Finding the Joy with Seckou Keita</h1> <article> <h1>Finding the Joy with Seckou Keita</h1> <p>srasmuss — Wed, 20 Nov 2024 18:43:21 +0000</p> <span>Finding the Joy with Seckou Keita</span> <span><span>srasmuss</span></span> <span><time datetime="2024-11-20T13:43:21-05:00" title="Wednesday, November 20, 2024 - 13:43">Wed, 11/20/2024 - 13:43</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>The kora, a West African stringed instrument akin to a harp or guitar, doesn’t appear in most orchestral works. So Seckou Keita wrote his own.</p> <p>Creating <em>African Rhapsodies</em> — which he released in 2023 with the BBC Concert Orchestra — was an “amazing” endeavor, he says. But his entry into the world of opera later that year was another thing entirely.</p> <p>“When you have classical music meeting the kora, it’s amazing. But then when you have opera on top of that, it’s something else,” says the UK-based Senegalese musician. “That made me really excited.”</p> <p>The opera he’s referring to is <em>Omar’s Journey</em>, a shortened version of Rhiannon Giddens’ Omar scored for voices and chamber ensemble. Keita was among the small group of musicians who performed <em>Omar’s Journey</em> at the Ojai Music Festival last year. “It kind of confirmed to me that voice is one of the really pure instruments in life. All those other instruments in the world have been made by humankind — but this, people are born with it,” Keita says.</p> <p>Keita is no stranger to using his voice either, singing to accompany his playing in much of his solo material. And 91ֱ�� audiences have a chance to experience his music making on December 7 at 7:30 pm, when he <a href="/events/artist-recital-series-seckou-keita">performs in Finney Chapel</a> as part of the <a href="/artsguide/artist-recital-series">Artist Recital Series.</a></p> <p>Selections from his albums <em>22 Strings and Homeland - Chapter 1</em> will make up most of his program. The goal is to create an opportunity “where the range of the kora could be here in the whole set — a variety of techniques and possibilities,” he says.</p> <p>He also wants his concerts to be wider in scope than a typical recital. “When I say solo kora, imagine a harp solo, but beyond — the techniques are different, rhythms are different, there's grooves, there's melodies, there's singing.”</p> <p>Getting the audience involved is also important to him. “For me, there's no difference between the performer and the listener when it comes to the show. We are in one room and we share.”</p> <p>Keita will have an opportunity to share more details about his life and music during a <a href="/events/omar-oberlin-west-african-music-lecture-demonstration">lecture-demonstration about West African music</a> on December 5. The presentation, part of the <a href="/events/series/omar">Omar events at 91ֱ��</a>, also features faculty members <a href="/weedie-braimah">Weedie Braimah</a>, Talise Campbell, and <a href="/talawa-presto">Thomas Presto</a>. “There'll be more time for explaining the instrument itself,” he says. “I’ll be introducing the kora, but also talking about the story behind it.”</p> <p>He’ll also discuss the griot, a hereditary storyteller-musician profession in West Africa. Keita was raised in the griot tradition — first learning to make his own instrument, then studying the kora repertoire, and finally venturing out into the world to spread his music-making.</p> <p>“There is a difference, my granddad always said, between buying an instrument in the shop and making your own,” he says. “The one that you make, you know it inside out. So that's why when you build your own instrument, it’s almost like a partner — you work as a pair together.”</p> <p>These days, Keita usually has family members make his instruments, many of whom have entirely dedicated themselves to the craft. His signature style is a double-necked kora with 22 strings each, allowing him flexibility to quickly switch between different tuning systems. But because traveling logistics make those difficult to bring overseas, he’ll have a single-necked kora for the 91ֱ�� performance.</p> <p>During his visit, Keita also looks forward to seeing 91ֱ��’s concert production of <em>Omar</em>. “Fitting in was a joy, personally,” he says of playing in Omar’s Journey last year. Some of his colleagues from that performance — soprano <a href="https://rhiannongiddens.com/">Rhiannon Giddens ’00</a>, tenor <a href="https://www.limmiepulliam.com/">Limmie Pulliam ’98</a>, and baritone <a href="https://www.michaelpreacely.com/">Michael Preacely ’99</a> — will reprise their roles in 91ֱ��. “So it would be good to see it.”</p> <p>For audiences who have never heard the solo kora, Keita says the listeners’ connection comes from both “the spirituality of it, but also, importantly, the joy. The idea is when I leave the room, these people will walk away with an aspect of happiness, and maybe have melodies ringing in their head.”</p> <p>Keita adds that he’s often touched when hearing audience feedback and appreciation for the time that performer and listener spend together. “It's really a heartfelt, warm thing that always happens to me and to the public as well.”</p> <p>Concert details<br> <a href="/events/artist-recital-series-seckou-keita">Seckou Keita</a><br> 7:30 p.m.<br> Saturday, December 7, 2024<br> 91ֱ�� College Finney Chapel<br> 90 N. Professor St.<br> 91ֱ��, OH 44074</p> <p>Tickets:<br> $35 Public | $30 OC Staff/Faculty/Alumni, Seniors, Military | $10 Students</p> <p>Concert tickets are available <a href="/tickets/event-details?EventId=14201">online</a> and by phone at 800-371-0178. Patrons may also purchase them in person between noon and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, at 91ֱ�� College's<a href="/tickets"> Central Ticket Service</a>, located at 67 N. Main Street, in the lobby of the Eric Baker Nord Performing Arts Complex.</p> <p>Free Artist Recital Series tickets for enrolled 91ֱ�� students are available through the <a href="/artsguide/ticket-information/claim-your-seat">Claim Your Seat program</a>, made possible through the generosity of Richard ’62 and Linda ’62 Clark. <br> Learn more about the Arts at 91ֱ��.</p> <p>This program is proudly supported by <a href="https://www.ideastream.org/">Ideastream Public Media</a>, official media partner of the Artist Recital Series.</p> <p><br> —<br> <em>Stephanie Manning ’23 completed her bassoon performance degree while finding her way into journalism as a classical music critic. She recently returned to Cleveland after finishing a graduate diploma in journalism at Concordia University in Montreal. Her writing has appeared in The Montreal Gazette, Early Music America, and ClevelandClassical.com.</em><br> </p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-subhead field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">The kora player from Senegal visits 91ֱ�� for the first time on December 7 at 7:30 p.m., sharing the music of his West African instrument for the Artist Recital Series.</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="2024-11-20T12:00:00Z">Wed, 11/20/2024 - 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=3878">Conservatory of Music</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2364">Artist Recital Series</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2548">Concerts and Recitals</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> <article> <h1>Thinking Outside the Box</h1> <p>srasmuss — Sat, 14 Sep 2024 15:11:21 +0000</p> <span>Thinking Outside the Box</span> <span><span>srasmuss</span></span> <span><time datetime="2024-09-14T11:11:21-04:00" title="Saturday, September 14, 2024 - 11:11">Sat, 09/14/2024 - 11:11</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Twirling tango music, or maybe the composer Astor Piazzolla, might come to mind when you think of the word “bandoneon.” Or maybe nothing does. After all, the accordion-like instrument often flies under the radar within the classical and jazz scenes.</p> <p>“It’s going to take some time until my instruments are household names of either genre,” says <a href="https://julienlabro.com/">Julien Labro</a>, who plays both the bandoneon and its musical cousin, the accordion. “I don’t necessarily think it’s going to happen, but at the same time, I’m very optimistic about the trajectory that they’ve taken in the last 50 years—it’s amazing to witness.”</p> <p>As an ambassador for his instruments, Labro writes, arranges, and commissions new music, both as a soloist and for small ensembles. And on September 28, 91ֱ�� audiences will get a taste of all of the above when <a href="/events/artist-recital-series-takacs-quartet-bandoneon-accordion-virtuoso-julien-labro">Labro performs with the Takács Quartet</a> in Finney Chapel as part of the <a href="/artsguide/artist-recital-series">Artist Recital Series.</a></p> <p>Bookending the program will be Bryce Dessner’s Circles and Clarice Assad’s Clash, two works for string quartet and bandoneon commissioned by the consortium Music Accord. Labro and Takács premiered them both in 2021 and have continued to take the program on the road ever since.</p> <p>As the group enters its third season of touring, Labro says he relishes the opportunity to keep exploring the works beyond their first performance. “Having this consistency brings even more excitement to the music and even more depth to it from our perspective.”</p> <p>Dessner’s Circles opens the program with a meditative, minimalist journey where each of its five voices drift in and out of different patterns. Assad’s Clash, by contrast, is fiery and discordant, ending the concert with a musical embodiment of conflict between two people.</p> <p>There was never any question of where those two would fall in the program order. “It’s kind of like a menu,” Labro says. “We didn’t have a hard time figuring out what the dessert course is and what the appetizer is.” The real challenge, he notes, was in organizing the rest of the meal.</p> <p>After Labro’s Meditation No. 1, a piece for string quartet and bandoneon, he gets a section of the program to himself. This mini set includes Minguito, written by Argentine bandoneon player Dino Saluzzi, alongside Labro's arrangement of J.S. Bach’s Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme (“Sleepers Awake”).</p> <p>Though the choice of Bach may seem surprising, it makes sense when considering the bandoneon’s roots in German sacred music—the instrument was originally designed as a portable organ for churches that couldn’t afford one. Paying homage to this history, Labro selected a piece by Bach because the composer is “so monumental—in German music and in sacred music,” he explains.</p> <p>Another monumental figure makes an appearance in Piazzolla, a pioneering Argentine composer and bandoneon player. In Labro’s piece Astoración, he pays tribute by performing along to recordings of Piazzolla’s playing and his voice. “I’ve taken some of his speech patterns and used them as rhythm, and the pitches of his speech are also incorporated,” he says, adding that the work also involves distortion, reverb, and panoramic effects.</p> <p>Throughout Labro’s solo set, the <a href="/artsguide/artist-recital-series">Takács Quartet</a> members choose not to disappear backstage, standing along the sides instead. “We’re active listeners,” violist Richard O’Neill explains. During the first live performance three years ago, “I just remember hearing Julian play some of the sets, and it brought tears to my eyes,” he says. “It was so beautiful to hear that sound and the way he just lets go.”</p> <p>Takács then takes center stage for Maurice Ravel’s String Quartet, which O’Neill says feels recontextualized thanks to the music that surrounds it. “Because you’ve heard all these new things, it highlights how innovative Ravel was and all the textures and emotions that come from the piece.”</p> <p>O’Neill has nothing but praise for Labro, whom he describes as “one of my favorite people and favorite musicians.” He muses that Labro is a hard person to define, given how he straddles many metaphorical “boxes” of the classical, jazz, performing, and composing worlds.</p> <p>“If we need to make a box for Julien, I think it has to be a very large box. He’s just an amazing musician.”</p> <p> </p> <p>Concert details<br> <a href="/events/artist-recital-series-takacs-quartet-bandoneon-accordion-virtuoso-julien-labro">Takács Quartet and Julien Labro</a><br> 4:30 p.m.<br> Saturday, September 28, 2024<br> 91ֱ�� College Finney Chapel<br> 90 N. Professor St.<br> 91ֱ��, OH 44074</p> <p>Tickets:<br> $35 Public | $30 OC Staff/Faculty/Alumni, Seniors, Military | $10 Students</p> <p>Concert tickets are available online and by phone at 800-371-0178. Patrons may also purchase them in person between noon and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, at 91ֱ�� College's Central Ticket Service, located at 67 N. Main Street, in the lobby of the Eric Baker Nord Performing Arts Complex.</p> <p><a href="/artsguide/ticket-information/claim-your-seat">Free Artist Recital Series tickets</a> for enrolled 91ֱ�� students are available through the Claim Your Seat program, made possible through the generosity of Richard ’62 and Linda ’62 Clark. </p> <p>Learn more about the <a href="/artsguide">Arts at 91ֱ��</a>.</p> <p>This program is proudly supported by <a href="https://www.ideastream.org/">Ideastream Public Media</a>, official media partner of the Artist Recital Series.</p> <p>—<br> <em>Stephanie Manning completed her bassoon performance degree while finding her way into journalism as a classical music critic. She recently completed a graduate diploma in journalism at Concordia University in Montreal. Her writing has appeared in The Montreal Gazette, Early Music America, and ClevelandClassical.com.</em></p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-subhead field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">An unexpected combination—string quartet and bandoneon—comes to life in the hands of the Takács Quartet and Julien Labro, who bring their collaborative program to the Artist Recital Series September 28.</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="2024-09-14T12:00:00Z">Sat, 09/14/2024 - 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=2364">Artist Recital Series</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2356">Conservatory</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2548">Concerts and Recitals</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=3878">Conservatory of 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-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Keeping Creation Collaborative with Silkroad</h1> <p>srasmuss — Wed, 10 Apr 2024 13:25:40 +0000</p> <span>Keeping Creation Collaborative with Silkroad</span> <span><span>srasmuss</span></span> <span><time datetime="2024-04-10T09:25:40-04:00" title="Wednesday, April 10, 2024 - 09:25">Wed, 04/10/2024 - 09:25</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Ask Haruka Fujii what instrument she plays, and she won’t be able to tell you exactly.</p> <p>“I play anything that makes noise,” the percussionist says. “Anything that I can make music with—including pure water, to ceramic rice bowls, to anything.”</p> <p>A specialist in contemporary music, Fujii says she focuses on working with living composers to “innovate and invent the boundary of what the percussionist can do.” Since 2010, she’s been doing just that as a member of the Silkroad Ensemble, a musical collective dedicated to cross-cultural collaboration. </p> <p>On April 26, she’ll be coming to 91ֱ�� for the first time, as part of the group performing Silkroad’s program “Uplifted Voices.”</p> <p>Fujii will be joined by a collection of people she calls “all my favorite ladies”: Maeve Gilchrist (harp and vocals), Karen Ouzounian (cello), Wu Man (pipa), Nathalie Joachim (flute and vocals), and Pura Fé (lap-steel slide guitar and vocals).</p> <p>The original idea was to spotlight the female and non-binary voices in the ensemble, but after some brainstorming sessions, the focus expanded beyond just the gender identities of the players. “We wanted to construct the program with not just that, but the voices that we think it's important to uplift in the world,” Fujii says.</p> <p>Most of the works were written by the ensemble members themselves and are tied to their own cultural heritage. Karen Ouzounian modeled Der Zor after a Turkish-language tune sung by the victims of the Armenian Genocide, while Pure Fé—who is Tuscarora/Taíno—embraces Indigenous musical traditions in works like Mahkjchi and Canoe Song. </p> <p>Nasim Khorassani doesn’t perform on the program, but Fujii says they included Khorassani’s piece Lullaby to amplify the Iranian composer’s perspective, “supporting the ladies in Iran who are fighting for their rights.”</p> <p>Fujii’s own contribution, <em>Tamping Song</em>, is named after a folk tune that Japanese railroad workers sang as they labored. She discovered it while researching the 13,000 Japanese immigrants who helped build the American railroad at the turn of the 20th century.</p> <p>While Fujii’s not sure if this specific song was sung in the United States, she says her piece “represents my imagination of the ambition of all these Japanese immigrants who, like me, come from Japan to the U.S. as American dream lands and try to make their own next life.”</p> <p>The piece premiered during the first tour of “Uplifted Voices” in 2023, when the ensemble visited Connecticut and Virginia. The pre-tour rehearsals were “a wonderful journey of learning about each other,” Fujii says. “Everyone bonded really well, and it's just so fun to spend time with them, making music and sharing our backgrounds together.”</p> <p>Although one of the original voices on the 2023 tour—violinist Mazz Swift—couldn’t make it this time around, the Haitian-American flutist Nathalie Joachim will be joining the group as they tour in Ohio, West Virginia, and Arkansas. Fujii says she is “really excited” to share the program with audiences again.</p> <p>“Uplifted Voices” is part of a larger thematic endeavor for Silkroad spearheaded by artistic director Rhiannon Giddens—who Fujii calls a “genius.” Giddens, who studied voice at 91ֱ�� and graduated in 2000, took over the Silkroad position from founder Yo-Yo Ma in 2020. </p> <p>Fujii was recently featured in Giddens’ documentary series, “My Music with Rhiannon Giddens,” for an episode set to be aired in May. She talks about Japan’s deep history with the marimba, as well as her own family ties—she and her sister Rika both play, and sometimes they perform together as a duo. The two followed in the footsteps of their mother Mutsuko, who helped pioneer Japanese marimba playing in the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s. </p> <p>“For me, the marimba is part of the Japanese voice,” Fujii says, adding that she loves sharing the instrument’s history with people outside of Japan. “I really appreciate Rhiannon giving me a chance to tell these interesting stories.”</p> <p>Now on her 14th year as a member of Silkroad, the percussionist says the spirit of collaboration within the group remains strong. She says the ensemble’s message “is really needed more than ever now—to be really curious about the people outside of your community, and to get to know how they see things and why they do things.”</p> <p>Being part of the ensemble has also changed her perception of her own music-making, from a vehicle for self-expression into something bigger. Now, she says, “I try to think of music as: how can I connect people? So that's been an amazing journey that I'm really fortunate to be a part of.”</p> <p>Concert Details</p> <p><a href="/events/artist_recital_series_silkroad_ensemble_uplifted_voices?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=paid&utm_campaign=ao_facebook_instagram_traffic_lookalike&utm_content=static_uplifted_voices&fbclid=IwAR3Gk39o7rU45yODTpI8MG7pE_8ima2Tz34Bmdu1pSL8S27oTkimDV4dQqE">Uplifted Voices: Silkroad with Special Guests Wu Man, Pura Fé, and Nathalie Joachim</a><br> 7:30 p.m.<br> April 26, 2024<br> 91ֱ�� College Finney Chapel<br> 90 N. Professor Street<br> 91ֱ��, Ohio</p> <p>Tickets <br> $35 Public | $30 OC Staff/Faculty/Alumni, Seniors, Military | $10 Students</p> <p>Concert tickets are available <a href="/tickets/event-details?EventId=7201">online</a> and by phone at 800-371-0178. Patrons may also purchase them in person between noon and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, at 91ֱ�� College's Central Ticket Service, located at 67 N. Main Street, in the lobby of the Eric Baker Nord Performing Arts Complex.</p> <p>Free Artist Recital Series tickets for enrolled 91ֱ�� students are available through the <a href="/artsguide/ticket-information/claim-your-seat">Claim Your Seat</a> program, made possible through the generosity of Richard ’62 and Linda ’62 Clark. </p> <p>Learn more about the <a href="/artsguide">Arts at 91ֱ��</a>.</p> <p>This program is proudly supported by <a href="https://www.ideastream.org/">Ideastream Public Media</a>, official media partner of the Artist Recital Series.</p> <p>—</p> <p><em>Stephanie Manning ‘23 completed her bachelor’s degree in bassoon performance with a dual concentration in arts management and journalism. A 2022 fellow of the Rubin Institute for Music Criticism, she has contributed frequently to ClevelandClassical.com and Early Music America. She is currently pursuing a graduate diploma in journalism from Concordia University in Montreal.</em></p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-subhead field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Percussionist Haruka Fujii and friends elevate women composers and their cultural influences on the Silkroad Ensemble’s “Uplifted Voices” program, coming to 91ֱ��’s Artist Recital Series.</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="2024-04-10T12:00:00Z">Wed, 04/10/2024 - 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=2364">Artist Recital Series</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2366">Guest Artists & Speakers</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2548">Concerts and Recitals</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">Sean Elliot courtesy of Connecticut College</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>91ֱ�� Artist Recital Series Presents Artemis</h1> <p>srasmuss — Tue, 05 Mar 2024 18:07:31 +0000</p> <span>91ֱ�� Artist Recital Series Presents Artemis</span> <span><span>srasmuss</span></span> <span><time datetime="2024-03-05T13:07:31-05:00" title="Tuesday, March 5, 2024 - 13:07">Tue, 03/05/2024 - 13:07</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>What do the words powerful, wonderful, extraordinary, appealing, undeniable, palpable, natural, immediate, unique, organic, and brilliant have in common?</p> <p>They are all adjectives that have been used to describe the musical chemistry of <a href="/tickets/event-details?EventId=6202">Artemis</a>, the collective of modern jazz bandleaders and composers that was named “Jazz Group of the Year” in the 2023 DownBeat Readers Poll.</p> <p>The results of that musical chemistry?</p> <p>“All of us know each other so well now, and we know each other’s playing, so it’s fun and inspiring to write for each person’s strengths,” says pianist and musical director Renee Rosnes.</p> <p>“And musically, I would say we’ve all become a bit more adventurous with how we play together because we know that everyone’s got each other’s back. We always allow the music to flow in the moment, so that if somebody wants to take things in a certain direction, we’re all there.”</p> <p>Northeast Ohio audiences will hear that chemistry in action when Artemis appears on the 91ֱ�� Artist Recital Series on <a href="/tickets/event-details?EventId=6202">March 13</a> in Finney Chapel.</p> <p>Rosnes will be joined in 91ֱ�� by trumpeter Ingrid Jensen, tenor saxophonist Nicole Glover, bassist Noriko Ueda, and drummer Allison Miller. Naturally, the ensemble’s 2023 album In Real Time—which includes six originals and two arrangements of pieces by Lyle Mays and Wayne Shorter—will make up an important part of the program.</p> <p>“And we’ve also got a few newer things in the book,” Rosnes says.</p> <p>Among the possible meanings behind the title In Real Time is the fleeting, immediate nature of music—how, unless recording is involved, it is heard right at the moment when it is created, and no longer than that.</p> <p>“For this last album, we were able to do a week at Birdland in New York City before heading into the studio, which enabled us to kind of workshop the new compositions. So, by the time we got into the studio, the band was in a good state of flow, allowing each piece to unfold in—well, in real time.”</p> <p>Both that album and their 2020 self-titled debut were released on Blue Note Records, which signed Artemis after their acclaimed performance at the 2018 Newport Jazz Festival. “It was really wonderful when the president, Don Was, invited us to be on the label,” Rosnes says. “I feel like Blue Note has been a central figure in the history of jazz, so we’re all very excited about being part of that family.”</p> <p>The group’s 91ֱ�� itinerary will also include a visit to the Cat in the Cream Coffeehouse on <a href="/events/presentation_and_qa_with_artemis">March 12</a>, when Artemis will give a short performance and presentation in addition to participating in a Q&A led by members of the Crimson Collective, a group of female and non-binary 91ֱ�� students dedicated to performing Black American music.</p> <p>With that in mind, it’s notable that the formation of Artemis came when a promoter asked Rosnes to put together an all-female band in celebration of International Women’s Day 2017. But since then, the pianist says, gender has not been part of the group’s self-concept.</p> <p>“After that, we all just had so much fun playing together, we wanted to keep it going. For all of us, I think it’s about the power of the music, not the gender—that’s not something that we think about in terms of our art. And I wish more people would see it that way. Think about how many all-male bands there are, and gender doesn’t need to be mentioned. Why can’t it be the same for any gender?”</p> <p>She doesn’t discount the impact that Artemis has had on audiences as an all-women ensemble in the disproportionately male world of jazz. “I’m often moved by the emotional reactions we receive from people of all genders who relay to us how inspiring it is to witness and listen to a band such as ours. But having said that, we really don’t think about it.”</p> <p><strong>Concert details</strong><br> <a href="/events/artist_recital_series_artemis">Artemis</a><br> 7:30 p.m.<br> Wednesday, March 13<br> 91ֱ�� College Finney Chapel<br> 90 N. Professor St.<br> 91ֱ��, OH 44074</p> <p><strong>Tickets:</strong><br> $35 Public | $30 OC Staff/Faculty/Alumni, Seniors, Military | $10 Students</p> <p>Concert tickets are available <a href="/tickets/event-details?EventId=6202">online</a> and by phone at 800-371-0178. Patrons may also purchase them in person between noon and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, at 91ֱ�� College's Central Ticket Service, located at 67 N. Main Street, in the lobby of the Eric Baker Nord Performing Arts Complex.</p> <p><a href="/artsguide/ticket-information/claim-your-seat">Free Artist Recital Series tickets</a> for enrolled 91ֱ�� students are available through the Claim Your Seat program, made possible through the generosity of Richard ’62 and Linda ’62 Clark. </p> <p>Learn more about the <a href="/artsguide">Arts at 91ֱ��.</a></p> <p>This program is proudly supported by <a href="https://www.ideastream.org/">Ideastream Public Media</a>, official media partner of the Artist Recital Series.</p> <hr> <p><em>Jarrett Hoffman ’14 is a freelance writer and clarinetist based in New York.</em></p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-subhead field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">2023 DownBeat Readers Poll “Jazz Group of the Year” to perform in Finney Chapel. While on campus they’ll also work with students.</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">Jarrett Hoffman '14</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=2364">Artist Recital Series</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2356">Conservatory</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2548">Concerts and Recitals</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=3878">Conservatory of Music</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=34691">Jazz Performance</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=34896">Jazz Composition</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/jazz-studies" hreflang="und">Jazz 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-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Renowned Organist David Hurd is Featured Artist for Annual David Boe Memorial Concert</h1> <p>cstrauss — Fri, 01 Mar 2024 17:43:32 +0000</p> <span>Renowned Organist David Hurd is Featured Artist for Annual David Boe Memorial Concert</span> <span><span>cstrauss</span></span> <span><time datetime="2024-03-01T12:43:32-05:00" title="Friday, March 1, 2024 - 12:43">Fri, 03/01/2024 - 12:43</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>David Boe was a beloved professor of organ at 91ֱ�� Conservatory of Music from 1962 to 2008 who also served as the ninth dean of the Conservatory. An annual series comprising concerts and master classes was established to bring guest organists to campus in honor of his life and years of service to 91ֱ��.</p> <p>This year, 91ֱ�� alumnus David Hurd '71 will be the featured artist. He is among the most celebrated church musicians and concert organists in the United States. He received the American Guild of Organists’ Distinguished Composer award in 2010, and currently serves as organist and choirmaster of the Episcopal Church of St. Mary the Virgin in New York City.</p> <p>During his visit to 91ֱ��, Hurd will give a <a href="https://calendar.oberlin.edu/event/david_boe_memorial_concert_david_hurd_organ">public performance</a> on Sunday, March 3 at 4:30 p.m. as well as a <a href="https://calendar.oberlin.edu/event/guest_master_class_david_hurd_organ">master class</a> for 91ֱ�� organists on the Fisk organ in Finney Chapel, Saturday, March 2 at 10 a.m. Both the master class and the concert are free and open to the public.</p> <p>I reached Hurd at home in New York via Zoom to talk about his career, his experiences at 91ֱ��, and his program on Sunday. I began by asking him about his relationship to Boe as a student.</p> <p><strong>David Hurd: </strong>I studied harpsichord with David Boe. He was a young faculty member at the time, and I knew and admired him very much. That was before he became the dean of the Conservatory. And so I’m glad to know that his legacy is being cemented with this series, as well as having the Chair of Organ named for him. What a lovely man.</p> <p><em>Daniel Hathaway:</em> <em>What was 91ֱ�� Conservatory like in those days?</em></p> <p><strong>Hurd: </strong>That seems like 100 years ago. The conservatory building itself was very new and the concert hall organ was a big Holtkamp which had just gone in, I think, in 1964, three years before I came to 91ֱ��. So it was a new organ, and was already to some degree being critiqued as not being perfect, because everything has to be perfect at 91ֱ��.</p> <p>But the practice building was heaven. Along one hallway was a whole line of Flentrop organs, and along another was a whole line of brand new Holtkamp organs. It was really quite amazing. I had come from Juilliard, where the organ facilities at that time in the old building were quite modest and the quality of the instruments was not in any way comparable to this brand spanking new facility at 91ֱ��.</p> <p>There were four full studios of organ students with young and vital professors, and the critical mass of students was very exciting. Not a lot of schools could have offered that concentration of organ energy. It was only in retrospect that I recognized how much I learned from my fellow students, and having that critical mass was a tremendous inspiration.</p> <p>I think I learned as much in the practice rooms and in the lounge talking with my fellow students as I did in my lessons. That’s not to take away from the quality of teaching, but just to say that the environment was significant. Of course the variety of instruments has expanded tremendously since I was there.</p> <p><em>Hathaway:</em> <em>You have a reputation for being a great improviser. When did you start doing that, and who influenced you?</em></p> <p><strong>Hurd: </strong>Well, I never studied improvisation as such. I started playing the keyboard by ear when I was four years old, and I started piano lessons when I was six. So, in a sense, my introduction to the keyboard was extemporization and an imitation of things I heard. But the theory and skills curriculum at Juilliard Prep, where I studied from age nine through high school, was really extraordinary. I had two years of keyboard harmony with Frances Goldstein, who had an amazing ear. She could be on the opposite end of the piano and tell you what finger you were playing a key with because of the tone that you got from the instrument. The exercises she had us do provided a real foundation in knowing the keyboard. Not just letting the fingers do the walking, but really having a consciousness of exactly where they were going and what they were going to achieve when they got there.</p> <p>So there was never a particular moment or a particular improvisation course, but the gathering of a lot of influences, and my own enthusiasm for doing it. And I was in church situations where improvisation was either encouraged or required, like at Trinity Wall Street. It was something you had to do.</p> <p>Curiously enough, when I was a student at 91ֱ�� back in the late '60s and early '70s, you had the sense that improvisation was considered the one thing the Europeans did that we didn’t wish to imitate. I remember that the first time Marie-Claire Alain played a recital at 91ֱ��, she submitted three memorized programs, each of which included an improvisation. I was told that she was asked just to play repertoire.</p> <p>Of course, a few of us would sneak into the concert hall late at night and roll back the curtains, play hymns, and carry on and have a good time. That was sort of being naughty, because it certainly wasn’t approved behavior.</p> <p><em>Hathaway:</em> <em>Let’s talk about your program at 91ֱ��. It’s all music by David Hurd. </em></p> <p><strong>Hurd: </strong>In the invitation to play the recital, I was asked that the program be “The Best of David Hurd.” So I asked myself, what can I offer in a recital that they wouldn’t have otherwise? I remember when Bill Albright came to play at 91ֱ�� during my student days, he surprised us all by going down to the stage and playing ragtime on the piano. I’m not going to do that, but I thought maybe my distinct contribution would not just be another performance of the Franck E-major chorale, but rather music that hasn’t been played on the Fisk.</p> <p>Most of my compositions were born out of my appreciation of the historic organ. My Te Deum, the oldest piece on the program, is the most comprehensive of my organ pieces. It’s in four movements, and there are bits and pieces of all kinds of stuff in there. There’s a lot of tradition, and yet it’s a very American piece, perhaps because of its eclecticism.</p> <p>And that’s another thing. It’s astonishing that I got through two performance degrees and never played a single work by an American composer. I can’t imagine anyone going through a music school in France or Germany or Holland or Italy and never ever playing a piece by a native composer. And yet generations of American organists have been trained to know European music very well and to know virtually nothing about American organ music. This isn’t true of other disciplines. Pianists, singers— everybody does American music, but organists somehow carry forward an inferiority complex that many of us learned in music school.</p> <p>In the early ‘80s, I was one of the four finalists in improvisation at the Haarlem Festival, and at the final concert, everyone played a piece from their native land — except me. At the reception, I had a conversation with Piet Kee. He was very sweet and lovely, but he said kind of pointedly, ‘We had hoped that we would hear some American music.’ It really stung when I realized that the Dutch wanted to hear American music from the American organist.</p> <p>So that was part of my thought process in playing my own compositions on an American organ—even one that largely gets branded as a Cavaille-Coll-inspired French instrument. I think that the Fisk organ and my music are a very good match. And if what 91ֱ�� launched in me as a musician is of any value, the evidence for that is to a great degree to be found in my compositions. Hopefully I can play them decently.</p> <p><em>Hathaway:</em> <em>I notice there’s about a 20-year spread in the composition dates of your works. How much has your style changed in that period of time?</em></p> <p><strong>Hurd: </strong>I’m probably too close to it to gauge that, but one good composer friend of mine told me that over the course of time, ‘You’ve learned to use fewer notes to say what you’re talking about.’ I think he’s right. The Te Deum is full of fistfuls of notes, and I don’t do that quite as much now. The economy of using only what’s necessary to say what wants to be said is something that I’ve learned over the course of time.</p> <p><em>Hathaway: Were any of these pieces commissioned?</em></p> <p><strong>Hurd: </strong>The Te Deum was commissioned by Larry King when he was at Trinity, Wall Street. He wanted a piece to play in a recital at Riverside Church. The Arioso and Finale was commissioned by the Queens chapter of the American Guild of Organists, to honor one of the founders of the chapter, Lillian Duhart Rogers, who was my choir director when I was a child. It was written shortly after I’d come back from a tour of French organs, and I was feeling a bit French.</p> <p>The Suite in Three Movements wasn’t really a commission as such, but was intended for an Organ Historical Society convention in Denver. I was never really happy with the piece, and several years later, I completely redid it. The original ideas were still there, but now it’s much more modern.</p> <p>And the most recent work—the Introduction, Passacaglia, and Fugue on “Wyndham”—was commissioned by the Victoria Bach Festival in Texas, at the instigation of Renée Luprette. She premiered it two summers ago at the Festival, and performs it beautifully in a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_I6uuad5anI">YouTube video</a> in Uppsala Cathedral in Sweden. I’ll try to play it as well as she did.</p> <p><em>Hathaway: During your four decades at the General Theological Seminary, you’ve also occupied several Episcopal church positions. Now you’ve traded Chelsea Square for Times Square. How did you end up at St. Mary the Virgin?</em></p> <p><strong>Hurd:</strong> I actually auditioned for GTS, but for my last three parish jobs, I’ve come in through the back door. In the first one, my predecessor was declining with MS, I came in to help him out, and one thing led to another. He went out on disability, they invited me to stay, and twelve years passed. Next came Holy Apostles, when Donald Joyce was suffering a terminal illness and asked me to come in and help. He entirely expected to come back to work, but the illness got him. So they asked me to stay, and sixteen years went by.</p> <p>I had been an occasional sub at St. Mary’s, and when my predecessor had to resign suddenly due to personal reasons, they asked me to come in and fill out the choral season for two more months. Shortly thereafter, the rector said, why don’t you just stay so we won’t have to search any further. Now eight years have gone by and I’m still there. So I think of myself as a two-month interim who just didn’t leave.</p> <p><em>Hathaway: That’s kind of a wonderful way to come to a position, though. </em></p> <p><strong>Hurd:</strong> They had already pre-tested the merchandise, and I knew what I was getting into. I don’t know how long it’s going to go on, but so far it’s been lovely to work in that church with such a splendid acoustic and a magnificent G. Donald Harrison organ that has been enhanced since its original installation. I have a wonderful eight-voice choral ensemble that can sing anything that eight voices can sing—if I sing too, that makes nine. And St. Mary’s has a liturgy that really allows for a range and seriousness of choral music. So it’s been a nice thing to do in my unofficial retirement.</p> <hr> <p><em>Article originally published on ClevelandClassical.com February 28, 2024. Shared with permission of ClevelandClassical.com.</em></p> <p><em>Daniel Hathaway team-teaches music journalism at 91ֱ�� and is a member of the Music Critics Association of North America.</em></p> <p> </p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-subhead field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">The March 3 program in Finney Chapel comprises some two decades of Hurd's own compositions.</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="2024-03-01T12:00:00Z">Fri, 03/01/2024 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Daniel Hathaway</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=3878">Conservatory of Music</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2356">Conservatory</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=3945">91ֱ�� Conservatory Alumni</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2368">Alumni</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2548">Concerts and Recitals</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=32966">Organ</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/keyboard-studies" hreflang="und">Keyboard 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">Monica Clare</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>91ֱ�� Presents Grammy-Winning Imani Winds in Concert</h1> <p>srasmuss — Thu, 29 Feb 2024 01:42:38 +0000</p> <span>91ֱ�� Presents Grammy-Winning Imani Winds in Concert</span> <span><span>srasmuss</span></span> <span><time datetime="2024-02-28T20:42:38-05:00" title="Wednesday, February 28, 2024 - 20:42">Wed, 02/28/2024 - 20:42</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>When flutist Brandon Patrick George ’08 attended <a href="https://imaniwinds.com/">Imani Winds’</a> Artist Recital Series performance back in 2007, he never imagined that he would one day sit in the flute chair. “Being able to perform with my colleagues is such an honor,” he says about returning to 91ֱ�� with the pioneering wind quintet on March 7. The ensemble last appeared in Warner Concert Hall in 2021 when they gave a short performance and enjoyed a wonderful dialogue with students during a generous Q&A.</p> <p>The ensemble—who recently won their first Grammy for their album <em>Passion for Bach and Coltrane</em>—will present a contemporary program that George says is connected to two key parts of Imani Winds’ mission: “to highlight the shared humanity between all individuals from all walks of life, and to advocate for change.”</p> <p>Carlos Simon’s <em>Giants</em> celebrates the stories of influential Black American figures, while Andy Akiho’s <em>BeLoud, BeLoved, BeLonging</em> combines the sounds of protests at an immigrant detention center with the incarcerated individuals at Rikers Island. The program continues with Damien Geter’s playful <em>I Said What I Said</em> and Billy Taylor’s jazz-influenced <em>I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free</em>.</p> <p>The 91ֱ�� performance is a homecoming not just for George, but also for bassoonist Monica Ellis ’95. Oboist Toyin Spellman-Diaz ’94 is currently on leave, but her former student and recent Curtis Institute of Music graduate Mekhi Gladden is stepping into her shoes.</p> <p>“We are delighted to have Mekhi with us for this season,” George says. “The opportunity to watch a young musician blossom and then sit next to them makes us very proud.”</p> <p>A more permanent personnel change for Imani Winds occurred in 2021, when 91ֱ�� Associate Professor of Horn Jeff Scott retired from the ensemble after 24 years. “I’m still with them in spirit,” says Scott, who continues to contribute to the group through his compositions. It was his piece, <em>Passion for Bach and Coltrane</em>, that helped win the ensemble a <a href="/2024_grammy_awards_oberlin">Grammy</a> this year.</p> <p>Another of Scott’s works is also central to Imani Winds’ 91ֱ�� performance in March. <em>Fallen Petals of Nameless Flowers</em>, a commission from Chamber Music Detroit, tells the story of four juvenile lifers—young men who were sentenced without parole, spending decades in a Michigan prison before the Supreme Court ruled the practice unconstitutional in 2012.</p> <p>The subject was a difficult one for Scott to approach. “I was like, man, I'm going to write about the dark side of human society and American society,” he says. “So, how do you do that and make it something that people will want to hear?”</p> <p>The answer came in the form of poet Robert Laidler, who had been working on a project with the <a href="https://www.chambermusicdetroit.org/">Chamber Music Detroit</a> community engagement manager Bryan Jones—a formerly incarcerated individual himself—to connect with juvenile lifers.</p> <p>“I can never compose in a vacuum,” Scott says. “It could be a picture, it could be a memory, but I need something to sort of get the inspiration from. And with this, poetry was definitely the conduit.”</p> <p>The emotional arc of Laidler’s poems helped Scott navigate his way through the dark subject matter, which discusses themes about making wrong choices and tumultuous childhoods. He also decided to add cellist Seth Parker Woods and pianist Cory Smythe onto the instrumentation of wind quintet with narrator. “If you're going to do a piece of this magnitude, you need more instruments to really bring up more colors,” he says.</p> <p>At the piece’s premiere in Detroit in 2022, the men who inspired the piece and their families were all in attendance. “To know that they had spent so much of their youthful life in prison, and here we are celebrating that they persevered—it was powerful,” Scott says.</p> <p>Woods and Smythe will join Imani Winds in 91ֱ�� for the work’s second-ever performance. While Laidler was the narrator for the premiere, the text will be narrated by actor Michael Braugher '14 for this performance.</p> <div class="obj-center"> <figure class="captioned-image"> <figcaption>L-R: Braugher, Woods, and Smythe</figcaption> </figure> </div> <p>Scott is now part of the welcoming party for <a href="https://calendar.oberlin.edu/search/events?search=%22Imani+Winds%22">Imani Winds’ March visit</a>, which will also include a preconcert panel discussion and six master classes for students in the Winds Department. He says the 91ֱ�� influence was evident during his time with the group. “No matter where we went, if we played a concert and there was a meet and greet or some sort of gathering, somehow the Obies just kind of surfaced and found one another,” he says, adding he never experienced the phenomenon with any other school.</p> <p>“There's a pride of having either attended, taught, or just being associated with 91ֱ�� that people wear like a badge—like, ‘Hey, I'm part of the family.’”<br> </p> <hr> <h5><br> Event Details for Thursday, March 7</h5> <p><a href="https://calendar.oberlin.edu/event/imani_winds_preconcert_panel_discussion">6:45 PM Panel Discussion</a><br> <strong>The stories behind <em>Fallen Petals of Nameless Flowers </em><br> Panelists: </strong>Monica Ellis '95, Imani Winds bassoonist; Bryan Jones, Chamber Music Detroit director of community and patron engagement; <a href="/jody-kerchner">Jody Kerchner</a>, 91ֱ�� professor of music education; Jeff Scott, composer and 91ֱ�� associate professor of horn</p> <p>7:30 PM Concert<br> <strong>Imani Winds with cellist Seth Parker Woods, pianist Cory Smythe,<br> and actor Michael Braugher '14</strong><br> <br> Free admission</p> <p>91ֱ�� Conservatory of Music <br> Warner Concert Hall<br> 77 W. College St.<br> 91ֱ��, OH 44074<br> </p> <hr> <p><em>Stephanie Manning ’23 completed her bachelor’s degree in bassoon performance with a dual concentration in arts management and journalism. A 2022 fellow of the Rubin Institute for Music Criticism, she has contributed frequently to ClevelandClassical.com and Early Music America. She is currently pursuing a graduate diploma in journalism from Concordia University in Montreal.</em></p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-subhead field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">91ֱ�� alumni-founded ensemble brings a program anchored by composer Jeff Scott’s "Fallen Petals of Nameless Flowers"</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="2024-02-28T12:00:00Z">Wed, 02/28/2024 - 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=2368">Alumni</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2548">Concerts and Recitals</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=3878">Conservatory of Music</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2414">Faculty</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2356">Conservatory</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2364">Artist Recital Series</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="/jody-kerchner" hreflang="und">Jody Kerchner</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-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Shervin Lanez</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>91ֱ��’s Artist Recital Series Sets the Stage for a Gospel Experience</h1> <p>srasmuss — Thu, 25 Jan 2024 15:49:25 +0000</p> <span>91ֱ��’s Artist Recital Series Sets the Stage for a Gospel Experience</span> <span><span>srasmuss</span></span> <span><time datetime="2024-01-25T10:49:25-05:00" title="Thursday, January 25, 2024 - 10:49">Thu, 01/25/2024 - 10:49</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>“It's where the magic first happens, you know,” says the vocalist and director. “It’s that moment where you're starting a new piece and you're starting to hear what it could be.”</p> <p>For McLaughlin, who has been singing since age four, his love for rehearsing started early. “I would line up my mom's perfume bottles on her dresser, or my toys, or anything that would stand, and I would have choir rehearsal,” he says. A CD recording would serve as the finished product. But that was almost an afterthought—his favorite part was the teaching.</p> <p>The singer and arranger is leading plenty of rehearsals these days thanks in part to his touring group, <a href="https://www.treymclaughlin.com/">Trey McLaughlin & The Sounds of Zamar</a>. The contemporary gospel choir will take their latest show around the U.S. and Canada this February, stopping in 91ֱ�� for the first time. Their February 10 performance in Finney Chapel is part of the <a href="/artsguide/artist-recital-series">2023-24 Artist Recital Series</a>.</p> <p>A classically-trained baritone and vocal pedagogue, McLaughlin moved back to his hometown of Augusta, Georgia after earning his Bachelor of Music from Columbus State University. Returning to the gospel genre that has shaped him since childhood, he first created The Sounds of Zamar from the group of friends who would come with him to his singing gigs.</p> <p>McLaughlin says the choir’s performances offer “a little bit of everything,” with takes on gospel, pop, R&B, and particularly musical theater. McLaughlin creates all the arrangements and has also composed a few original songs. Their 91ֱ�� program will include some new additions to the musical theater section, which already features “Dear Theodosia” from <em>Hamilton</em> and a mashup from <em>Dear Evan Hansen</em>. Also on the docket is one of McLaughlin’s recent compositions—an Afro-Caribbean-influenced song called “Worthy.”</p> <p>One selection guaranteed, no matter where they go, is the group’s cover of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lkm5KnBxFvQ">“Better Is One Day,” </a>which catapulted McLaughlin and his singers to viral fame back in 2014. But that video might never have made it to YouTube without some necessary encouragement.</p> <p>“I didn't think the video was good enough. I didn't feel like vocally it was our best,” McLaughlin shares. But his singers persuaded him to post it anyway, creating Zamar’s breakout hit.</p> <p>“It just goes to prove that you never know what people are going to like and what they're going to gravitate towards,” he says. “Sometimes, what you may not feel like is your best is meaningful to other people. It has worth and it has value.”</p> <p>While in 91ֱ��, the group will also host a <a href="https://calendar.oberlin.edu/event/community_gospel_singing_workshop_trey_mclaughlin_the_sounds_of_zamar">Community Gospel Singing Workshop</a>, which is free and open to the public, as well as a guest master class with the students of the 91ֱ�� Gospel Choir. McLaughlin says activities like these are key to fostering the sense of community inherent in this style of music. “It's not a performer versus audience relationship. It is a communal relationship.”</p> <p>As a teacher, he describes himself as a happy medium between the stereotypical tyrants or the pushovers. “Choir directors are notoriously not very nice, right? At least, not in a rehearsal setting. I can be like that—trust and believe,” he laughs, “but for the most part, my style of directing is more about encouraging people to give me their best, rather than berating them for not.”</p> <p>Ultimately, McLaughlin’s love for rehearsing will prevail with virtually any group. “Watching their eyes light up when you first bring all the voices together and they can hear how the harmonies work out and how the parts fit together…it's great,” beams McLaughlin.</p> <p>This year is Zamar’s 15th anniversary, and while McLaughlin is amazed by everything the group has accomplished, he says he’s confident “the greatest things are still yet to come.” What started as six singers from Augusta has grown into around 24 active members, many of whom now live all over the country. </p> <p>“It's like singing with your family,” McLaughlin says. “A lot of us have been together for a while. And we don't always get along, but our voices love each other. I think what we create together is greater than our need to be at odds.”</p> <p><strong>Concert Details</strong><br> <a href="/events/artist_recital_series_trey_mclaughlin_the_sounds_of_zamar">Trey McLaughlin & The Sounds of Zamar</a><br> 7:30 p.m.<br> February 10, 2024<br> 91ֱ�� College Finney Chapel<br> 90 N. Professor Street<br> 91ֱ��, Ohio</p> <p><strong>Tickets</strong> <br> $35 Public | $30 OC Staff/Faculty/Alumni, Seniors, Military | $10 Students</p> <p>Concert tickets are available <a href="/tickets/event-details?EventId=6401">online</a> and by phone at 800-371-0178. Patrons may also purchase them in person between noon and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, at 91ֱ�� College's Central Ticket Service, located at 67 N. Main Street, in the lobby of the Eric Baker Nord Performing Arts Complex.</p> <p>Free Artist Recital Series tickets for enrolled 91ֱ�� students are available through the <a href="/artsguide/ticket-information/claim-your-seat">Claim Your Seat program</a>, made possible through the generosity of Richard ’62 and Linda ’62 Clark. </p> <p>Our <a href="/tickets/series-subscription">Pick Three Subscription Package</a> is still available providing a discount off the single ticket price! Dates and artists include:</p> <p>February 10: Trey McLaughlin & The Sounds of Zamar<br> March 13: Artemis, all-star jazz ensemble<br> April 26: Silkroad Ensemble—Uplifted Voices</p> <p>Learn more about the <a href="/artsguide">Arts at 91ֱ��</a>.</p> <p>This program is proudly supported by <a href="https://www.ideastream.org/">Ideastream Public Media</a>, official media partner of the Artist Recital Series.</p> <hr> <p><em>Stephanie Manning ’23 completed her bachelor’s degree in bassoon performance with a dual concentration in arts management and journalism. A 2022 fellow of the Rubin Institute for Music Criticism, she has contributed frequently to ClevelandClassical.com and Early Music America. She is currently pursuing a graduate diploma in journalism from Concordia University in Montreal.</em></p> <p> </p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-subhead field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Trey McLaughlin & The Sounds of Zamar blur the boundaries of genre with contemporary gospel arrangements. Their latest tour, “The Zamar Experience,” arrives in 91ֱ�� on February 10.</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="2024-01-25T12:00:00Z">Thu, 01/25/2024 - 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="text-content field field--name-field-intro-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>For Trey McLaughlin, each and every rehearsal is the creation of something special.</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=2364">Artist Recital Series</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2356">Conservatory</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2548">Concerts and Recitals</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=3878">Conservatory of Music</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/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-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Time Traveling with Jeremy Denk</h1> <p>srasmuss — Mon, 13 Nov 2023 21:32:43 +0000</p> <span>Time Traveling with Jeremy Denk</span> <span><span>srasmuss</span></span> <span><time datetime="2023-11-13T16:32:43-05:00" title="Monday, November 13, 2023 - 16:32">Mon, 11/13/2023 - 16:32</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>“The bad thing is that you’re always kind of stuck in the past,” the pianist said, referring to repertoire choices. “But the good thing is you can time travel in this wild way and see across centuries a little bit.”</p> <p>Denk’s latest program spans three centuries, to be exact—the 19th to the 21st. It’s also an exploration of women composers from the Romantic to the contemporary. While touring the recital across the country, he will perform in 91ֱ��’s Finney Chapel on <a href="/events/artist_recital_series_jeremy_denk_piano">November 30 as part of the Artist Recital Series</a>.</p> <p>“I often struggle with how to present some of this neglected repertoire in the context of a ‘normal’ piano recital,” Denk said. For the works by women, he opted for a playlist format—10 selections, each between two and seven minutes. The order is a careful balance, divided into pairs which are each “wildly contrasting in one way or another.”</p> <p>The opening is shrouded in a “terrible grief,” Denk said, via Clara Schumann’s <em>Romance</em>, Op. 21, No. 1. “You feel her personal investment,” he said. “And there's a violence towards the end where this sorrow bursts into this thing.”</p> <p><em>Romance</em>’s pair, Tania León’s <em>Rituál</em>, is another approach to outpouring emotion. Denk described it as a “really wild and wooly” piece of piano writing. “It may be a little bit much to say it's a new classic, because it's a little bit more confrontational,” he said.“But for me, it’s a classic of the last 40 or 50 years.”</p> <p>The roughly 35-minute playlist continues bouncing back and forth from past to present. For fans of the Romantics, there’s Cécile Chaminade (<em>The Flatterer</em>) and Louise Farrenc (<em>Mélodie in A-flat Major</em>). And for those who prefer a modern sensibility, there’s Meredith Monk’s <em>Paris</em> and Missy Mazzoli’s <em>Heartbreaker</em>.</p> <p>“I wish Missy would write more piano music,” Denk said. “I think her command of harmonies is really astonishing.”</p> <p>Another pleasant surprise for Denk was Ruth Crawford Seeger’s <em>Piano Study in Mixed Accents</em>. “I knew she was a great composer, but this piece is so, so fabulous,” he said. ”It’s just a simple premise—both hands in unison changing meters—but the notes are brilliantly sinuous and it's so funky.”</p> <p>The final pairing stands out to Denk: Phyllis Chen’s ’99 <em>Sumitones</em> and the “Dreaming” movement from Amy Beach’s <em>Four Sketches</em>. Although written more than a century apart, the two works “speak to each other in an incredible way,” he said. </p> <p>He particularly praised the work by Chen, who is a former classmate of his from Indiana University—and a fellow 91ֱ�� alum. “It’s very much about awareness of the acoustics of the space,” he said. “I think it’s the perfect piece for Finney.”</p> <p>Finney Chapel holds plenty of memories from Denk’s time at 91ֱ��. A double degree student in piano performance and chemistry, Denk characterized his time at the school as “incredibly intense” and “quite stressful.” Still, Finney provided plenty of moments to remember: late night recording sessions with the Contemporary Music Ensemble, a winning performance during the concerto competition, and the spellbinding experience of hearing The Cleveland Orchestra for the first time.</p> <p>“It’s a magical space,” he said. The Cleveland Orchestra performance, in particular, was a moment he recounted in his memoir, 2022’s <em>Every Good Boy Does Fine</em>.</p> <p>Denk’s program continues to develop, and he remains open to changes down the line. For instance, there’s the matter of what comes after intermission, which at his recent performance in Washington, D.C. consisted of works by Robert Schumann and Wolfgang Mozart. He asked the audience there whether he should flip the order of the program to end with the women’s voices instead.</p> <p>The response? “They seemed to want the dead white guys to have the last word.”</p> <p>Denk remains unsure. “It's a tough sell, the ending of the all-female composers’ set, because it is so spaced out,” he said after a pause. “We’ll see.”</p> <p>Regardless of the order, Denk hopes audiences walk away thinking of a composer they want to hear more of. There are plenty to choose from within the musical tapestry, from which he highlighted qualities of expressivity, romanticism, and yearning. </p> <p>“Also, my time at 91ֱ�� was characterized by all kinds of inchoate and wild yearning,” he added, laughing. “So, hopefully I can channel all that.”</p> <p>TICKETS<br> <a href="/tickets/event-details?EventId=6201">Reserved seating tickets</a> for Jeremy Denk's performance are $35 for the general public. Discounted tickets are $30 for senior citizens, military, and 91ֱ�� College staff, faculty, and alumni. Student admission is just $10. 91ֱ�� students with a valid ID have access to free tickets through our <a href="/artsguide/ticket-information/claim-your-seat">Claim Your Seat</a> program.</p> <p>Tickets are available online and by phone at 800-371-0178. Patrons may also purchase them in person between noon and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, at 91ֱ�� College's Central Ticket Service, located at 67 N. Main Street, in the lobby of the Eric Baker Nord Performing Arts Complex.</p> <p>Learn more about the <a href="/artsguide">Arts at 91ֱ��</a>.</p> <p>This program is proudly supported by Ideastream Public Media, official media partner of the Artist Recital Series.</p> <p><em>Stephanie Manning ’23 completed her bachelor’s degree in bassoon performance with a dual concentration in arts management and journalism. A 2022 fellow of the Rubin Institute for Music Criticism, she has contributed frequently to ClevelandClassical.com and Early Music America. She is currently pursuing a graduate diploma in journalism from Concordia University in Montreal.</em></p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-subhead field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">The pianist and 91ֱ�� alum is touring the country with an era-spanning program featuring women composers. He returns to Finney Chapel for the Artist Recital Series on November 30.</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="2023-11-13T12:00:00Z">Mon, 11/13/2023 - 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="text-content field field--name-field-intro-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Time traveling isn’t usually taught in music school. But it’s one of <a href="https://www.jeremydenk.com/">Jeremy Denk’s ’90</a> favorite parts about being a classical musician.</p> <p> </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=2364">Artist Recital Series</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2356">Conservatory</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2548">Concerts and Recitals</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2357">Double Degree Program</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/keyboard-studies" hreflang="und">Keyboard 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">Michael Wilson</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Seraph Brass Brings Music with a Mission to 91ֱ��’s Finney Chapel Stage</h1> <p>srasmuss — Mon, 02 Oct 2023 21:00:08 +0000</p> <span>Seraph Brass Brings Music with a Mission to 91ֱ��’s Finney Chapel Stage</span> <span><span>srasmuss</span></span> <span><time datetime="2023-10-02T17:00:08-04:00" title="Monday, October 2, 2023 - 17:00">Mon, 10/02/2023 - 17:00</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>It was this interest that prompted her to enter college at 14, ultimately earning her bachelor’s degree at the Curtis Institute of Music and her master’s degree at the Yale School of Music. Bowden won a position with the Richmond Symphony shortly thereafter. But, she longed to play as a soloist and chamber musician. Her dream of forming small ensembles first came to fruition with the formation of the Chrysalis Chamber Players, a collective that is based in south Florida.</p> <p>In 2014, building on the momentum from the experience with her first ensemble, she decided to move forward with a long-standing goal of forming an all-female brass quintet, and Seraph Brass was born. Bowden reached out to a fellow musician she met at Yale, and together they built the first roster of core performers. </p> <p>The ensemble’s mission is to showcase the excellence of female brass players and highlight musicians from marginalized groups both in personnel and in programming. They realize this in part by their roster of core and guest artists, and have gathered a number of up-and-coming artists who perform with the ensemble at various times. The ensemble also consistently programs and commissions works by under-represented composers.</p> <p>The current core members of the ensemble, in addition to Bowden, are trombonist Elisabeth Shafer, trumpet soloists Raquel Samayoa and Jean Laurenz, french horn soloist Rachel Velvikis, and tubist Robyn Black. </p> <p>Their October 13 concert in 91ֱ�� will begin with a new work, <em>Showcase</em>, by 91ֱ�� Conservatory professor Jeff Scott. The <a href="/events/artist_recital_series_seraph_brass">program</a> continues with a number of selections from contemporary female composers and composers of color. Interspersed in the program are classical works from more well-known composers, Edvard Grieg and Franz Liszt. The energetic, propulsive <em>Go!</em> by Anthony DiLorenzo closes the program. The ensemble will engage with the audience throughout the concert and offer commentary from the stage—a model fitting for an ensemble that considers education through performance an integral part of their mission. </p> <p>Bowden and the members of the ensemble have set the bar high for performing ensembles of any makeup. Seraph Brass was awarded the 2019 American Prize in Chamber Music and has been invited twice to Finland’s prestigious Lieksa Brass Week—a goal of Bowden’s when she first envisioned markers of success for the ensemble.</p> <p>“There have been a small number of very influential women brass players in the orchestral world for some time” remarks 91ֱ�� flute professor <a href="/alexa-still">Alexa Still</a>. “This concert is largely repertoire that they are recording this season, so we are being treated to a spectacular group playing really interesting repertoire, and it is wonderful and inspiring to see a brass quintet composed entirely of women enjoying such great success!” </p> <p><strong>91ֱ�� Student Engagement</strong><br> The ensemble will hold four <a href="https://calendar.oberlin.edu/search/events?past=1&search=%22seraph%22">master classes</a> for individual brass instruments and small ensembles between October 11 and 12. These classes will feature performances by students in the Conservatory's Brass Department and they are free and open to the public. </p> <p>Seraph Brass is a not-for-profit organization, with each of the core members providing specific administrative support in addition to performing. This forms the context for the group sharing their expertise and their experiences in entrepreneurship for 91ֱ�� students during a <a href="https://calendar.oberlin.edu/event/lunch_learn_conversation_seraph_brass_lunch_provided">lunch and learn session from 12:00-1 p.m. on Friday, October 13.</a> This session is sponsored by the Artist Recital Series and the 91ֱ�� Conservatory Professional Development Office. </p> <p>TICKETS<br> <a href="/tickets/event-details?EventId=6001">Reserved seating tickets </a>for the Seraph Brass performance are $35 for the general public. Discounted tickets are $30 for senior citizens, military, and 91ֱ�� College staff, faculty, and alumni. Student admission is just $10. 91ֱ�� students with a valid ID have access to free tickets through our <a href="/artsguide/ticket-information/claim-your-seat">Claim Your Seat </a>program.</p> <p>Tickets are available online and by phone at 800-371-0178. Patrons may also purchase them in person between noon and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, at 91ֱ�� College's Central Ticket Service, located at 67 N. Main Street, in the lobby of the Eric Baker Nord Performing Arts Complex.</p> <p>Learn more about the <a href="http://oberlin.edu/artsguide">Arts at 91ֱ��</a>.</p> <p><em>This program is proudly supported by Ideastream Public Media, official media partner of the Artist Recital Series.</em></p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-subhead field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">The award winning all-female quintet will perform core classics, original transcriptions, and newly commissioned works in the next installment of the Artist Recital Series on October 13</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="2023-10-03T12:00:00Z">Tue, 10/03/2023 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Shelly Rasmussen</div> <div class="text-content field field--name-field-intro-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Mary Elizabeth Bowden, trumpet soloist and founder of <a href="https://www.seraphbrass.com/">Seraph Brass</a>, realized at an early age that she wanted to pursue music as a career.</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=2364">Artist Recital Series</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2548">Concerts and Recitals</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=35266">Trumpet</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=37371">Horn</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=35836">Trombone</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=37356">Tuba</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> <article> <h1>Emerson String Quartet Opens the 91ֱ�� Artist Recital Series</h1> <p>srasmuss — Wed, 06 Sep 2023 19:58:21 +0000</p> <span>Emerson String Quartet Opens the 91ֱ�� Artist Recital Series</span> <span><span>srasmuss</span></span> <span><time datetime="2023-09-06T15:58:21-04:00" title="Wednesday, September 6, 2023 - 15:58">Wed, 09/06/2023 - 15:58</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Their thoughtful programming for this occasion will bring a bit of sentiment and nostalgia to the stage. The concert will open with Felix Mendelssohn’s first mature string quartet—No. 2 in A Minor, Op. 13—written only a few months after the death of Ludwig van Beethoven, whose late-quartet influence is felt throughout the work. It continues with Sarah Kirkland Snider’s <em>Drink the Wild Ayre</em>, the very last piece the Emerson commissioned as an ensemble. The evening will culminate with one of Beethoven’s last works—his monumental six-movement String Quartet No. 13 in B-flat Major, Op. 130, with the original last movement, the Grosse Fuge. </p> <p>“The Emerson String Quartet is arguably the most influential chamber group of the last 40 years”, reflects 91ֱ�� violin professor <a href="http://www.oberlin.edu/sibbi-bernhardsson">Sibbi Bernhardsson</a>. “While the Guarneri Quartet paved the road for all touring chamber groups in classical music, Emerson became rock stars of the field with their multiple Grammy awards, their large scale projects and their ability to sell out large concert venues worldwide on a consistent basis.” </p> <p>It is poignant that the Emerson String Quartet has chosen the opus 130 string quartet, with its famous Cavatina, and the Grosse Fuge for their “Farewell” tour and for this performance at 91ֱ��. The work contemplates thresholds and honors an obvious one on these artists’ immediate horizons. Adjectives commonly used to describe this work of Beethoven’s are profound, other-worldly, nostalgic, epic, tragic, emotional, triumphant. The inclusion of this work is also a reprise here at 91ֱ��. For the Emerson Quartet’s very first appearance on the Artist Recital Series in 1985, they performed opus 130. </p> <p><em>Drink the Wild Ayre</em> was titled by the composer as a nod to both the namesake of the Emerson String Quartet, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and his well-known quote, “Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, Drink the wild air's salubrity.” With Kirkland's intentional spelling of “Ayre”—which is an uplifting, song-like lyrical work—she refers "to the questing spirit, sense of adventure, and full-hearted passion with which the Emerson has thrown itself into everything it has done for the past 47 years."</p> <p>In addition to their performance, the quartet will also lead four master classes for 91ֱ�� students, where they will share their expertise. Centering student opportunities to interact with guest artists and ensembles is a priority at 91ֱ��. </p> <p>“It is simply astounding,” exclaims Bernhardsson, “that the Emerson has been at the top of the field for so long. It is exciting to have them perform one of their last concerts ever here at 91ֱ��. It will be very inspiring for our community to observe them work with our students in master class settings.”</p> <p><strong>TICKETS</strong><br> <a href="/artsguide/ticket-information/artist-recital-series">Individual tickets</a> for Emerson String Quartet’s performance are $35 for the general public. Discounted tickets are $30 for senior citizens, military, and 91ֱ�� College staff, faculty, and alumni. Student admission is just $10. 91ֱ�� students with a valid ID have access to free tickets through our <a href="/artsguide/ticket-information/claim-your-seat">Claim Your Seat</a> program.</p> <p>Tickets are available online and by phone at 800-371-0178. Patrons may also purchase them in person between noon and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, at 91ֱ�� College's Central Ticket Service, located at 67 N. Main Street, in the lobby of the Eric Baker Nord Performing Arts Complex.</p> <p>Learn more about the <a href="http://oberlin.edu/artsguide">Arts at 91ֱ��</a>.</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-subhead field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">The 91ֱ�� program is part of their “Farewell Tour” after 47 years together</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="2023-09-06T12:00:00Z">Wed, 09/06/2023 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Conservatory Communications</div> <div class="text-content field field--name-field-intro-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>The Emerson String Quartet returns to 91ֱ�� College Friday, September 22 for their final performance on Finney Chapel’s stage as part of this season’s <a href="http://oberlin.edu/ars">Artist Recital Series</a>. The ensemble is disbanding after nearly five decades of performing and recording. </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=2364">Artist Recital Series</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2548">Concerts and Recitals</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>