Students, Faculty Participate in Detroit's Resonate Symposium</h1> <article> <h1>Students, Faculty Participate in Detroit's Resonate Symposium</h1> <p>cstrauss — Sat, 15 Apr 2023 01:42:17 +0000</p> <span>Students, Faculty Participate in Detroit's Resonate Symposium</span> <span><span>cstrauss</span></span> <span><time datetime="2023-04-14T21:42:17-04:00" title="Friday, April 14, 2023 - 21:42">Fri, 04/14/2023 - 21:42</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Resonate is a multi-year collaboration that explores the African Diaspora through the lens of contemporary American chamber music. The project, under the direction of <a href="https://detroitchamberwinds.org/programs/resonate/">Detroit Chamber Winds & Strings</a> and <a href="https://thecarrcenter.org/the-resonate-project-2/">The Carr Center</a>, commissioned six American composers to create new works that have been performed by each of the collaborators during the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons. </p> <p>Participating composers are Michael Frazier, Adolphus Hailstork, Nathalie Joachim, George Lewis, Patrice Rushen, and Pamela Z. </p> <p>Schools of music that embarked on the project along with 91ֱ�� Conservatory, are Western Michigan University, University of Michigan, Michigan State University, and Bowling Green State University. Detroit Chamber Winds & Strings and The Carr Center are also performing partners of the works composed under the auspices of Resonate. </p> <p>A developmental feature of the two-day symposium is the focus on bringing high school and college composition students together with the community to discuss the career and craft of being a composer in today’s world.</p> <p>Each day, the symposium presents a concert showcasing the featured Resonate composers' works that were commissioned over the last two years. </p> <p>91ֱ�� Sinfonietta, with director <a href="/timothy-weiss">Timothy Weiss</a>, will perform the work <em>BlackPortrait</em> by composition faculty <a href="/michael-frazier">Michael Frazier</a> at the symposium's closing concert on Saturday, April 15 at 7:30 p.m. The ensemble includes student musicians Daniel Jordan (flute, alto flute), Keyvar Smith-Herold (bass clarinet), Brin Jaeger (percussion), Kelvin Tang (piano), Natalie Hsieh (violín I), Laoise Matsumoto (violin II), Solomon Leonard (viola), Miles Reed (cello), and Caeden Brusett (bass).</p> <p>Sinfonietta has performed <em>BlackPortrait</em> in 91ֱ�� twice: first in February 2022, and just this week on <a href="https://calendar.oberlin.edu/event/concert_oberlin_sinfonietta">April 13</a>, giving two different groups of students the opportunity to participate in bringing this new music to the stage.</p> <p>Frazier is a Black and Latino composer specializing in acoustic, electronic, and electroacoustic music. Heavily influenced and inspired by his love of jazz and hip-hop music, his music explores a broader history of Black creative artistry. Of <em>BlackPortrait</em>, Frazier said it was, "A piece meant to reflect my own personal musical state-of-mind at the end of my doctoral studies, and is inspired by the three-section formal structure of Charles Mingus’s 'Self-Portrait in Three Colors.'"</p> <p>91ֱ�� ensembles have been giving performances of other works commissioned for Resonate over the last year, as have all the collaborating partners in the project. One of the goals of the project was to ensure numerous readings of these works on stages across the Midwest.</p> <p>91ֱ�� Sinfonietta just gave the world premiere performance of <a href="https://calendar.oberlin.edu/event/concert_oberlin_sinfonietta">Pamela Z's work, titled <em>Differences</em></a>, on the April 13 performance in 91ֱ��'s Warner Concert Hall. In November 2022, two other works created with support from Resonate—<a href="https://calendar.oberlin.edu/event/sinfonietta_1166">Nathalie Joachim's Radical Revelations</a> for reed quintet, and <a href="http://calendar.oberlin.edu/event/contemporary_music_ensemble_3588">Adolphus Hailstork's <em>Monuments</em></a>, which also featured 91ֱ�� trombone professor John Gruber as soloist—were performed by Sinfonietta and the Contemporary Music Ensemble, respectively. </p> <p>Two students representing the 91ֱ�� Composition Department have also traveled to Detroit to take part in the symposium. They will attend keynote addresses, master classes, Q&As, and panel discussions. Both students, <a href="http://isaacsantoscomposer.wordpress.com">Isaac Santos</a> and <a href="http://jakeberran.com">Jake Berran</a>, have had their works performed by the 91ֱ�� Contemporary Music Ensemble, under Weiss' direction. </p> <p>Weiss' work with the 91ֱ�� Contemporary Music Ensemble over the last three decades has expanded the repertoire heard on the Conservatory's stages, and inspired young musicians to champion the work of living composers. In recent years, Weiss has focused on amplifying the voices of underrepresented composers. He believes this work squares beautifully with the purpose of the Resonate project. </p> <p>“The Resonate project is a perfect fit for 91ֱ��—from how we celebrate the creation of new music to how our students are animated by the school’s small ensemble culture," says Weiss. He adds, “This is a great opportunity for our students to engage in community outreach and interact with the composers and performers from the other institutions.”<br> </p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-subhead field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Multi-year collaboration results in 91ֱ�� ensembles performing new works by composers of the African Diaspora</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="2023-04-14T12:00:00Z">Fri, 04/14/2023 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Cathy Partlow Strauss ’84</div> <div class="text-content field field--name-field-intro-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Two years in the making, 91ֱ�� Conservatory students and faculty are in midtown Detroit, April 14-15, to participate and perform in the <a href="https://detroitchamberwinds.org/programs/resonate/">Resonate Chamber Music Symposium</a>, held at <a href="https://thecarrcenter.org/about/history-of-the-carr-center/">The Carr Center</a>—an organization dedicated to showcasing Black arts and artists. </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=2596">Conservatory Tours</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2356">Conservatory</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-programs field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=33331">Composition</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="/michael-frazier" hreflang="und">Michael Frazier</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/timothy-weiss" hreflang="und">Timothy Weiss</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/conservatory/divisions/conducting-and-ensembles" hreflang="und">Conducting and Ensembles</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/conservatory/divisions/contemporary-music" hreflang="und">Contemporary Music</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">Faculty composer Michael Frazier receives ovation for a performance in Finney Chapel.</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Yevhen Gulenko</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>91ֱ�� Musicians to Play Famed New York City Venues Jan. 19, 20</h1> <p>eburnett — Wed, 21 Dec 2022 15:38:22 +0000</p> <span>91ֱ�� Musicians to Play Famed New York City Venues Jan. 19, 20</span> <span><span>eburnett</span></span> <span><time datetime="2022-12-21T10:38:22-05:00" title="Wednesday, December 21, 2022 - 10:38">Wed, 12/21/2022 - 10:38</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>In January, some 250 91ֱ�� musicians will mark a singular moment in their young careers with a performance at New York’s fabled Carnegie Hall.</p> <p>And this time it’s <em>doubly</em> singular.</p> <p>The 91ֱ�� Orchestra, joined by three conservatory choral ensembles and four professional vocal soloists—among them two 91ֱ�� alumni—will present a program featuring the masterwork of one of 91ֱ��’s own: <em>The Ordering of Moses</em>, the 1932 oratorio by celebrated composer R. Nathaniel Dett, who in 1908 became the first Black double-major graduate of 91ֱ�� Conservatory and who went on to forge an exceptionally distinguished career as a composer, performer, educator, and choir director at Hampton University and other institutions.</p> <p>The concert takes place at 8 p.m., Friday, January 20, in Carnegie’s Stern Auditorium. It will be preceded on the evening of January 19 by a panel discussion on the life and legacy of Dett at Kaufman Music Center’s Merkin Hall.</p> <p>91ֱ��’s 2023 runout to the Big Apple also includes two sets by the <a href="/node/68056">91ֱ�� Sonny Rollins Jazz Ensemble</a>, an eight-piece combo of standout conservatory musicians, at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, the intimate venue that is part of the Jazz at Lincoln Center complex. Showtimes are 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. Thursday, January 19.</p> <p>“Opportunities for performance and performative expression are central to the professional training of all musicians, and we are very proud to offer our students this opportunity to share their artistry in two of the world’s most celebrated venues for their craft,” says <a href="/node/49511">William Quillen</a>, dean of 91ֱ�� Conservatory. “Central to this remarkable experience is the opportunity we have to celebrate one of 91ֱ��’s own: R. Nathaniel Dett, a visionary musician and educator and one of 91ֱ�� Consevatory’s most distinguished alumni.”</p> <h2>“From Darkness to Light”</h2> <p>Any date with Carnegie Hall may be aptly considered a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. 91ֱ��’s upcoming performance marks the second time in as many months that its conservatory ensembles will have graced the historic venue’s Perelman Stage: The 91ֱ�� Orchestra and choral ensembles performed before the 77th General Assembly of the United Nations at a Carnegie Hall gala on December 2. That engagement served as the symbolic kickoff of a new partnership between 91ֱ�� and the United Nations aimed at improving access to education and musical training for students all over the world.</p> <figure class="captioned-image obj-right"> <figcaption>91ֱ�� Ensembles performed at Carnegie Hall in December 2022. (photo by Chris Lee)</figcaption> </figure> <p>The January 20 program begins with Johannes Brahms’ Tragic Overture, Op. 81 (1880), which opens with the striking of two blunt chords that, in the words of conductor Raphael Jiménez, send the audience on a “turbulent and sometimes gloomy ride with few glimmers of optimism.”</p> <p>It is followed by Iván Enrique Rodríguez’s 2018 musical essay <em>A Metaphor for Power</em>, which examines the assertion that “all men are created equal” through what the ASCAP Award-winning composer calls “an expanse of troublesome experiences visited by fleeting and unsuccessful moments of hope,” an analog of the experiences faced by many in America, including those who share the Puerto Rican composer’s Latino heritage.</p> <p>The evening concludes with Dett’s oratorio, initially composed while he was a graduate student in 1932 and expanded in 1937. It conveys the biblical story of Exodus and the journey from persecution to freedom, the composer deftly blending elements of his classical training with influences from Black folk songs and spirituals—a practice he learned as an undergraduate at 91ֱ�� and implemented throughout his career.</p> <p>The massive work summons the talents of the 96-piece 91ֱ�� Orchestra and 147 vocalists, including the 91ֱ�� College Choir, 91ֱ�� Gospel Choir, and Musical Union—the 91ֱ�� campus-community chorus that is one of the oldest U.S. ensembles of its kind. It features four soloists: 91ֱ�� alumni soprano <a href="https://chabrellewilliams.space/">Chabrelle Williams ’</a><a href="http://chabrellewilliams.space/">11</a> and tenor <a href="https://www.limmiepulliam.com/">Limmie Pulliam ’98</a>, as well as mezzo-soprano <a href="https://www.ronnitamiller.com/">Ronnita Miller</a> and baritone <a href="https://www.atholestill.com/artist/eric-greene/">Eric Greene</a>.</p> <p>The choral ensembles were prepared by conservatory faculty <a href="/node/6646">Gregory Ristow</a> and <a href="/node/351086">Ben Johns</a>.</p> <figure class="captioned-image obj-right"> <figcaption>Raphael Jiménez (photo by Tanya Rosen-Jones)</figcaption> </figure> <p>“This repertoire gives us the opportunity to demonstrate our commitment to high-level musical training, our commitment to new music, and our commitment to expanding the classical music canon, all wrapped around a theme of social justice—a theme that is central to the values of our institution,” says conductor Jiménez. “What is indeed a diverse and seemingly eclectic program has been curated with a sense of drama in mind—a drama that we all love to revive over and over: the journey from darkness to light.”</p> <p>The concert takes place at 8 p.m. Friday, January 20. Tickets ($15-$35) are available at <a href="https://www.carnegiehall.org/Events">carnegiehall.org</a> or by calling 212-247-7800. Carnegie Hall is at 881 7th Avenue in New York.</p> <figure class="captioned-image obj-right"> <figcaption>R. Nathaniel Dett</figcaption> </figure> <p>The January 19 panel discussion, “Explorations of Political, Religious, and Cultural Context in R. Nathaniel Dett's The Ordering of Moses,” will examine Dett’s pioneering use of spirituals and folk songs as a basis for Western classical compositions—a practice he developed as a student at 91ֱ��. It will be moderated by <a href="/node/319121">Courtney-Savali Andrews</a>, 91ֱ��’s assistant professor of African American and African diasporic musics, and will feature a panel of distinguished guests: ethnomusicology professor Fredara Hadley of the Juilliard School, retired music theory professor Jeannie Ma. Guerrero of the Eastman School of Music, emerita professor of religion and women’s studies Cheryl Kirk-Duggan of Shaw University, choral professor Marques L.A. Garrett of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, professor Damien Sneed of the Manhattan School of Music, and Roland Carter, emeritus music professor Roland Carter of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and former music chair and choir director at Hampton University.</p> <p>In recent years, works by Dett—longtime staples of music programs at historically Black colleges and universities—have begun to appear more frequently on programs across America and in Europe. <em>The Ordering of Moses</em> made its Carnegie Hall debut in 2014; its U.K. premiere was presented by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra in February 2022.</p> <figure class="captioned-image obj-right"> <figcaption>Courtney-Savali Andrews (photo courtesy of Andrews)</figcaption> </figure> <p>“It is fantastic to see a watershed moment in the programming of Dett’s repertoire across the nation and overseas,” Andrews says. “Eighty years after his death, it seems as if he is in the press now almost as much as he was when he was touring solo and with his ensembles throughout his 45-year career between Canada, America, and Europe. Audiences today would serve his legacy well to take a closer look at the layered aspirations of this great American composer, thought leader, and culture bearer.”</p> <p>The discussion takes place from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at Kaufman Music Center. Admission is free, but reservations are required by calling 212-501-3330. Kaufman Music Center is at 129 West 67th Street in New York.</p> <h2>Jazz at Dizzy’s</h2> <figure class="captioned-image obj-right"> <figcaption>91ֱ��'s Sonny Ensemble debuted at Dizzy's in 2019. (photo by Fadi Kheir)</figcaption> </figure> <p>Thursday evening continues with two performances by the 91ֱ�� Sonny Rollins Jazz Ensemble at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola at Lincoln Center, a short walk down Broadway from Kaufman Music Center. Established at 91ֱ�� through the support of the legendary saxophonist, the “Sonny Ensemble” made its New York City debut at Dizzy’s in January 2019. The return trip promises more original works, arrangements, and compositions by Rollins himself.</p> <p>Showtimes are 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $35 to $45 ($20 for students), in addition to a $21 food and beverage minimum per person. Call 212-258-9800 or visit <a href="http://www.jazz.org">www.jazz.org</a> for information and reservations. Dizzy’s is at 10 Columbus Circle in New York.</p> <p>Members of the Sonny Ensemble will arrive in New York early to begin a series of performance-visits with area schoolchildren and music programs in New York and New Jersey.</p> <h2>Sneak Previews</h2> <p>Northeast Ohio audiences will have opportunities to experience preview performances happening on campus prior to their departure for New York.</p> <p>The Sonny Ensemble will appear at the ’Sco—the student-run concert club on the lower level of Wilder Hall—<a href="http://www.oberlin.edu/events/concert_the_oberlin_sonny_rollins_jazz_ensemble">at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, January 15</a>.</p> <p>The complete Carnegie Hall program, featuring all four vocal soloists slated to appear in New York, <a href="/events/carnegie_hall_preview_concert_oberlin_orchestra_and_choirs">happens at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, January 17</a>, in Finney Chapel.</p> <hr> <p><em>Ticket info and more at <a href="/nyc2023">www.oberlin.edu/NYC2023</a>.</em></p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-subhead field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Tour includes music by 91ֱ�� alumnus R. Nathaniel Dett performed at Carnegie Hall, jazz gigs at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola.</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="2022-12-21T12:00:00Z">Wed, 12/21/2022 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Office of Communications</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=2596">Conservatory Tours</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2370">Ensembles & Orchestras</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=3797">Sonny Rollins Jazz Ensemble</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-faculty field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/raphael-jimenez" hreflang="und">Raphael Jiménez</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/courtney-savali-andrews" hreflang="und">Courtney-Savali Andrews</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/bobby-ferrazza" hreflang="und">Bobby Ferrazza</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/william-quillen" hreflang="und">William Quillen</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/gregory-ristow" hreflang="und">Gregory Ristow ’01</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>91ֱ�� Musicians Inspire Hope Through United Nations Performance at Carnegie Hall</h1> <p>eburnett — Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:44:20 +0000</p> <span>91ֱ�� Musicians Inspire Hope Through United Nations Performance at Carnegie Hall</span> <span><span>eburnett</span></span> <span><time datetime="2022-12-03T21:44:20-05:00" title="Saturday, December 3, 2022 - 21:44">Sat, 12/03/2022 - 21:44</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>On the fabled New York City stage where musical dreams come true, dreams of a different sort took wing on December 2.</p> <p>Nearly 200 student musicians from 91ֱ�� presented a performance of works spanning three centuries in magnificent Stern Auditorium at Carnegie Hall. The private gala was held for the 77th General Assembly of the United Nations.</p> <p>The evening signaled the symbolic launch of an innovative new partnership between 91ֱ��, the United Nations Institute for Training and Research New York Office (UNITAR), and the Global Foundation for the Performing Arts (GFPA). 91ֱ�� is one of a select number of higher education institutions invited by UNITAR and the GFPA to participate in initiatives intended to improve access to education for students around the world and to enhance quality of life through education and the performing arts.</p> <p>The concert was dedicated to the work of Csaba Kőrösi, president of the U.N. General Assembly, and to diplomatic and U.N. staff communities around the world. It was sponsored by the U.N. Member States of Costa Rica, Ecuador, Monaco, Oman, Rwanda, Singapore, and Hungary.</p> <p>“Culture matters,” GFPA President Benjamin Woodroffe noted in his opening address to an audience of 1,800 diplomats and invited guests. “The arts can change lives, and the performing arts—music, dance, and theater—can sometimes say things that other mediums cannot. Collaboration is key, and this ensemble behind me has worked solidly and diligently for a number of months in a different part of the country to be here tonight. Music moves people, and a healthy society has a healthy arts sector.”</p> <h2 class="h3">A Musical Expression of Unity</h2> <p>Titled “A Watershed Moment: Transformative Solutions to Interlocking Challenges,” the evening’s theme acknowledged the critical juncture in the history of the U.N., a moment fueled by complex crises including the COVID-19 pandemic, international conflict, heightening issues related to climate change, global economic strain, and unprecedented humanitarian challenges.</p> <figure class="captioned-image obj-right"> <figcaption class="sr-only">91ֱ�� in NYC by the numbers:<br> <strong>86</strong> student instrumentalists<br> <strong>110</strong> vocalists<br> <strong>5</strong> chartered buses from 91ֱ��<br> <strong>487</strong> miles from 91ֱ�� to Carnegie Hall<br> <strong>112</strong> minutes of music performed<br> <strong>100+</strong> hours of rehearsal<br> <strong>61</strong> nations represented by the 91ֱ�� student body</figcaption> </figure> <p>What transpired onstage offered an affirmation of the transformative power of music to uplift, to fortify, and to heal.</p> <p>Under the direction of Raphael Jiménez, a professor of conducting and director of 91ֱ�� Orchestras since 2011, the program opened with Fanfare on <em>Amazing Grace</em>, Adolphus Hailstork’s triumphal interpretation of the enduringly powerful 18th-century spiritual. At the conclusion of the piece, Jiménez turned to scan the audience in search of Hailstork, who attended the concert. Before the conductor could locate the 81-year-old composer in the darkened hall, he rose from his seat near the back of the room and cheerfully bellowed, “If you’re looking for the composer, he’s out here. Hi folks!” as a redoubled round of applause arose around him.</p> <p>Following remarks by Woodroffe, Kőrösi, and 91ֱ�� President Carmen Twillie Ambar, the program continued with Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 18, the intellectually vibrant and emotionally charged work that revived the young composer at a time of early disillusionment with classical music. The performance featured soloist Byron Wei-Xin Zhou, a pianist on the artist roster of the GFPA.</p> <p>Closing the program was Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125—widely regarded as a celebration of irrepressible unity, with its iconic “Ode to Joy” hearkening back to an earlier performance of the work some 73 years ago, when Leonard Bernstein conducted it on the occasion of the U.N.’s historic Human Rights Day Concert at Carnegie Hall in 1949. 91ֱ��’s U.N. performance called upon the talents of 110 voices, encompassing the 91ֱ�� College Choir and Musical Union, and featuring 91ֱ�� alumni vocalists from the New York City area and four celebrated soloists: 91ֱ�� alumni mezzo-soprano Kathryn Leemhuis ’05 and tenor Joshua Blue ’16, as well as soprano Sarah Tisba and baritone Marco Chingari, both of Italy. It marked the first time an 91ֱ�� Orchestra led by Jiménez has performed Beethoven’s monumental Ninth Symphony, a daunting task for orchestras of any pedigree.</p> <p>For the many 91ֱ�� students and alumni who graced Carnegie’s stage for the first time, the performance offered an indelible milestone in their musical journeys and an inspirational moment to fuel their continued artistic development.</p> <p>“Carnegie Hall is something we all aspire to,” said second-year soprano Ava Paul of Grand Junction, Colorado. Like many in the ensembles, the trip for Paul marked not only her first visit to Carnegie Hall, but also her first voyage to New York. “When I say I’m a singer, people always say, ‘Oh, are you going to play Carnegie Hall someday?’ Now I can say, ‘Yes, I actually am.’ It’s sort of a pinnacle I didn’t think I’d get to this soon in my career.”</p> <p>First-year alto Kat Kahler, a musical studies major in 91ֱ��’s College of Arts and Sciences from Charlottesville, Virginia, once visited Carnegie Hall to take in a performance as a middle-school student. “I can’t comprehend that it’s actually me on the stage now,” she said. “This is not something that a first-year in college normally does, and it’s just amazing.”</p> <p>For others, like oboist Clarissa Antoine of Walnut, California, the concert represented a capstone of sorts as graduation nears.</p> <p>“Tonight was my last concert with the 91ֱ�� Orchestra, and for that to mean playing Beethoven 9 for the United Nations Gala at Carnegie Hall is mind-blowing,” she said. “I’m so proud to be a part of this. Every rehearsal leading up to this performance has been so fulfilling, and I couldn’t ask for a better way to finish my time at 91ֱ��.”</p> <figure class="captioned-image obj-left"> <figcaption>Concertmaster Matthew Cone (photo by Chris Lee)</figcaption> </figure> <p>Concertmaster Matthew Cone, a fourth-year student from Buffalo, New York, alternated throughout the program between expressions of resolute focus and giddy exuberance.</p> <p>“It’s been an honor leading the orchestra for this concert,” he said. “Having this responsibility has been a great experience for me, and I’m super proud of us and all of the progress we have made over the past month. Playing such incredible music at Carnegie is an experience that I’m sure none of us will ever forget.”</p> <h2 class="h3" style="clear: both;">Worldwide Embrace of Education and the Arts</h2> <p><a href="/node/433166">Announced in September</a>, the partnership with UNITAR and the GFPA calls for a select number of U.S. institutions to invite applications from students around the world, with accepted students beginning degree programs as early as fall 2023. According to the agreement, 91ֱ�� will be the lone participating institution to welcome undergraduate students. Beginning in summer 2023, 91ֱ�� also will host an annual summer program for English speakers of other languages, an opportunity for students selected through the partnership to hone their language skills prior to beginning their education at 91ֱ�� and other U.S. partner campuses.</p> <figure class="captioned-image obj-right"> <figcaption>91ֱ�� President Carmen Twillie Ambar addresses the United Nations at Carnegie Hall. (photo by Chris Lee)</figcaption> </figure> <p>“Article 1 of our charter says that the United Nations is to be a center for harmonizing the actions of nations,” President Kőrösi said in his address. “Much of what we are doing here—and most everything that we want to achieve—is about reaching harmony through listening to each other, acting together, and understanding the deeper context together. Just like a work of art, harmony among our nations means peace. Harmony all over the globe means solidarity. Harmony in our hearts means respect.”</p> <p>President Ambar followed with an expression of 91ֱ��’s enthusiasm to be a key partner in the initiative, aligning the work that lies ahead with 91ֱ��’s historical commitment to improving access to education.</p> <p>“We believe that espousing art and education is an embrace of our common humanity, and this approach is a way to change the world,” Ambar said. “But we are under no illusion that 91ֱ�� can do this work alone. We believe that bold collaborations of like-minded institutions can achieve true, transformational progress. This partnership, for us, is about pursuing this effort to do good in the world…together.”</p> <p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/oberlin/albums/72177720304230827">Experience the Carnegie Hall concert</a> on Flickr. Learn more about the partnership on the <a href="/node/439171">United Nations Partnership page</a> at 91ֱ��.edu.</p> <p><em>Follow 91ֱ�� Conservatory (@oberlincon) and 91ֱ�� College (@oberlincollege) on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/91ֱ��College">Facebook</a> and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/oberlincollege/">Instagram</a> for dispatches from participating students.</em></p> <figure class="captioned-image"> <figcaption>91ֱ�� musicians gathered at a Pennsylvania rest stop on the return trip home from Carnegie Hall. (photo by Kushagra Kar/91ֱ�� Review)</figcaption> </figure> <hr style="margin: 1.25rem 0;"> <p><em>The <strong>United Nations Institute for Training and Research</strong> (UNITAR) was established in 1963 pursuant to a United Nations General Assembly resolution. UNITAR is governed by a Board of Trustees with the mission to develop the individual, institutional, and organizational capacities of countries and other United Nations stakeholders through high-quality learning resources. Rooted in the goal of enhancing global decision-making and supporting country-level political and social action, UNITAR provides innovative learning resources to individuals, organizations, and institutions, with established programs offering advanced degrees in international leadership, diplomacy, law, and policy, as well as science and business. The partnership marks UNITAR’s first major program in arts and cultural education.</em></p> <p><em>The <strong>Global Foundation for the Performing Arts</strong> (GFPA) is an international foundation with a mission to provide valuable artistic education and professional support in service of those in the performing arts while fostering a global community and enabling cross-cultural exchange. A longstanding partner of UNITAR, the foundation is dedicated to supporting the performing arts, particularly in the realms of classical music and ballet through education, mentorship, and collaboration. GFPA is centered in the belief that young artists deserve professional guidance from experienced musicians in order to remain true to their artistic practice. The foundation provides advice to artists, competitions, and institutions dedicated to rewarding the world’s future performers. It has been a long-term partner of UNITAR.</em></p> <p><em><strong> 91ֱ��</strong> uniquely combines a world-class conservatory of music with a top-ranking liberal arts college. An independent institution in Ohio, 91ֱ�� was the first college to grant undergraduate degrees to women in a coeducational program and, historically, has been a leader in the education of African American students. The 91ֱ�� community is known for its commitment to social and global engagement and diversity. The Conservatory of Music provides flexible programs to prepare students as professional musicians and teachers of music. Deeply committed to academic excellence, 91ֱ��’s College of Arts and Sciences offers a rich and balanced curriculum in the humanities, social sciences, mathematics, and natural sciences. Recognizing that diversity broadens perspectives, 91ֱ�� is dedicated to recruiting a culturally, economically, geographically, and racially diverse group of students. 91ֱ�� aims to prepare graduates with the knowledge, skills, and perspectives essential to confront complex issues and to create change and value in the world.</em></p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-subhead field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">December 2 concert signals launch of partnership to improve worldwide access to education and arts training.</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="2022-12-03T12:00:00Z">Sat, 12/03/2022 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Office of Communications</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=3859">United Nations Partnership</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2596">Conservatory Tours</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2370">Ensembles & Orchestras</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-faculty field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/raphael-jimenez" hreflang="und">Raphael Jiménez</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/carmen-twillie-ambar" hreflang="und">Carmen Twillie Ambar</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">Nearly 200 91ֱ�� students took part in a private gala performance for the General Assembly of the United Nations at Carnegie Hall.</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pull-images field--type-list-string field--label-hidden field__item">Yes</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-cte-images field--type-list-string field--label-hidden field__item">Yes (Individual Images)</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">Chris Lee</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-flex-content field--type-entity-reference-revisions field--label-hidden vertical-spacing--basic field__items"> <div class="field__item"> <div id="obj-37282" class="paragraph paragraph--type--para-el-photo-gallery paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="section--photo-gallery o-flex--photo-gallery"> <p class="header-tag">Photo Gallery</p> <div class="o-flex--photo-gallery__grid"> <div class="o-flex--photo-gallery--overlay"> <div class="o-flex--photo-gallery--overlay__content"> <h2> Scenes from 91ֱ��'s U.N. performance at Carnegie Hall </h2> <div class="o-flex--photo-gallery--overlay__desc"> <p>The 91ֱ�� Orchestra and conservatory choral ensembles—some 200 musicians in all—joined forces for a performance before the United Nations General Assembly at New York City's Carnegie Hall on December 2, 2022. (photos by Chris Lee and Clarissa Antoine)</p> </div> <button class="btn js-modal" data-modal-prefix-class="fullscreen" data-modal-content-id="37282" data-modal-background-click="disabled"> View photo gallery </button> </div> </div> <div class="o-flex--photo-gallery__grid__img-wrapper"> </div> <div class="o-flex--photo-gallery__grid__img-wrapper"> </div> <div class="o-flex--photo-gallery__grid__img-wrapper"> </div> <div class="o-flex--photo-gallery__grid__img-wrapper"> </div> </div> </div> <div id="37282" class="photo-gallery-wrapper"> <div class="photo-gallery"> <div class="photo-gallery__slides"> <div class="photo-gallery__slide__wrapper"> <figure class="photo-gallery__slide"> <div class="photo-gallery__slide__image"> </div> <figcaption> <span class="figure__credit">Photo credit: Clarissa Antoine</span> </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div class="photo-gallery__slide__wrapper"> <figure class="photo-gallery__slide"> <div class="photo-gallery__slide__image"> </div> <figcaption> <span class="figure__credit">Photo credit: Clarissa Antoine</span> </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div class="photo-gallery__slide__wrapper"> <figure class="photo-gallery__slide"> <div class="photo-gallery__slide__image"> </div> <figcaption> <span class="figure__credit">Photo credit: Chris Lee</span> </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div class="photo-gallery__slide__wrapper"> <figure class="photo-gallery__slide"> <div class="photo-gallery__slide__image"> </div> <figcaption> <span class="figure__credit">Photo credit: Chris Lee</span> </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div class="photo-gallery__slide__wrapper"> <figure class="photo-gallery__slide"> <div class="photo-gallery__slide__image"> </div> <figcaption> <span class="figure__credit">Photo credit: Chris Lee</span> </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div class="photo-gallery__slide__wrapper"> <figure class="photo-gallery__slide"> <div class="photo-gallery__slide__image"> </div> <figcaption> <span class="figure__credit">Photo credit: Chris Lee</span> </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div class="photo-gallery__slide__wrapper"> <figure class="photo-gallery__slide"> <div class="photo-gallery__slide__image"> </div> <figcaption> <span class="figure__credit">Photo credit: Chris Lee</span> </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div class="photo-gallery__slide__wrapper"> <figure class="photo-gallery__slide"> <div class="photo-gallery__slide__image"> </div> <figcaption> <span class="figure__credit">Photo credit: Chris Lee</span> </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div class="photo-gallery__slide__wrapper"> <figure class="photo-gallery__slide"> <div class="photo-gallery__slide__image"> </div> <figcaption> <span class="figure__credit">Photo credit: Chris Lee</span> </figcaption> </figure> </div> </div> <div class="photo-gallery__navbar"> <figure class="photo-gallery__navbar__item"> </figure> <figure class="photo-gallery__navbar__item"> </figure> <figure class="photo-gallery__navbar__item"> </figure> <figure class="photo-gallery__navbar__item"> </figure> <figure class="photo-gallery__navbar__item"> </figure> <figure class="photo-gallery__navbar__item"> </figure> <figure class="photo-gallery__navbar__item"> </figure> <figure class="photo-gallery__navbar__item"> </figure> <figure class="photo-gallery__navbar__item"> </figure> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </article> <article> <h1>91ֱ�� Opera Theater Presents World Premiere of "The Puppy Episode" Feb. 16-17</h1> <p>eburnett — Mon, 13 Dec 2021 21:34:54 +0000</p> <span>91ֱ�� Opera Theater Presents World Premiere of "The Puppy Episode" Feb. 16-17</span> <span><span>eburnett</span></span> <span><time datetime="2021-12-13T16:34:54-05:00" title="Monday, December 13, 2021 - 16:34">Mon, 12/13/2021 - 16:34</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Christopher Mirto remembers “The Puppy Episode” as one of the funniest TV moments of his life.</p> <p>Actually a two-part episode of Ellen DeGeneres’ eponymous sitcom that aired in spring 1997, “The Puppy Episode” marked—in hilarious fashion—the long-rumored coming out of the program’s central character as well as the comedian who portrayed her.</p> <p>Now a new opera inspired by the watershed moment will receive its world premiere at 91ֱ��: <em>The Puppy Episode</em>, composed by Matthew Recio with libretto by Royce Vavrek, will be presented in two performances Wednesday and Thursday, February <a href="https://calendar.oberlin.edu/event/opera_theater_the_puppy_episode">16</a> and <a href="https://calendar.oberlin.edu/event/opera_theater_the_puppy_episode_3432">17</a>, in Warner Concert Hall. Each performance begins at 7:30 p.m. and the performance on February 16 will be streamed live.</p> <p>The production will then be taken on the road—with its student cast and instrumentalists intact—for a professional debut with Opera Columbus in May 2022. It will be presented as part of the company’s “40 Days of Opera” series.</p> <figure class="captioned-image obj-right"> <figcaption>Christopher Mirto</figcaption> </figure> <p>Code named “The Puppy Episode” by <em>Ellen</em> producers to keep the surprise under wraps, the landmark episode was preceded by a content advisory, although its content would be considered innocuous by today’s standards. The initial broadcast was followed by a passionate and divisive reaction from many corners of society, including criticism toward the series and its star for being “too gay.” It was widely hailed by many in the LGBTQ community.</p> <p>“I was in middle school when the episode came out,” says Mirto, an assistant professor of opera theater at 91ֱ�� and director of the production. “For a young kid in Oklahoma who wasn’t openly gay yet, it was a moving experience to see that episode. But it was such a scandal to see it happening!”</p> <p>Similar to the sitcom, the opera revolves around the experiences of multiple characters recognizing their sexual identities at different stages of their lives: They include a single adult female, a high school boy, a middle-aged woman in a heterosexual marriage, and an elderly woman in a nursing home.</p> <p>The cast of six singers will be complemented by an eight-member ensemble directed by Assistant Professor of Conducting Tiffany Chang ’09.</p> <figure class="captioned-image obj-right"> <figcaption>Matthew Recio</figcaption> </figure> <p>“It’s a period piece that, fortunately, most kids don’t have to live through anymore,” says Mirto. “It’s really a beautiful story, and it’s a cool piece to be able to do in this community, and to have kids see relatable, real people on stage. I’m so glad they can comfortably be who they are today, but it was so much harder in the ’90s.”</p> <p>Based in Chicago, Matthew Recio has served as the Vanguard Emerging Opera Composer for Chicago Opera Theater—where <em>The Puppy Episode</em> initially was workshopped—and as composer in residence at the Luzerne Music Center in New York. He was the first commissioned composer for the Cincinnati Song Initiative’s 2018-19 season, a winner of the Cincinnati Camerata Competition, and a two-time winner of the NOTUS Composition Competition at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music, where he completed a doctorate in composition.</p> <figure class="captioned-image obj-right"> <figcaption>Royce Vavrek</figcaption> </figure> <p>No stranger to the stages of 91ֱ��, Canadian-born librettist Royce Vavrek partnered with composer Du Yun ’01 on the Pulitzer Prize-winning opera <em>Angel’s Bone</em>, which was staged at 91ֱ�� in 2018. A frequent collaborator with Missy Mazzoli, he provided the libretto for her opera <em>Proving Up</em>, which was presented at 91ֱ�� in 2019. One year later, he returned for the world premiere of <em>The Wild Beast of the Bungalow</em>, a collaboration with composer Rachel Peters. Over the past four-plus years, Vavrek has made numerous trips to campus to work with students in pre-production workshops and attend their performances.</p> <p>Admission to 91ֱ�� Opera Theater's production of <em>The Puppy Episode</em> is free. Reservations are required and can be made through 91ֱ��'s Central Ticketing Service website.</p> <p>A talkback session, featuring Mirto, Recio, Vavrek, Chang, and 91ֱ�� musicology professor James O'Leary, will take place at the conclusion of both performances.</p> <p> </p> <p> </p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-subhead field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Based on groundbreaking episode of the 1990s sitcom "Ellen," 91ֱ�� production to partner with professional opera company in spring.</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2021-12-20T12:00:00Z">Mon, 12/20/2021 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Erich Burnett</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2356">Conservatory</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2402">Winter Term</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2596">Conservatory Tours</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=35596">Voice</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=32971">Opera Theater</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-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">courtesy Opera Columbus</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>91ֱ�� Conservatory Collaborates on “Resonate” Commissioning Project</h1> <p>eburnett — Thu, 14 Oct 2021 13:08:18 +0000</p> <span>91ֱ�� Conservatory Collaborates on “Resonate” Commissioning Project</span> <span><span>eburnett</span></span> <span><time datetime="2021-10-14T09:08:18-04:00" title="Thursday, October 14, 2021 - 09:08">Thu, 10/14/2021 - 09:08</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>91ֱ�� Conservatory has joined a consortium led by the <a href="https://detroitchamberwinds.org/">Detroit Chamber Winds & Strings</a> (DCWS) and Detroit’s <a href="https://thecarrcenter.org/">Carr Center</a> to embark on a multi-year artistic partnership that will explore the African diaspora through the lens of contemporary American chamber music.</p> <p>In addition to 91ֱ��, the consortium aligns with Bowling Green State University College of Musical Arts, University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre and Dance, Michigan State University College of Music, and Western Michigan University School of Music.</p> <p>Titled <a href="https://detroitchamberwinds.org/programs/">Resonate</a>, the project will result in performances of new works by seven composers at each participating institution and culminates in a symposium in April 2023.</p> <p>91ֱ��’s connection to the project is Professor <a href="/node/6651">Timothy Weiss</a>, director of the conservatory’s Contemporary Music Ensemble and a longtime artistic partner with and conductor for DCWS.</p> <p>Weiss was tapped last spring to participate on a panel of musicians from each of the collaborating institutions to select composers for commissions. The committee selected seven American composers who vary in age—from mid-20s to early 80s—and professional accomplishment.</p> <p>“It was important for us to achieve a balanced field of composers, from the unknown to the long-established,” Weiss says. “And to create seven new works is a significant contribution to the contemporary chamber music art form.”</p> <p>The commissioned pieces will utilize between three and nine performers in instrumentation drawn from woodwinds, brass, strings, percussion, and piano.</p> <p>Participating Resonate composers and the type of composition they have been commissioned to create include:</p> <p><a href="https://www.courtneybryan.com/">Courtney Bryan</a>, work for piano and string ensemble</p> <p><a href="/michael-frazier">Michael Frazier</a>, piece for flute, clarinet, piano, percussion, and string quartet</p> <p><a href="https://www.adolphushailstork.com/">Adolphus Hailstork</a>, composition for trombone and string quintet/orchestra</p> <p><a href="https://www.nathaliejoachim.com/">Nathalie Joachim</a>, reed quintet</p> <p><a href="https://music.columbia.edu/bios/george-e-lewis">George Lewis</a>, brass quintet </p> <p><a href="https://patricerushen.com/">Patrice Rushen</a>, jazz ensemble work for three saxophones, trumpet, trombone, piano, drums, bass, and guitar</p> <p><a href="http://www.pamelaz.com/">Pamela Z</a>, woodwind quintet</p> <figure class="captioned-image obj-right"> <figcaption>Courtney Bryan</figcaption> </figure> <p>Among the composers are three with 91ֱ�� connections: 2004 conservatory alumna Courtney Bryan, newly appointed composition faculty member Michael Frazier, and former Visiting Professor of Composition George Lewis.</p> <p>The composers represent a wide range of musical voices and aesthetic sensibilities that include a more mid-century American style, some that bend distinctly modernist, one anchored in jazz, and others whose work combines and blurs styles and genres.</p> <p>Each of the commissioned works will be performed at every collaborating institution over the course of the next two years—a commitment that will generate a substantial performance history for each piece. All of them will then be performed at a culminating symposium—bringing together all seven composers with ensembles from each organization—in April 2023 at the Carr Center, the Detroit institution dedicated to promoting African and African American cultural experiences.</p> <figure class="captioned-image obj-right"> <figcaption>Michael Frazier</figcaption> </figure> <p>For more than 25 years, Weiss has brought new music to 91ֱ��’s stages and inspired young musicians to champion works of living composers. Scores of 91ֱ�� alumni careers have been generated by the fertile training ground of Weiss’ Contemporary Music Ensemble.</p> <p>During the past year, Weiss’ work at 91ֱ�� has been focused on amplifying the voices of underrepresented composers and expanding the repertoire performed within the conservatory’s large ensembles program, shaped in part by the conservatory’s <a href="/dean-of-the-conservatory/racial-equity-diversity-action-plan">Racial Equity and Diversity Action Plan</a>.</p> <p>This work squares beautifully with the purpose of Resonate, and Weiss is enthusiastic about 91ֱ��'s participation.</p> <p>“This will be a fabulous experience for our students to perform seven new works from diverse composers,” he says. “The project is a perfect fit for 91ֱ��—from how we celebrate the creation of new music to how our students are animated by the school’s small ensemble culture.”</p> <p>Frazier’s piece <em>Black Portraits</em> will be the first of the commissioned works to be performed on 91ֱ��’s campus. It is slated for the Contemporary Music Ensemble concert on Friday, January 12, 2022 on the Fridays at Finney series.</p> <figure class="captioned-image obj-right"> <figcaption>George Lewis</figcaption> </figure> <p>Weiss anticipates additional opportunities for 91ֱ�� student involvement in conjunction with the April 2023 symposium in Detroit.</p> <p>“It will be a great opportunity for our students to engage in community outreach through music and interact with the composers and performers from the other institutions,” he says.</p> <p>DCWS President Maury Okun and Carr Center President Oliver Ragsdale note the strength of the collaboration in bringing this new music to life.</p> <p>“Detroit Chamber Winds & Strings and the Carr Center have adventuresome audiences that approach new works with open minds and kind hearts,” they said in a joint statement about the project. “By collaborating with these great institutions throughout Michigan and Ohio, we can extend that spirit of artistic generosity and significantly leverage the impact of these wonderful composers.”</p> <hr> <p><em>Learn more about 91ֱ��'s commitment in the <a href="/about-oberlin/presidential-initiative-racial-equity-and-diversity">Presidential Initiative on Racial Equity and Diversity</a> and the <a href="/dean-of-the-conservatory/racial-equity-diversity-action-plan">conservatory’s Racial Equity and Diversity Action Plan</a>.</em></p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-subhead field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Seven-way partnership engages seven composers to create works that explore the African diaspora, with all works to be performed in 91ֱ�� and Detroit.</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2021-10-14T12:00:00Z">Thu, 10/14/2021 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Cathy Partlow Strauss ’84</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2356">Conservatory</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2370">Ensembles & Orchestras</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2596">Conservatory Tours</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2974">Conservatory Alumni</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-programs field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=33331">Composition</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=34896">Jazz Composition</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-faculty field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/timothy-weiss" hreflang="und">Timothy Weiss</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/michael-frazier" hreflang="und">Michael Frazier</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/conservatory/divisions/conducting-and-ensembles" hreflang="und">Conducting and Ensembles</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/conservatory/divisions/contemporary-music" hreflang="und">Contemporary Music</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">Timothy Weiss leads the 91ֱ�� Contemporary Music Ensemble in a 2016 performance at Ganz Hall in Chicago.</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Yevhen Gulenko</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>A Singer Gets Philosophical</h1> <p>eburnett — Thu, 21 Jan 2021 18:27:11 +0000</p> <span>A Singer Gets Philosophical</span> <span><span>eburnett</span></span> <span><time datetime="2021-01-21T13:27:11-05:00" title="Thursday, January 21, 2021 - 13:27">Thu, 01/21/2021 - 13:27</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Perri di Christina was a fifth-year double-degree student in 2015 when she learned that the 91ֱ�� College Choir would be performing Aaron Copland’s <em>In the Beginning</em> that fall. She leapt at the opportunity to audition for conductor <a href="/node/6646">Gregory Ristow ’01 </a>to sing the work’s solo for mezzo-soprano. And she won the job!</p> <p>“It was a difficult piece and entirely a cappella,“ she says today, “but Greg gave me fantastic tips and tricks to navigate its complex musical structure.”</p> <p>Now halfway through her master’s degree at the Mannes School of Music in New York City, di Christina still holds 91ֱ�� near to her heart. And when Ristow chose Stravinsky’s <em>Les Noces</em> for the fall 2018 concert cycle, he invited di Christina to return as the mezzo soloist. She’ll be close to home when the 91ֱ�� College Choir takes the piece on the road to Carnegie Hall on January 19.</p> <p></p> <p>In preparation for a preview performance of <em>Les Noces</em> in 91ֱ�� followed by her Carnegie debut, di Christina spent a week on campus before the holidays rehearsing with the choir—an experience she calls a “nostalgia fest.”</p> <p>“I ate a bagel at The Local [Coffee and Tea] every morning and had dinner at Kim’s [Grocery & Carryout Restaurant] every night.” The young singer is honored to be part of the project, and she’s thrilled by all that she’s learned from the process so far. “Opportunities like this—coming back to your alma mater and debuting at Carnegie Hall—do not come around often, and I thank my lucky stars that I get to work with all of these incredibly talented 91ֱ�� musicians throughout the process,” she says.</p> <p><em>Les Noces</em> involves a number of elements: four pianos, a full percussion section, a chorus, and four vocal soloists. Its thick musical textures and complex meter are hurdles that all members of the ensemble must overcome, but di Christina has additionally embraced the technical workout the piece provides. “The mezzo solo sits in a tricky place in my voice,” she explains. “The most rewarding part of the process so far has been feeling the piece gradually fall into my body. The intense work I’ve put into <em>Les Noces</em> has informed my technique in other repertoire tremendously.” She’s also enjoyed cultivating the Russian folk style in her voice, which Stravinsky likely would have appreciated.</p> <p></p> <p>Thoughts of di Christina’s 91ֱ�� days fill her with fond memories. “91ֱ�� gave me so much while I was a student,” says the former philosophy and vocal performance major. “Obviously, the whole experience of preparing and performing my first operatic role as Don Ramiro in Mozart’s opera <em>La finta giardiniera</em> is unforgettable. It was my first real role, my first taste of Mozart—one of my favorite composers to sing—and my chance to share the stage with some terrific rabbit costumes!” she says, a reference to one of many endearing staging devices employed by opera theater director <a href="/node/6931">Jonathon Field</a>.</p> <p>“I loved my philosophy of music class that was joint-taught by [91ֱ�� College philosophy professor] <a href="/node/6126">Katherine Thomson-Jones</a> and <a href="/node/6916">Jamie O’Leary</a>!” she exclaims, noting that she recently dug up the syllabus for that class online in order to jog her memory of a particular philosopher and consequently ended up re-reading half of the articles listed there. “That class married my philosophy and performance degrees beautifully.”</p> <p>Head to oberlin.edu/oberlin-in-nyc for complete details about the 91ֱ�� College Choir’s January 19 appearance at Carnegie Hall, part of 91ֱ�� Conservatory's 2019 New York City tour, featuring the 91ֱ�� Orchestra, the 91ֱ�� College Choir, and the 91ֱ�� Sonny Rollins Jazz Ensemble.</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2019-01-14T12:00:00Z">Mon, 01/14/2019 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Conservatory Communications Staff</div> <div class="text-content field field--name-field-intro-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Double-degree mezzo-soprano Perri di Christina '16 looks back on her 91ֱ�� years and ahead to a special reunion.</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=2360">After 91ֱ��</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2357">Double Degree Program</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2370">Ensembles & Orchestras</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2974">Conservatory Alumni</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2596">Conservatory Tours</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=35596">Voice</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=32971">Opera Theater</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25406">Philosophy</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="/gregory-ristow" hreflang="und">Gregory Ristow ’01</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/katherine-thomson-jones" hreflang="und">Katherine Thomson-Jones</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/james-oleary" hreflang="und">James O’Leary</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 class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/philosophy" hreflang="und">Philosophy</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">courtesy Perri di Christina</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Tenor Nicholas Music '18 Returns to the 91ֱ�� Spotlight</h1> <p>eburnett — Thu, 21 Jan 2021 17:59:49 +0000</p> <span>Tenor Nicholas Music '18 Returns to the 91ֱ�� Spotlight</span> <span><span>eburnett</span></span> <span><time datetime="2021-01-21T12:59:49-05:00" title="Thursday, January 21, 2021 - 12:59">Thu, 01/21/2021 - 12:59</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Nicholas Music has always loved <a href="/node/71171">winter term</a> in 91ֱ��. It all began when he dove head-first into the role of Tenor II in Jeremy Beck’s <em>Review</em> during his first winter term on campus. That same month, he landed a starring role in a campus production of Jake Heggie’s one-act opera <em>Again</em>, which tells the off-screen story of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz from the iconic <em>I Love Lucy</em> show.</p> <p>“Taking on the role of Ricky was a huge challenge for me but an extremely valuable part of my education,” Music says. He spent three of the next four January terms on campus participating in 91ֱ��’s annual winter-term production or preparing a role for the spring opera. Just last year, that project was <em>Angel’s Bone</em>, the Pulitzer Prize-winning opera by Du Yun ’01.</p> <p>Although he has graduated from 91ֱ�� and is working on his master’s at the University of Michigan, Music still will be on campus this month—this time to prepare for his role as guest soloist with the 91ֱ�� College Choir in Stravinsky’s <em>Les Noces</em>. The ensemble will perform the piece on January 19 at New York’s Carnegie Hall, with a preview performance slated for 91ֱ�� on January 16.</p> <p></p> <p>“I consider it an immense privilege to take part in this series of performances culminating in my Carnegie debut!” Music says. “It is an opportunity that I have only dreamed of until now, and it’s even more of a joy that I get to join my friends and peers from 91ֱ��.”</p> <p>Singers and instrumentalists of all levels consider <em>Les Noces</em> a tricky piece of repertoire. “This is my first time singing in Russian,” Music says, "and with the pace of the piece, there is no time to second-guess diction.”</p> <p></p> <p>The young singer’s experiences in 91ֱ��—especially with Du Yun, who visited campus to work with cast members in January 2018—have fueled his ongoing passion for opera. <em>Angel’s Bone</em> had been performed only once before, so with nothing more than an audio recording of the original cast for a compass, Music found portraying the role of Boy Angel a highly creative endeavor.</p> <p>“Du Yun took time to coach everyone individually and even met with us as a cast to talk about her journey and vision,” he says. “My coaching with Du Yun was not at all what I expected. As classical singers, we aim to sing every pitch and rhythm as accurately as possible…I was surprised to hear from her that the notation in many places was meant to be more of a guide than a mandate.</p> <p>“Du Yun encouraged me to explore more freedom with the notation and to just feel how the emotional journey of the character motivates the music. I think her work with the cast was something none of us will forget.”</p> <p>Head to oberlin.edu/oberlin-in-nyc for complete details about the 91ֱ�� College Choir’s January 19 appearance at Carnegie Hall, part of 91ֱ�� Conservatory's 2019 New York City tour, featuring the 91ֱ�� Orchestra, the 91ֱ�� College Choir, and the 91ֱ�� Sonny Rollins Jazz Ensemble.</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2019-01-14T12:00:00Z">Mon, 01/14/2019 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Conservatory Communications Staff</div> <div class="text-content field field--name-field-intro-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Graduate student to sing solo role in New York City tour performance of Stavinsky's <em>Les Noce</em>s.</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=2360">After 91ֱ��</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2356">Conservatory</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2370">Ensembles & Orchestras</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2596">Conservatory Tours</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2402">Winter Term</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=35596">Voice</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=32971">Opera Theater</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-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">courtesy Nicholas Music</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Contemporary Music Ensemble Collaborates with Jazz Master Henry Threadgill</h1> <p>eburnett — Thu, 10 Jan 2019 17:18:09 +0000</p> <span>Contemporary Music Ensemble Collaborates with Jazz Master Henry Threadgill</span> <span><span>eburnett</span></span> <span><time datetime="2019-01-10T12:18:09-05:00" title="Thursday, January 10, 2019 - 12:18">Thu, 01/10/2019 - 12:18</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>When the Cleveland Museum of Art got the green light to proceed with a series of new music commissions, the first composer it sought was Pulitzer Prize-winning jazzman Henry Threadgill.</p> <p>The first collaborative partner it sought was 91ֱ�� Conservatory.</p> <p>On January 11, the first installment of the Creative Fusion Composers Series takes the stage of the museum’s Gartner Auditorium. It will serve as the world premiere of Threadgill’s <em>Pathways</em>, performed with his New York-based ensemble Zooid and the 91ֱ�� Contemporary Music Ensemble.</p> <figure class="captioned-image obj-right"> <figcaption>Threadgill working with CME and Zooid in Clonick Hall. (photo by Julie Gulenko '15)</figcaption> </figure> <p>Threadgill and Zooid spent a week in 91ֱ�� working in daily rehearsals with CME and conductor <a href="/node/6651">Timothy Weiss</a>. Their last on-campus session together is an open rehearsal in Clonick Hall that takes place at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, January 10. It is free and open to the public, with seating available for up to 40 guests.</p> <p>The concept for Threadgill’s 91ֱ�� collaboration was the brainchild of Tom Welsh, director of performing arts at the Cleveland Museum of Art. Though the museum has programmed musical performances for at least 100 years, it had not previously commissioned new works—a step Welsh considers integral to its status as a major contributor to the performing arts. That has changed with the first composer-centric Creative Fusion, the Cleveland Foundation’s 11-year-old initiative to bolster connections between artists and the community. In the coming months, six composers will collaborate with various community partners across northeast Ohio. Threadgill—and CME—are the first.</p> <p>Welsh brought Threadgill to Cleveland in May 2018, to get to know the city and ultimately to mine inspiration for his commissioned work. During that visit, they also dropped in on a rehearsal with CME, which Welsh describes as “the preeminent new music ensemble in America.” Not coincidentally, conductor Weiss was a driving force behind the Grammy Award-winning, 91ֱ��-born International Contemporary Ensemble and Eighth Blackbird.</p> <p>To Welsh, Threadgill’s Zooid and Weiss’ CME were a natural marriage.</p> <p>“They are kind of like chamber music, but kind of <em>not</em>,” he says of Zooid, whose unconventional instrumentation—a hallmark of Threadgill’s music—includes a tuba. “They’re always improvising and flexing and changing right before your very eyes. To my mind, the only organization to do this sort of collaboration anywhere is CME. My secret hope was for this to be a match made in heaven, and I think that’s turned out to be true.”</p> <p>Threadgill, who won the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 2016 for his album <em>In for a Penny, In for a Pound</em>, has been called “perhaps the most important jazz composer of his generation” by <em>The New York Times</em>. Such accolades notwithstanding, he is something of a musical chameleon whose complex yet accessible creations defy easy categorization.</p> <p>For the classical musicians of CME, Threadgill’s emphasis on improvisation presented new challenges during their week together, which consisted of rehearsals lasting up to six hours daily.</p> <p>“I use the German concept of ‘rehearse,’” Threadgill told Cleveland public radio station WCPN 90.3 FM in an interview leading up to the performance. “What we do in the United States is we have a rehearsal, and people play their music from left to right. If they did it right, they get up and they go home. The German word for ‘rehearse’ is <em>explore</em>, and that’s what we do when we rehearse.</p> <p>“The students do what they want to do,” Threadgill continues. “I offer them an entry into the music that is based on improvisation. People look at the music and bring their own interpretation to it.”</p> <p>The music in this case is <em>Pathways</em>, a reference to Lake Erie, which creates most of Ohio’s northern border. Threadgill, who frequently finds inspiration in nature (his last album was called <em>Dirt…and More Dirt</em>), was struck by man’s reliance on Lake Erie for transportation and the resurgence it has enjoyed in recent years.</p> <p>Musically, <em>Pathways</em> was conceived as a sort of overture, the first piece in a two-part series; next up is a companion work called <em>Passages</em>.</p> <p>“Henry said <em>There’s gonna be improvising…are you OK with that?</em>” recalls Lauren Anker, a fifth-year double-degree student majoring in horn performance and history. “And I’m like…<em>suuuurre</em>. So he did warn us about that!”</p> <p>Anker and her fellow CME musicians admit that Threadgill’s jazz-informed approach can be disorienting at first, but that the members of Zooid immediately recognized that a little translation would be in order.</p> <p>“Sometimes it feels like Henry is speaking a different language,” she says. “He has a really interesting interpretation of the music that’s definitely much more free than what I am accustomed to. In the improv sections, he really wants us to <em>make</em> music, and he wants us to converse with one another. It’s a kind of communication and music making that you really don’t see people thinking about, even in the contemporary world. Everybody has input, and everybody has a say in the music making, which is great.”</p> <p>For more information about the January 10 open rehearsal at 91ֱ��, visit the <a href="https://calendar.oberlin.edu/event/henry_threadgill_winter_term_project_with_the_oberlin_contemporary_music_ensemble_and_zooid">online events calendar</a>. Learn more about the January 11 performance at the museum at the <a href="https://www.clevelandart.org/events/music-and-performances/henry-threadgill">CMA website</a>.</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2019-01-10T12:00:00Z">Thu, 01/10/2019 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Erich Burnett</div> <div class="text-content field field--name-field-intro-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>World-premiere performance launches Cleveland Museum of Art’s new composers series Jan. 11; open rehearsal at 91ֱ�� set for Jan. 10.</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=2370">Ensembles & Orchestras</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2596">Conservatory Tours</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-programs field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=33331">Composition</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=34896">Jazz Composition</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=34691">Jazz Performance</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-faculty field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/timothy-weiss" hreflang="und">Timothy Weiss</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/conservatory/divisions/contemporary-music" hreflang="und">Contemporary Music</a></div> <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-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Pulitzer Board</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>91ֱ�� Ensembles to Perform in New York City in Jan. 2019</h1> <p>eburnett — Wed, 19 Dec 2018 20:39:57 +0000</p> <span>91ֱ�� Ensembles to Perform in New York City in Jan. 2019</span> <span><span>eburnett</span></span> <span><time datetime="2018-12-19T15:39:57-05:00" title="Wednesday, December 19, 2018 - 15:39">Wed, 12/19/2018 - 15:39</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Opportunities to perform on spectacular stages are key to the development of every 91ֱ�� Conservatory musician.</p> <p>For more than 160 91ֱ�� students, a singular opportunity to do just that arises early in the new year. On January 16, the 91ֱ�� Sonny Rollins Jazz Ensemble will make its New York City debut with a pair of sets at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, an intimate venue with breathtaking views of the city.</p> <figure class="captioned-image obj-right"> <figcaption>Gregory Ristow and the 91ֱ�� College Choir<br> (photo by Larry Kasperek)</figcaption> </figure> <p>Three days later, the 91ֱ�� College Choir and 91ֱ�� Orchestra take the stage at Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage for a program that includes master works by Stravinsky and Debussy.</p> <p>In between those concerts, members of the Sonny Ensemble will visit area high schools and youth arts organizations, including Jazz House Kids in New Jersey, performing for and engaging with a future generation of musicians.</p> <p>The trip presents current students with an unforgettable opportunity to shine on two of the world’s brightest stages. It also allows 91ֱ�� alumni—many of whom will likely be in attendance—to celebrate their undergraduate roots.</p> <p>The January 19 Carnegie Hall performance will be highlighted by two landmark compositions: Stravinsky’s rarely performed <em>Les Noces</em>—featuring the 91ֱ�� College Choir and four soloists, and conducted by <a href="/gregory-ristow">Gregory Ristow ’01</a>—and Debussy’s <em>La Mer</em>, performed by the 91ֱ�� Orchestra under the direction of <a href="/raphael-jimenez">Raphael Jiménez</a>. Also featured are <em>Triptych</em> by Tarik O’Regan and <em>All These Lighted Things</em> by 91ֱ�� composition professor Elizabeth Ogonek.</p> <figure class="captioned-image obj-right"> <figcaption>Raphael Jiménez and the 91ֱ�� Orchestra<br> Photo by John Seyfried</figcaption> </figure> <p>“For the orchestral part of the program, Elizabeth Ogonek's piece demonstrates the strength of our fantastic composition faculty,” says Jiménez. “Her music is energetic at times, with muscular musical gestures and jazzy rhythms, but it also shares with <em>Les Noces</em> an affinity for the suggestive and the evocative. <em>La Mer</em> is an amazing showcase for every instrument and gives all our students in the orchestra moments to shine.”</p> <p>For soprano Katherine Lerner Lee ’19, one of five soloists in <em>Les Noces</em>, the engagement is a sort of homecoming: Lee was born and raised in Brooklyn, and she expects many family members—from the Big Apple and from as far as California—to attend the Carnegie Hall performance.</p> <p>“It’s a little less scary because I’m at home in the city,” says Lee, a fifth-year double-degree student pursuing vocal performance and French. Unlike most of her fellow musicians, she has already performed at Carnegie Hall, as a violinist in her grade school orchestra. “I’ve actually been to Carnegie Hall, which makes it a little less daunting—only a little though!”</p> <figure class="captioned-image obj-right"> <figcaption>Soprano soloist Katherine Lerner Lee<br> Photo by Julie Gulenko ’15</figcaption> </figure> <p>Lee craved the opportunity to perform Stravinsky’s challenging work from the moment she first learned it was being auditioned.</p> <p>“It’s just such a completely iconic piece,” she says, noting the immense power of the percussion ensemble—including four pianos—that plays with her and her fellow soloists. “It’s one of those pieces that you inhabit, but it’s probably not a piece that you ever know by heart. It’s a lot of sound, and the biggest challenge for me is to find my own way of cutting through the noise and staying true to the integrity of your instrument and your voice. And it’s in Russian, so that’s hard to do as well!”</p> <p>For Lee, the Carnegie Hall performance is one of numerous high-profile appearances during a standout 91ֱ�� career. She was the soloist in a performance of Harrison Birtwistle’s <em>Entr'actes and Sappho Fragments</em> with the Contemporary Music Ensemble at the Cleveland Museum of Art and again for a performance of Louis Andriessen’s <em>De Staat </em>and Michael Gordon’s<em> No Anthem</em> at the Bang on a Can 30th Anniversary Marathon at New York’s Brooklyn Museum, both in the spring semester of 2017. She also sang the role of Susanna in <a href="/opera-theater">91ֱ�� Opera Theater</a>’s fall 2017 production of Mozart’s <em>Le nozze di Figaro</em>.</p> <p>“But none of those were at Carnegie Hall!” she is quick to add.</p> <p>The January concerts in New York continue a long-held tradition of immersing 91ֱ�� students in real-world performance settings all over the globe, from grand stages in major cities to makeshift stages in regions affected by natural disasters and other hardships. In January 2016, the 91ֱ�� Orchestra performed at Chicago’s Symphony Center and the Contemporary Music Ensemble held court at Ganz Hall; both concerts commemorated 91ֱ�� Conservatory’s 150th anniversary. In the past year alone, 91ֱ�� student ensembles and individual musicians have been heard in hurricane-battered regions of Texas and Puerto Rico, in Jordan, Africa, Panama, Brazil, and Japan, as well as in locales across the U.S.</p> <p>For the 91ֱ�� Orchestra, January marks its first performance in Carnegie Hall since January 2013, when Jiménez was also at the helm.</p> <p>“A tour to Carnegie Hall offers our students the opportunity to practice an important skill: the ability to quickly adjust to the characteristics of an unfamiliar concert hall,” says Jiménez. “Even when you have mastered the complexities of the repertoire, the acoustics of a new hall bring an additional challenge. The reality is that you have only a few minutes of rehearsal to make the hall sing with you.”</p> <figure class="captioned-image obj-right"> <figcaption>The 91ֱ�� Sonny Rollins Jazz Ensemble<br> Photo by Tanya Rosen-Jones ’97</figcaption> </figure> <p>The New York experience begins January 16 with the 91ֱ�� Sonny Rollins Jazz Ensemble and alumnus Sullivan Fortner ’08, an award-winning and Grammy-nominated jazz pianist. Composed of 10 conservatory jazz students selected via audition, the Sonny Ensemble was formed in 2018 through a gift to 91ֱ�� from the legendary saxophone player. Each member of the ensemble is called on by Rollins himself to serve humanity through music; in addition to regular performances, the ensemble’s members will engage in a variety of community outreach efforts.</p> <p>In New York, the Sonny Ensemble will perform two sets at Dizzy’s on January 16: one at 7:30 and another at 9:30. Fortner, a favorite performer at Dizzy’s, will perform solo works and in collaboration with the Sonny Ensemble.</p> <p>“It goes without saying that Sonny could have chosen any school in the world for this honor,” says Bobby Ferrazza, director of Jazz Studies at 91ֱ��. “This is a singular program: a student group that has the endorsement of one of the greatest figures in the history of jazz. Their mission is like a powerful medicine that starts as a little shot in your arm and soon permeates your entire being. Sonny's invocation to serve humanity through music, to be good people and to give back, will stay with all of us for the rest of our lives.”</p> <figure class="captioned-image obj-right"> <figcaption>Sullivan Fortner<br> Photo by Tanya Rosen-Jones ’97</figcaption> </figure> <p>The Sonny Ensemble will present an 91ֱ�� preview of its performance on January 14 in the conservatory's Clonick Hall. The choir and orchestra will follow with a January 16 preview in Finney Chapel. </p> <p>To learn more about 91ֱ�� Conservatory’s 2019 performances in New York City and to purchase tickets, please visit oberlin.edu/oberlin-in-nyc.</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="2018-12-19T12:00:00Z">Wed, 12/19/2018 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Erich Burnett</div> <div class="text-content field field--name-field-intro-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Sonny Rollins Jazz Ensemble debuts at Dizzy’s Club; 91ֱ�� Orchestra and 91ֱ�� College Choir pair up at Carnegie Hall.</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=2370">Ensembles & Orchestras</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=3119">91ֱ�� College Choir</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2596">Conservatory Tours</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=35596">Voice</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=34691">Jazz Performance</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-faculty field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/raphael-jimenez" hreflang="und">Raphael Jiménez</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/gregory-ristow" hreflang="und">Gregory Ristow ’01</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 class="field__item"><a href="/conservatory/divisions/jazz-studies" hreflang="und">Jazz Studies</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/conservatory/divisions/strings" hreflang="und">Strings</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/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>Discovering New Sound Worlds with Katherine Lerner Lee ’19</h1> <p>eburnett — Tue, 22 Jun 2021 16:12:12 +0000</p> <span>Discovering New Sound Worlds with Katherine Lerner Lee ’19</span> <span><span>eburnett</span></span> <span><time datetime="2021-06-22T12:12:12-04:00" title="Tuesday, June 22, 2021 - 12:12">Tue, 06/22/2021 - 12:12</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>91ֱ��’s Contemporary Music Ensemble (CME) is perhaps best known for its riveting interpretations of new instrumental works. This February, the ensemble presents a vocal-centric program that includes two large works: Sir Harrison Birtwistle’s <em>Entr'actes</em> <em>and</em> <em>Sappho Fragments</em>, featuring third-year soprano Katherine Lerner Lee, and 91ֱ�� professor <a href="/node/6621">Stephen Hartke</a>’s <em>Tituli</em>, featuring guest countertenor Joseph Schlesinger and conservatory voice majors Nicholas Music, Matthew Straw, Jedidiah Rellihan, and Joseph Klinger. 91ֱ�� Assistant Professor of Conducting <a href="/node/6646">Gregory Ristow ’01</a> will conduct the ensemble in a performance at 91ֱ��’s Warner Concert Hall on Friday, February 24, at 8 p.m., followed by an off-campus presentation on Sunday, February 26, at 2 p.m. at the Cleveland Museum of Art.</p> <p>A skillful sight reader and proficient pianist, Katherine Lerner Lee was thrilled when the opportunity arose to dive into the unfamiliar sound world of Birtwistle’s music alongside CME and conductor Ristow.</p> <p>“When you look at the score, it is quickly apparent that each musical line has its own gestures," she says. "But the more and more I listen to the piece and hear it with the ensemble, I am amazed at how perfectly everything fits together…you get these waves of sounds that are so evocative and descriptive.”</p> <p>Even a musician with an ear for contemporary music and an inclination toward sight reading must find a way to muddle through and ultimately master atonal works. “I’ve done several performances of new works by student composers here at 91ֱ��, mostly smaller song cycles, and it’s been super fun. But I’ve never attempted to learn a piece quite as challenging as this one,” she says enthusiastically.</p> <p>With a sigh of relief and a bit of satisfaction, Lee recounts the process that helped her successfully learn the five canti she will be performing with the ensemble. “It was a lot of repetition. I approached the learning process in two phases: I learned the rhythms and then the sequence of pitches, which I then combined and repeated until what resulted was a sort of melody. Once I had memorized my line, I began to look at the score to find the notes and motifs that would help me get my pitch: What is the figure? What is the predominant melody that can be a landmark? Once I internalized all of that, I began to find my place in the context of the instrumental lines.”<br> <br> “This opportunity has taught me a lot of resilience…the more you practice, the more your body is in tune with the music. And while putting the piece together with the instrumentalists has been a bit nerve-racking, there are many aspects of the piece that have gotten easier, thanks to their certain musical motifs that inform my singing.”</p> <p>“My teacher, <a href="/node/7056">Professor Lorraine Manz</a>, has been very supportive of this endeavor, and we both agree that this experience has been helpful to me technically. There are so many jumps and gestures that the singer must be committed to and in good voice for. Singing this piece isn’t so different from the experience of singing an opera aria, except that I have a bit more liberty with the sound. There are interesting combinations of vowel sounds and registration that are not the most naturally resonant in the singing voice, but I’ve learned to trust that the composer knew what he was doing and intended a particular sound. It is quite liberating!”</p> <p>For more information about the Contemporary Music Ensemble’s upcoming performance in 91ֱ��, visit 91ֱ��'s <a href="https://calendar.oberlin.edu/event/contemporary_music_ensemble_timothy_weiss_conductor_3317#.WK8ABRIrK1s">online events calendar</a>.</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-subhead field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Third-year soprano prepares for two performances with the Contemporary Music Ensemble.</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2017-01-18T12:00:00Z">Wed, 01/18/2017 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Conservatory Communications Staff</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=2596">Conservatory Tours</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=35596">Voice</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=32971">Opera Theater</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-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Julie Gulenko '15</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> </main></body></html>