Horn of Plenty</h1> <article> <h1>Horn of Plenty</h1> <p>eburnett — Mon, 07 Nov 2016 18:02:04 +0000</p> <span>Horn of Plenty</span> <span><span>eburnett</span></span> <span><time datetime="2016-11-07T13:02:04-05:00" title="Monday, November 7, 2016 - 13:02">Mon, 11/07/2016 - 13:02</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>There was no Cleveland Orchestra when the 91ֱ�� Conservatory of Music opened 150 years ago.</p> <p>By the time the orchestra was founded in 1918—with pivotal support from 91ֱ��’s John Long Severance ’85—the conservatory was 53 years old and well into a phase of monumental growth. In 1919, the year-old orchestra performed for the first time in 91ֱ��’s Finney Chapel. It has returned to campus every year since—well over 200 performances and counting.</p> <p>Ninety-six seasons later, as the conservatory celebrates its 150th anniversary, it honors these extensive ties to the Cleveland Orchestra with the commission of a work for English horn by composer Bernard Rands. Rands’ English Horn Concerto will receive its <a href="http://www.clevelandorchestra.com/1516-concerts/1516-classical/week-06/?performanceNumber=13245">world premiere</a> at Severance Hall at 8 p.m. Friday, November 27. It will be performed by 91ֱ�� Professor of Oboe and English Horn <a href="https://new.oberlin.edu/conservatory/departments/woodwinds-brass-and-percussion/faculty_detail.dot?id=27131">Robert Walters</a>, who is also solo English horn and an oboist in the orchestra.</p> <p>“It’s particularly meaningful to me to have one project combine both places that I live and love and work,” Walters says of the commission, which will receive repeat performances at 8 p.m. November 28 and 3 p.m. November 29. “I’m just beyond proud to be associated with 91ֱ�� and to have something like this to commemorate the conservatory’s anniversary.”</p> <p>The premiere is a key component of 91ֱ��’s sesquicentennial festivities throughout the 2015-16 academic year. In January, two student ensembles—the 91ֱ�� Orchestra and Contemporary Music Ensemble—will make their debut performances at Symphony Center and Roosevelt University in Chicago.</p> <p>The idea for an 91ֱ�� commission that would bridge Walters’ two professional lives originated with former Dean of the Conservatory David Stull. It was Stull’s successor, Andrea Kalyn, who envisioned the work as a celebration of 91ֱ��’s 150th anniversary. “She took that ball and ran even further with it,” Walters says.</p> <p>At the time, Walters had already been contacted by Rands, who wished to write a piece for him. A few years ago, Walters performed Rands’ Concertino for Oboe with 91ֱ��’s Contemporary Music Ensemble. “I knew that Robert’s name is synonymous with excellence in the double reed world,” Rands says. “I got a recording of his performance of my concertino, and sure enough, it was absolutely superb.”</p> <p>Rands’ admiration only grew when Walters recorded a work for English horn and strings by Rands’ wife, composer Augusta Read Thomas. “Hearing him play that, I said definitely, I’m going to write Robert and tell him I want to write for him,” the composer recollects.</p> <p>In crafting the concerto, Rands sought to highlight the idiosyncrasies and strengths of Walters’ playing. “He really wrote something that feels like it was written for me,” Walters says. “There’s a lot of high register playing, because I’m pretty comfortable in that range. Friends jokingly call the English horn the <i>anguish</i> horn because it often depicts slow, sad music. But the opening movement of this piece is athletic and fleet, while the second movement is mournful.”</p> <p>The third movement is an homage to Debussy, whom Rands calls “the most important composer to me.” It’s fitting, therefore, that the program opens with Debussy’s <i>Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun</i>. The evening is filled out by the <i>Symphonie fantastique</i> of Berlioz, another of Rands’ key influences.</p> <p>Both pieces also feature prominent English horn parts; indeed, Walters says that the <i>Symphonie fantastique</i> contains the first major English horn part in the symphonic repertoire. Asked if he would be playing the famous solo in the Berlioz in addition to his Rands concerto, Walters quickly exclaims: “Are you kidding? I wouldn’t pass that up!”</p> <p>That unbridled enthusiasm is part of what attracted Rands to Walters’ playing in the first place. “Robert is so intelligent and curious,” he says. “He brings an understanding at a deep level of what’s intended by the notes to music.”</p> <p>And Walters’ enthusiasm extends to 91ֱ�� too. “I feel like just the luckiest person ever to be teaching at this school.”</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="2015-11-20T12:00:00Z">Fri, 11/20/2015 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Daniel Hautzinger</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=2400">Cleveland Orchestra</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2408">Conservatory 150th Anniversary</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/winds-brass-and-percussion" hreflang="und">Winds, Brass, and Percussion</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Tanya Rosen-Jones '97</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>91ֱ�� Conservatory Celebrates 150 Years With Series of Events</h1> <p>eburnett — Mon, 07 Nov 2016 18:02:25 +0000</p> <span>91ֱ�� Conservatory Celebrates 150 Years With Series of Events</span> <span><span>eburnett</span></span> <span><time datetime="2016-11-07T13:02:25-05:00" title="Monday, November 7, 2016 - 13:02">Mon, 11/07/2016 - 13:02</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>The 2015-16 academic year marks the 150th anniversary of the 91ֱ�� Conservatory of Music, a milestone that will be commemorated with events throughout the year and in venues on campus and beyond.</p> <p>Among the highlights are a Midwest tour and outreach program during winter term, a world premiere, and a series of piano concerts in New York City.</p> <p>The inaugural season of Key Pianists, a new recital series at Carnegie Hall, will feature 91ֱ�� piano professor <a href="http://new.oberlin.edu/conservatory/faculty/faculty-detail.dot?id=21227">Peter Takács</a> in three concerts in Weill Recital Hall. Titled “The Beethoven Experience: Early, Middle, Late,” the series is the creation of pianist Terry Eder-Kaufman ’79. It opens October 18, when Takács will be joined by clarinetist <a href="/news/musical-dream-comes-true">Boris Allakhverdyan ’06</a> and cellist Carter Brey. Additional concerts follow on November 12 and January 14.</p> <p>From November 27 through 29 at Severance Hall, the Cleveland Orchestra will present the world premiere of Bernard Rands’ Concerto for English Horn, commissioned by 91ֱ�� to commemorate its anniversary. The piece will feature Cleveland Orchestra English horn player <a href="https://new.oberlin.edu/conservatory/departments/woodwinds-brass-and-percussion/faculty_detail.dot?id=27131">Robert Walters</a>, who is also a professor at 91ֱ��.</p> <p>In January, the Contemporary Music Ensemble (CME) and 91ֱ�� Orchestra will perform at premier venues in Chicago and in outreach concerts for schools and youth orchestra programs in Chicago. Featured faculty will include cello professor <a href="https://new.oberlin.edu/conservatory/departments/strings/faculty_detail.dot?id=20537">Darrett Adkins ’91</a> and composition chair <a href="https://new.oberlin.edu/conservatory/departments/composition/faculty_detail.dot?id=42961ce2-dbe8-4d99-80a3-7c79ca42a01c">Stephen Hartke</a>. CME director <a href="https://new.oberlin.edu/conservatory/faculty/faculty-detail.dot?id=21283">Tim Weiss</a> will lead the group in Hartke’s Grammy-winning work <i>Meanwhile</i>, and Adkins will perform as soloist in Augusta Read Thomas’ <i>Passion Prayers</i>. Also in January, the 91ֱ�� Orchestra will perform a program anchored by Stravinsky’s <i>The Rite of Spring</i> at Chicago’s Symphony Center, under the direction of <a href="https://new.oberlin.edu/conservatory/faculty/faculty-detail.dot?id=3275001">Raphael Jiménez</a>.</p> <p>On campus, the celebration starts with one of 91ֱ��’s richest traditions: the 138th season of the <a href="/artsguide/artist-recitals">Artist Recital Series</a>. This showcase of the world’s most accomplished artists continues to be a staple of every season at 91ֱ��. Violinist Christian Tetzlaff, the 91ֱ��-founded Miró Quartet, and pianist Andras Schiff are among the renowned musicians slated to appear in historic Finney Chapel. The series opens September 27 with pianists from the International Piano Academy Lake Como.</p> <p>Collegium Musicum 91ֱ��iense joins in the anniversary festivities on November 7 with an alumni concert and reunion of the ensemble’s 25th anniversary season under the direction of <a href="https://new.oberlin.edu/conservatory/faculty/faculty-detail.dot?id=21099">Steven Plank</a>. Collegium alumni include members or former members of major choirs in the U.S. and U.K., including York Minster, Trinity Church in New York, the National Cathedral and St. John’s Church at Lafayette Square in Washington, D.C., and the ensembles Uncloistered, Les Canards Chantants, and Grammy-winner Roomful of Teeth.</p> <p>The celebration culminates during Commencement/Reunion Weekend 2016 with a reunion devoted to conservatory alumni in recognition of the 150th anniversary. Additional performances that weekend honoring 91ֱ�� traditions will be announced in the coming months.</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="2015-09-04T12:00:00Z">Fri, 09/04/2015 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Cathy Partlow Strauss</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=2408">Conservatory 150th Anniversary</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2356">Conservatory</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=29541">Piano</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/winds-brass-and-percussion" hreflang="und">Winds, Brass, and Percussion</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-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> </main></body></html>