <p>Over the years, the group flourished and eventually became a curricular course. Today, the orchestra is an ensemble primarily geared toward students in the College of Arts and Sciences, but members of the 91ֱ�� community, including faculty, staff, and 91ֱ�� residents, are welcome to audition for a spot. The group performs several concerts annually in Finney Chapel.</p> <p>Since returning to 91ֱ�� in 2018 as a faculty member, Chang’s intention is for OASO to have a high profile in the conservatory and for students in the group to have access to conservatory resources.</p> <p>“I see this orchestra as a place for high-performing, high-achieving students who may not want to major in music but who still want to keep that aspect of themselves alive,” says Chang. “This is a place for them to be engaged in music at a very high level.”</p> <p>One way this is achieved is through frequent collaboration with conservatory faculty and other ensembles, such as the OASO’s March 2019 performance featuring Professor of Violin <a href="/sibbi-bernhardsson">Sibbi Bernhardsson</a> ’95 as a faculty soloist. Partnerships such as these help bridge the gap between the college and the conservatory.</p> <figure class="captioned-image"> <figcaption>Professor of Violin Sibbi Bernhardsson performs as a faculty soloist. Photo credit: Yevhen Gulenko.</figcaption> </figure> <p>“I believe strongly that having a rich and strong arts and sciences orchestra program is at the core of what a true 91ֱ�� education is,” says Bernhardsson. “While students in the 91ֱ�� Arts and Sciences Orchestra may not pursue a career in music, most of them have spent a big part of their lives studying music in a serious way and have played in various youth orchestras around the world. While they may have forgone music as a career option, music remains a meaningful and enriching activity that many are neither willing nor able to give up.”</p> <p>Miya Wang, a third-year musical studies major in the College of Arts and Sciences, is one example of the many kinds of students the orchestra attracts. As a trained violinist who began playing when she was six years old, OASO offers her a place to engage with other musicians.</p> <p>“I have always wanted to play in an orchestra with other players who are passionate about music as much as I am. The 91ֱ�� Arts and Sciences Orchestra was a perfect option for me. There are a lot of talented musicians in it, and I’m very motivated when rehearsing with them.”</p> <p>Wang also views OASO as a way to access conservatory resources. “Joining the orchestra is also a good way to gain exposure to the musical scene in the conservatory,” says Wang. “You have your own locker in the conservatory, you see event and recital posters in the hallways, and even receive recital invitations in your locker from your conservatory friends.”</p> <p><a href="/gregory-ristow">Gregory Ristow</a> ’01, associate professor of conducting and director of vocal ensembles, collaborates with OASO through his role as conductor of the Musical Union. The final concert of spring semester 2019 was a joint performance with the groups. Ristow emphasizes the importance of these campus ensembles and the role they play in members’ lives.</p> <p>“Both the arts and sciences orchestra and the Musical Union are made up of musicians who are making music at a high level for the sheer joy of it,” says Ristow. “We come together to create beauty and harmony for each other and for audiences because we need it, and the world needs it. 91ֱ�� is a mecca for such talented musicians, both within the conservatory, the college, and the broader 91ֱ�� community.’’</p> <figure class="captioned-image"> <figcaption>91ֱ�� Arts and Sciences Orchestra on stage in Finney Chapel. Photo credit: Yevhen Gulenko</figcaption> </figure> <p>In addition to these types of faculty collaborations, Chang also intends to grow the group’s repertoire to encompass pieces that are unexpected.</p> <p>“I’m hoping to expand the programming of the ensemble so that we are not just playing the standard orchestral repertoire,” says Chang. “I want to program something in every concert that no one has heard or played before. In each concert this year, there was always an oddball piece. This semester, we programmed film scores, and we played a lot of French music. My hope is to also expand the repertoire with women composers.”</p> <p>For the 2019-20 season, Chang has planned a collaboration with TIMARA in its Kaleidosonic Music Festival; a concert with Professor of Piano <a href="/alvin-chow">Alvin Chow</a> and his twin brother, Alan Chow, from the Eastman School of Music; and a concert featuring a major work by Beethoven that will be part of the conservatory‘s celebration for the 250th anniversary of the composer‘s birth.</p> <p>Chang believes that 91ֱ�� is in a unique position in that many students are highly interested and motivated when it comes to music, even if they don’t choose to pursue it academically. <br> <br> “There are students who come here who aren’t in the conservatory, but they have a very high work ethic in terms of music, and they are very serious about music. It’s what attracts them to 91ֱ��.”</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2019-05-14T12:00:00Z">Tue, 05/14/2019 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Hillary Hempstead</div> <div class="text-content field field--name-field-intro-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Led by Visiting Assistant Professor of Conducting Tiffany Chang ’09, the 91ֱ�� Arts and Sciences Orchestra gives students in the College of Arts and Sciences access to experiences in the conservatory.</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2372">Performing Arts</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2368">Alumni</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2974">Conservatory Alumni</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2379">Student Life</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2356">Conservatory</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2370">Ensembles & Orchestras</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-programs field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25281">Musical Studies</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=35616">Conducting</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-faculty field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/sibbi-bernhardsson" hreflang="und">Sibbi Bernhardsson</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/conservatory/divisions/conducting-and-ensembles" hreflang="und">Conducting and Ensembles</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/musical-studies" hreflang="und">Musical Studies</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">The 91ֱ�� Arts and Sciences Orchestra, led by Visiting Assistant Professor of Conducting Tiffany Chang ’09.</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Yevhen Gulenko</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>91ֱ�� Alumni Honored with Awards at 61st Grammys</h1> <p>cstrauss — Mon, 11 Feb 2019 21:09:06 +0000</p> <span>91ֱ�� Alumni Honored with Awards at 61st Grammys</span> <span><span>cstrauss</span></span> <span><time datetime="2019-02-11T16:09:06-05:00" title="Monday, February 11, 2019 - 16:09">Mon, 02/11/2019 - 16:09</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>91ֱ�� alumni are regularly featured at the annual Grammy Awards ceremony. The 61st edition honoring musical accomplishments by performers over the last year included 91ֱ�� alumni in six categories across three genres. </p> <p>Best Folk Album: <em>All Ashore</em> — Punch Brothers (<strong>Chris Eldridge ’04</strong>, guitar)</p> <p>Best Opera Recording: Bates: <em>The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs</em> — <strong>Michael Christie ’96</strong>, conductor; <strong>Edward Parks ’06</strong>, baritone</p> <p>Best Classical Solo Vocal Album: <em>Songs of Orpheus - Monteverdi, Caccini, d’India & Landi</em> — <strong>Jeannette Sorrell ’90</strong>, conductor; Apollo’s Fire Baroque Orchestra (with 91ֱ�� alumni <strong>Johanna Novom ’07</strong>, <strong>Rene Schiffer ’96</strong>, <strong>Karina Schmitz ’02</strong>, <strong>Rebecca Landell Reed ’11</strong>)</p> <p>Best Jazz Vocal Album: <em>The Window</em> — Cécile McLorin Salvant, and pianist <strong>Sullivan Fortner ’08</strong></p> <p>Best Orchestral Performance: <em>Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 4 & 11</em> — Boston Symphony Orchestra, Andris Nelsons, conductor (with 91ֱ�� alumna and violinist <strong>Yuncong Zhang ’07</strong>)</p> <p>Best Choral Performance, Classical: <em>Zealot Canticles</em> — The Crossing chamber choir with <strong>Mandy Wolman ’07</strong></p> <p><br> </p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2019-02-11T12:00:00Z">Mon, 02/11/2019 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Cathy Strauss</div> <div class="text-content field field--name-field-intro-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Numerous alumni across classical, jazz, and folk genres named winners at the 61st Grammy Awards ceremony.</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2356">Conservatory</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2368">Alumni</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2373">Awards and Honors</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-programs field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=32971">Opera Theater</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=35596">Voice</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=35616">Conducting</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=33041">Baroque Cello</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=33036">Baroque Violin</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=35116">Violin</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25281">Musical Studies</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=34691">Jazz Performance</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=35986">Viola da Gamba</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=36206">Viola</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-faculty field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/peter-slowik" hreflang="und">Peter Slowik</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/bobby-ferrazza" hreflang="und">Bobby Ferrazza</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/robert-spano" hreflang="und">Robert Spano</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/conservatory/divisions/historical-performance" hreflang="und">Historical Performance</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/conservatory/divisions/jazz-studies" hreflang="und">Jazz Studies</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/conservatory/divisions/strings" hreflang="und">Strings</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/musical-studies" hreflang="und">Musical Studies</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/conservatory/divisions/vocal-studies" hreflang="und">Vocal Studies</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/conservatory/divisions/conducting-and-ensembles" hreflang="und">Conducting and Ensembles</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">91ֱ�� alumni (clockwise from top left) Sullivan Fortner, Edward Parks, Chris Eldridge, and Jeannette Sorrell at the 2018 Grammy Awards Ceremony.</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">91ֱ�� Conservatory</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>No Score? No Problem.</h1> <p>eburnett — Fri, 26 May 2017 21:12:24 +0000</p> <span>No Score? No Problem.</span> <span><span>eburnett</span></span> <span><time datetime="2017-05-26T17:12:24-04:00" title="Friday, May 26, 2017 - 17:12">Fri, 05/26/2017 - 17:12</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p><a href="https://new.oberlin.edu/conservatory/faculty/faculty-detail.dot?id=3275001">Raphael Jiménez</a> has a captivating tendency at the conductor’s podium: The director of 91ֱ�� orchestras frequently leads his ensembles with no music score laid before him.</p> <p>His audiences may not notice, but his musicians certainly do.</p> <p>“When you first see that the music’s not there, you think, ‘Uh-oh! I hope we don’t fall apart!’” says violinist Gregory Gennaro ’17, who served as concertmaster for the 91ֱ�� Orchestra’s 2016 <a href="http://www.oberlin.edu/chicago2016/">anniversary tour in Chicago</a>. “But we never fall apart. He knows the pieces inside and out.”</p> <p>“Raphael is amazing,” says cellist Julia Henderson ’14, who played Stravinsky’s <i>Petrushka</i> under Jiménez’s direction. “He conducted the entire piece from memory, which is just absurd. To be sitting right underneath him and feel his intense concentration and energy was really awesome.”</p> <p>Audiences can find out for themselves when Jiménez leads a pair of 91ֱ�� ensembles on back-to-back nights in Finney Chapel on Tuesday and Wednesday, May 2 and 3. On Tuesday, the <a href="https://calendar.oberlin.edu/event/oberlin_chamber_orchestra_raphael_jimenez_conductor_272">91ֱ�� Chamber Orchestra</a> will perform Debussy’s <i>Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune</i>; Beethoven’s Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 36; and Ricky Ian Gordon’s <i>...and flowers pick themselves</i>, which will feature Concerto Competition winner Amber Monroe ’17, soprano.</p> <p>The following evening, the <a href="https://calendar.oberlin.edu/event/oberlin_orchestra_raphael_jimenez_conductor_3753">91ֱ�� Orchestra</a> will perform Prokofiev’s Sinfonia Concertante in E Minor, Op. 125—featuring Concerto Competition winner Aaron Wolff ’17, cello—and Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra, Sz. 116.</p> <p>Both concerts begin at 8 p.m. The maestro has yet to decide what paperwork he will tote to the podium.</p> <p>For Jiménez, the habit grew out of his own admiration for experienced conductors he observed as a student. He found that those who did not use scores seemed more fully engaged with their musicians.</p> <p>“The most wonderful thing about making music in an orchestra is that it’s an experience that involves many people working toward a common goal,” he says. “A very important skill for a conductor to have is the ability to communicate efficiently to the ensemble without a word. Eye contact is one of the most powerful tools we have. Therefore, you want to keep your eyes off the score as much as possible.”</p> <p>To reinforce this, he repeats an axiom shared with all aspiring conductors: <i>The score should be in your head, not your head in the score.</i> “You may have the score in front of you, but you shouldn’t be dependent on it. Eye contact helps you move the musical energy in a special way. It helps you connect with your fellow musicians.</p> <p>“During a performance, we try to conduct or transmit energy from one part of the ensemble to another. You have heard the saying that the eyes are the window to the soul. If you pay close attention to the performers on stage, you will get to see the musical energy going in and out of the windows of this wonderful neighborhood that we call the symphony orchestra.”</p> <p>For Jiménez, the energy derived from conducting without a score comes naturally. “I don’t <i>try</i> to memorize it, believe it or not,” he says. “I think that whenever you try to memorize a score, the stress it creates interferes with the process of trying to solidify the information.”</p> <p>Instead, memorization occurs organically—with the right amount of preparation. “I try to use every possible source of memory that we have: physical memory, visual memory—every part of the memory process that we can use, I try to use it,” Jiménez says. “I know how many weeks or months I have before the first rehearsal. I divide the information by the amount of weeks I have, and I try to do a certain number of pages per day.”</p> <p>Conducting from memory, Jiménez says, helps him to enjoy the music more deeply. But there are also practical advantages: With no score, he has no pages to turn. And with no notes to read, he doesn’t need to wear his glasses.</p> <p>There are few hard and fast rules. Jiménez finds that he often conducts very complicated pieces without a score, and he sometimes conducts simpler pieces with one. Though he does not usually conduct concertos from memory—he needs to focus on interacting with the soloist—he almost always conducts the orchestra’s major piece that way.</p> <p>In the 91ֱ�� Orchestra’s 2016 performance at Chicago’s Symphony Center, Jiménez conducted Berlioz’s <i>Roman Carnival</i> Overture and Stravinsky’s <i>The Rite of Spring</i> before an empty stand. For the middle piece on the program—Richard Strauss’ <i>Four Last Songs</i>, featuring soprano Marcy Stonikas ’02—the score came out.</p> <p>“It depends on my level of confidence with the piece,” he says. “But I will never risk jeopardizing a performance. If I believe that the performance will benefit from it, I will do it. Otherwise I will not take a chance.</p> <p>“I have a responsibility to the musicians: to set them up for success, to create the best conditions for them to perform at their highest possible level. In the end, they work very hard, and they have only one chance to demonstrate it.”</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2017-04-27T12:00:00Z">Thu, 04/27/2017 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Samantha Spaccasi</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2370">Ensembles & Orchestras</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2356">Conservatory</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2499">Competitions</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-programs field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=35616">Conducting</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/conservatory/divisions/conducting-and-ensembles" hreflang="und">Conducting and Ensembles</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Yevhen Gulenko</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> </main></body></html>