Emperor's New Rules</h1> <article> <h1>Emperor's New Rules</h1> <p>eburnett — Fri, 23 Jul 2021 17:33:05 +0000</p> <span>Emperor's New Rules</span> <span><span>eburnett</span></span> <span><time datetime="2021-07-23T13:33:05-04:00" title="Friday, July 23, 2021 - 13:33">Fri, 07/23/2021 - 13:33</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>When life turned toward the surreal in 2020 and ’21, 91ֱ�� Opera Theater followed suit.</p> <p>Its first of two productions recorded during the spring semester, Henry Mollicone’s surrealist one-act opera <em>Emperor Norton</em> will be presented for four days on <a href="/node/189976">91ֱ�� Stage Left</a>, 91ֱ�� Conservatory’s virtual programming platform, beginning at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 29.</p> <p>It will be broadcast as a <a href="https://calendar.oberlin.edu/event/oberlin_stage_left_opera_double_feature">double feature</a> with Gian Carlo Menotti’s one-act comedy <em>Amelia al Ballo </em>(“Amelia Goes to the Ball”), also filmed in the spring. Both operas will be available for viewing on demand through August 2.</p> <p>After a fall semester spent recording operas in unconventional settings on campus, <em>Emperor Norton</em> (pictured above) drops its cast and crew back on its home stage in Hall Auditorium, with the spring semester’s social distancing measures still in place. Instead of performing for an audience of hundreds, the masked, four-person cast lip-synched the English song text for a video camera. Each singer’s vocal tracks and the instrumental score—featuring piano, violin, and cello—were recorded in studios across campus, led by vocal coach and accompanist <a href="/node/6941">Daniel Michalak</a>.</p> <p><em>Emperor Norton</em>’s action revolves around two actors who find themselves backstage at a theatrical production, where they encounter a playwright who asks them to read her script about the real-life “emperor” of the title, a fabled, eccentric champion of the people in 19th-century San Francisco. As the actors go about their work, a similarly eccentric intruder barges in—with a script of his own—and objects to the playwright’s material, claiming that he knows the true story of Emperor Norton.</p> <p>“With Henry, there’s always a sort of artistic school of magic realism,” director Jonathon Field says of Mollicone, who composed the 1981 opera with librettist John S. Bowman. “There’s a fantastical atmosphere about his pieces, and they sort of come and go back and forth in time. There are always fanciful characters rooted in some degree of reality, and with really accessible melodic lines.”</p> <figure class="captioned-image obj-right"> <figcaption>Daniela Machado portrays Amelia in Menotti's comic opera. Each performer wears a mask created to mirror their actual face, sometimes with tongue-in-cheek—or tongue-on-cheek—expressions. (photo courtesy 91ֱ�� Opera Theater)</figcaption> </figure> <p>One of Menotti’s first fully formed operas, <em>Amelia al Ballo</em> (1937) delights in the challenges faced by a young socialite as she prepares for the first ball of the season. It was filmed, using the same COVID-19 precautions, on location in an 91ֱ�� apartment complex, with direction from Field and musical direction again supplied by Michalak. It is sung in Italian—with a libretto by Menotti—and presented with subtitles.</p> <p>Tentative plans are in place for a return to live opera performances—with live audiences—in the upcoming fall 2021 and spring 2022 semesters. Fall will feature Handel’s <em>Acis and Galatea</em>, followed by Cimarosa's <em>Il Matrimonio Segreto</em> in spring.</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-subhead field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">91ֱ�� Opera Theater presents a surrealist work by Mollicone and a comedy by Menotti July 29-August 2.</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="2021-07-23T12:00:00Z">Fri, 07/23/2021 - 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=3438">91ֱ�� Stage Left</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-faculty field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/daniel-michalak" hreflang="und">Daniel Michalak</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 91ֱ�� Opera Theater</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Conservatory Honors Black History Month Through Concerts and More</h1> <p>eburnett — Wed, 27 Jan 2021 18:48:01 +0000</p> <span>Conservatory Honors Black History Month Through Concerts and More</span> <span><span>eburnett</span></span> <span><time datetime="2021-01-27T13:48:01-05:00" title="Wednesday, January 27, 2021 - 13:48">Wed, 01/27/2021 - 13:48</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>91ֱ��’s emphasis on underrepresented composers is a year-round, every-year effort. The conservatory proudly programs the music of traditionally recognized Western masters alongside selections representing a broad spectrum of composers who are Black, women, or historically marginalized in any number of other ways.</p> <p>In 2020, 91ֱ��’s longstanding commitment to equity and diversity was articulated in the <a href="/about-oberlin/presidential-initiative-racial-equity-and-diversity">Presidential Initiative on Racial Equity and Diversity</a> as well as <a href="/dean-of-the-conservatory/racial-equity-diversity-action-plan">91ֱ�� Conservatory’s Racial Equity and Diversity Action Plan</a>, which grew out of the initiative led by 91ֱ�� President Carmen Twillie Ambar.</p> <p>In February 2021, the conservatory will honor <a href="/events/series/black-history-month">Black History Month</a> with a series of events that underscore Black contributions to classical music and that highlight the work of accomplished, often overlooked Black composers.</p> <p>The series, "A Celebration of Black Artistry," will be broadcast on <a href="/node/189976">91ֱ�� Stage Left</a>, the conservatory’s virtual programming platform.</p> <p>It all begins Thursday, February 4, with an <a href="https://calendar.oberlin.edu/event/a_celebration_of_black_artistry_an_introduction_by_chris_jenkins">overview of the month’s offerings</a> and a poignant look back on the numerous 91ֱ�� Stage Left programs that have addressed issues of race in music. Airing at 7:30 p.m., the program will be hosted by <a href="/node/30061">Chris Jenkins</a>, 91ֱ�� Conservatory's associate dean for academic support and liaison to the <a href="/node/4486">Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion</a>.</p> <p>It will be followed on Saturday, February 6, by the symposium “<a href="/node/316866">Decentering the Canon in the Conservatory,</a>” through which four guest speakers will discuss the historical marginalization of music that falls outside the lines of the traditionally defined canon. Also moderated by Jenkins, the symposium will be <a href="https://calendar.oberlin.edu/event/symposium_decentering_the_canon_in_the_conservatory">broadcast live at 1:30 p.m</a> and will include brief presentations by each guest followed by a Q&A period.</p> <p>The month continues with four celebrations of music by Black composers, with each concert boasting unmistakable 91ֱ�� ties.</p> <figure class="captioned-image obj-right"> <figcaption>photo by Tanya Rosen-Jones '97</figcaption> </figure> <p>“One of my favorite aspects of this year’s concert programming for Black History Month is that it showcases the diversity of styles among African American composers,” says Jenkins. He notes the stark range in time periods represented—from the Chevalier de Saint-Georges, the child of a wealthy Frenchman and a Senegalese slave, who became a noted Parisian composer, violinist, and competitive fencer; to modern artists including flutist-composers Valerie Coleman—Performance Today's 2020 Classical Woman of the Year—and Allison Loggins-Hull of Flutronix.</p> <p>“There may be some aesthetic commonalities,” says Jenkins, “but there is no one style uniform to Black composers, and the range of our programming demonstrates the heterogeneity of this group.”</p> <p>Dates and details for each concert are as follows:</p> <p><a href="https://calendar.oberlin.edu/event/a_celebration_of_black_artistry_faculty_recital"><strong>Thursday, February 11 (7:30 p.m.):</strong></a><br> Presented live from Warner Concert Hall, this program joins two works by William Grant Still—an 91ֱ�� student more than 100 years ago who went on to become known as “The Dean of African American Composers”—with one by conservatory horn professor <a href="/node/187746">Jeff Scott</a>.</p> <p>Violin professor <a href="/node/44016">Sibbi Bernhardsson</a> teams up with piano professor <a href="/node/6786">Haewon Song</a> on Still’s <em>Pastorela</em>; Song joins violin professor <a href="/node/6956">David Bowlin</a> for Still’s <em>Blues from Lenox Avenue</em>; and Bernhardsson and piano professor <a href="/node/6776">Robert Shannon</a> perform Scott’s <em>Transparencia</em>.</p> <p><a href="https://calendar.oberlin.edu/event/a_celebration_of_black_artistry_faculty_recital_hosted_by_katherine_jolly"><strong>Thursday, February 18 (7:30 p.m.):</strong></a><br> Associate Professor of Voice <a href="/node/130681">Katherine Jolly</a> hosts this concert of solo and chamber music repertoire.</p> <p>Flute professor <a href="/node/7131">Alexa Still</a> will perform Valerie Coleman's <em>Danza de la Mariposa</em> and Allison Loggins-Hull's <em>Homeland</em>; viola professors <a href="/node/6996">Peter Slowik</a> and <a href="/node/6971">Kirsten Docter</a> team up with alumni violists Troy Stephenson ’20 and Marlea Simpson ’16 for <em>A Canadian Boat Song</em> by Maurice Arnold; Alexa Still, bassoon professor <a href="/node/46376">Drew Pattison</a>, and piano professor <a href="/node/6756">James Howsmon</a> present <em>Rêverie Champêtre</em> by Edmond Dédé; organ professor <a href="/node/128861">Christa Rakich</a> performs William Grant Still's <em>Elegy for Organ</em>; and Alexa Still and James Howsmon conclude with William Grant Still's <em>Summerland</em> and <em>Quit Dat Fool’nish</em>.</p> <p><a href="https://calendar.oberlin.edu/event/a_celebration_of_black_artistry_faculty_recital_hosted_by_jeff_scott"><strong>Thursday, February 25 (7:30 p.m.):</strong></a><br> Jeff Scott returns to host this performance that includes Abel Meeropol’s <em>Strange Fruit</em> (performed by Scott on horn), Ulysses Kay’s Sonata for Bassoon and Piano (performed by bassoon professor Pattison and piano professor Howsmon), Duke Ellington’s <em>Cotton Club Stomp </em>(featuring 91ֱ��’s ensemble in residence, the <a href="/node/304811">Verona Quartet</a>), and Scott’s own <em>Sacred Women</em>, performed by the 91ֱ�� Orchestra, under the direction of <a href="/node/6636">Raphael Jiménez</a>.</p> <p><a href="https://calendar.oberlin.edu/event/a_celebration_of_black_artistry_faculty_recital_877"><strong>Sunday, February 28 (4:30 p.m.):</strong></a><br> The series concludes with a second livestreamed recital from Warner Concert Hall. Violin professor <a href="/node/182896">Francesca dePasquale</a> and Howsmon will perform Still's Suite for Violin and Piano; faculty cellist <a href="/node/6946">Darrett Adkins</a> presents excerpts of solo works by Jeffrey Mumford; and Bowlin and faculty harpsichordist <a href="/node/6661">Mark Edwards</a> perform Sonata for Violin and Harpsichord in G Minor by Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges.</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="2021-01-27T12:00:00Z">Wed, 01/27/2021 - 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="text-content field field--name-field-intro-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Series begins Feb. 4, continues throughout the month on 91ֱ�� Stage Left.</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=3438">91ֱ�� Stage Left</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2495">Black History Month</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/conservatory/divisions/winds-brass-and-percussion" hreflang="und">Winds, Brass, and Percussion</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/conservatory/divisions/strings" hreflang="und">Strings</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/conservatory/divisions/keyboard-studies" hreflang="und">Keyboard Studies</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/conservatory/divisions/musicology" hreflang="und">Musicology</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/conservatory/divisions/historical-performance" hreflang="und">Historical Performance</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>Ed Helms ’96 and Chris Eldridge ’04 Team Up for 'Red Herring Conversations' Jan. 29</h1> <p>eburnett — Mon, 25 Jan 2021 22:33:05 +0000</p> <span>Ed Helms ’96 and Chris Eldridge ’04 Team Up for 'Red Herring Conversations' Jan. 29</span> <span><span>eburnett</span></span> <span><time datetime="2021-01-25T17:33:05-05:00" title="Monday, January 25, 2021 - 17:33">Mon, 01/25/2021 - 17:33</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>91ֱ�� graduates Ed Helms and <a href="/node/312346">Chris Eldridge</a> make no secret of their passion for American roots music. Now the old friends will share their fascination with the rest of us in a January 29 program on <a href="/conservatory/stage-left">91ֱ�� Stage Left</a>.</p> <p>They envision “The Red Herring Conversations” as an opportunity to ruminate about their 91ֱ�� days, reflect upon their influential mentors, and share plans for <a href="/node/312406">Eldridge’s first semester</a> as Visiting Associate Professor of Contemporary American Acoustic Music.</p> <p>It was Helms, the comedic actor, banjo player, and 91ֱ�� board member, who provided pivotal support for the professorship, which begins with spring semester classes on string bands and music-making mindfulness.</p> <p>Both classes are open to students in the college and conservatory. Eldridge, the founding guitarist of the Grammy Award-winning ensemble Punch Brothers, will also teach private lessons.</p> <p>The program airs at 7:30 p.m. Friday, January 29, on 91ֱ�� Stage Left, the conservatory's virtual programming platform, which launched in April 2020.</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="2021-01-25T12:00:00Z">Mon, 01/25/2021 - 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="text-content field field--name-field-intro-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>91ֱ�� Stage Left program revolves around performers’ shared love of bluegrass and more.</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=3438">91ֱ�� Stage Left</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=3328">Musical Opportunities for College Students</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=36306">Classical Guitar</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="/arts-and-sciences/departments/musical-studies" hreflang="und">Musical Studies</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">courtesy Chris Eldridge; by 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�� Trio Welcomes Cellist Dmitry Kouzov with Virtual Recital</h1> <p>eburnett — Fri, 15 Jan 2021 15:11:53 +0000</p> <span>91ֱ�� Trio Welcomes Cellist Dmitry Kouzov with Virtual Recital</span> <span><span>eburnett</span></span> <span><time datetime="2021-01-15T10:11:53-05:00" title="Friday, January 15, 2021 - 10:11">Fri, 01/15/2021 - 10:11</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p><a href="/node/391081">The 91ֱ�� Trio</a>, a conservatory institution founded by three faculty members in 1982, will perform the first virtual performance in its 39-year history: a <a href="https://calendar.oberlin.edu/event/faculty_recital_the_oberlin_trio_5735">recital from Warner Concert Hall</a> that will be broadcast live on <a href="/conservatory/stage-left">91ֱ�� Stage Left</a> at 7:30 p.m. Friday, January 22.</p> <p>The program, which features trios by Haydn, Schumann, and Pulitzer Prize-winning 91ֱ�� alumnus George Walker, marks the 91ֱ�� Trio debut of cellist <a href="/node/183156">Dmitry Kouzov</a>, who joined the conservatory string faculty in fall 2020. He will share the stage with longtime trio members <a href="/node/6956">David Bowlin</a> on violin and <a href="/node/6786">Haewon Song</a> on piano.</p> <p>Though new to the trio and to 91ֱ��, Kouzov has performed with Bowlin for many summers at the Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival in rural Maine, where they both teach. He had his first informal run-through with his new musical partners on campus in October.</p> <p>“I have always loved playing with David, and it’s been wonderful getting to know Haewon and to work with her too,” says Kouzov, whose gentle speaking voice reveals vestiges of his native Russia. “They are amazing partners, and I look forward to working with them. It’s a pure pleasure and honor for me.”</p> <p>The trio will perform Walker’s Music for Three for Piano Trio, bookended by a pair of Haydn pieces—Trio in A Major, Hob. XV:35 and Trio in D Major, Hob. XV:16—and by Schumann’s Trio in D Minor, Op. 63. The program will be preceded by a brief introduction featuring all three members of the ensemble.</p> <p>The Haydn works are a sort of warm-up for an upcoming collaborative project for the trio: a recording of the composer’s complete piano trios—some 43 of them in all—performed by numerous ensembles. The recording is due out on the Naxos label in the near future.</p> <p>The Walker piece, meanwhile, reminds Kouzov of a past collaboration with the composer himself, through which the cellist presented the recorded premieres of two Walker cello concertos for the Albany Records series <a href="https://www.albanyrecords.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=AR&Product_Code=TROY1334&Category_Code="><em>George Walker: Great American Orchestral Works</em></a>.</p> <p>“It was a great experience,” Kouzov says of his work with Walker, which happened nearly a decade ago. “His music is very interesting to work on, and it demands a lot from its performers, in both emotional and instrumental ways. It’s quite a wonderful journey.”</p> <p>Kouzov himself has enjoyed something of a wonderful journey. A native of present-day St. Petersburg, he won first prize at the International Beethoven Competition in Czech Republic and was named a Rising Star by the New York Cello Society. Educated in St. Petersburg, Helsinki, and at the Juilliard School, he has appeared as soloist with a number of major orchestras, including the St. Petersburg Symphony, and has created numerous recordings.</p> <p>An avid recitalist in normal times, Kouzov has performed only occasionally since COVID-19 settled in across America: This fall, he appeared as a guest in a performance with 91ֱ��’s ensemble in residence, the Verona Quartet; he played the Brahms Piano Quartet with three conservatory colleagues; and he performed as the Kouzov Duo with his wife, pianist <a href="/node/314061">Yulia Fedoseeva</a>.</p> <p>Each concert was experienced solely by virtual audiences tethered to their computer screens.</p> <p>“Surprisingly, it’s not as strange as I thought it would be!” Kouzov says with a chuckle. “Of course, there is some difficulty. It’s much more pleasant to play for a real audience than for a microphone. There is an exchange of energy when performers meet an audience in the hall.</p> <p>“When we have to play only virtually, it feels more like a one-way road. But I’m very grateful that we have this opportunity. It is so, so much better than nothing!”</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="2021-01-15T12:00:00Z">Fri, 01/15/2021 - 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="text-content field field--name-field-intro-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>January 22 performance features works by Haydn, Schumann, and conservatory alum George Walker ’41.</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=3438">91ֱ�� Stage Left</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2370">Ensembles & Orchestras</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-programs field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=35116">Violin</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=35261">Cello</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=29541">Piano</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="/dmitry-kouzov" hreflang="und">Dmitry Kouzov</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/haewon-song" hreflang="und">Haewon Song</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/strings" hreflang="und">Strings</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/conservatory/divisions/keyboard-studies" hreflang="und">Keyboard Studies</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">photos by Tanya Rosen-Jones '97</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Faculty and Alumni Pianists to Give Marathon Broadcast Performance</h1> <p>eburnett — Mon, 14 Dec 2020 19:24:52 +0000</p> <span>Faculty and Alumni Pianists to Give Marathon Broadcast Performance</span> <span><span>eburnett</span></span> <span><time datetime="2020-12-14T14:24:52-05:00" title="Monday, December 14, 2020 - 14:24">Mon, 12/14/2020 - 14:24</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>This is another one of those things that wasn’t supposed to happen this way. But, as Benjamin Franklin wrote, “out of adversity comes opportunity.”</p> <p>When planning for Ludwig van Beethoven’s 250th anniversary began in early 2019, a committee was formed, events were dreamed up, repertoire was decided, artistic forces were gathered, dates and venues were reserved.</p> <p>These ambitions resulted in some remarkable concerts at 91ֱ�� Conservatory last winter, including the complete survey of Beethoven’s lieder and string quartets performed by students, among other projects and concerts. But since March 2020, many parties have had to be adjusted, moved to the online world. One of those will be the celebration of Beethoven’s 250th birthday—generally accepted as December 16—by 91ֱ��’s piano department.</p> <p>This grand finale comes just after the stroke of midnight on Wednesday, December 16, with an 91ֱ�� Stage Left broadcast of the <a href="https://calendar.oberlin.edu/event/oberlin_stage_left_beethoven_piano_sonata_fest">Beethoven Piano Sonata Marathon</a> that features conservatory faculty members and alumni in performances of 17 sonatas. The program, which runs roughly six hours, will be available for 10 days, after which it will move to 91ֱ��’s <a href="/conservatory/stage-left/on-demand">On Demand</a> portal.</p> <p>By 1795, Beethoven had established himself as a brilliant and exciting concert pianist in Viennese musical society. He wrote most of his piano works with himself in mind—a way to demonstrate his unique skill and power as a performer—at least until he succumbed to his battle with deafness. These sonatas were also very popular works that his publishers were keen to sell. As Beethoven was forced to shift away from performing, this was an excellent stream of income. During his life, the piano sonatas served equally well as laboratory experiments for compositional ideas later to be used in his quartets and symphonies. In the more than 200 years since, the sonatas as a whole have proven one of the most important collections of works in the history of music.</p> <p>Piano professor <a href="/node/6801">Peter Takács</a> serves as both performer and MC for the Piano Marathon broadcast and will give short introductions about each of the works. Of all the musical genres, the piano sonata is the only one that Beethoven worked on relatively consistently throughout his life. Between 1795 and 1822, he wrote 32 of them. This program will traverse the first through the 31st and includes most of the famous named ones—"Pathétique," "Waldstein," "Appassionata," "Les Adieux," and "Hammerklavier." The broadcast will also show portraits of Beethoven throughout his life, along with images of manuscripts and first editions of the sonatas.</p> <p>Three members of the faculty joining Takács in the celebration of this remarkable collection are <a href="/node/6786">Haewon Song</a>, fortepianist <a href="/node/6656">David Breitman</a>, and <a href="/node/314076">Scott Cuellar ‘11</a>—a former student of <a href="/node/6736">Alvin Chow</a>.</p> <p>The eight additional participating alumni span 40 years of graduates from 91ֱ��’s piano department. All have established unique careers—as solo, recording, and collaborative artists; teachers; and in roles as artistic directors of festivals and founders of concert series. Many have earned top prizes at piano competitions around the globe. They are <a href="http://www.terryeder.com/">Terry Eder Kaufman ’79</a>, <a href="https://www.spencermyer.com/">Spencer Myer ’00</a>, <a href="http://www.baltimorepianofestival.com/yury-shadrin">Yury Shadrin ’05</a>, <a href="https://www.michaelbukhman.com/">Michael Bukhman ’05</a>, <a href="http://www.baltimorepianofestival.com/tian-lu">Tian Lu ’06</a>, <a href="https://www.jinggeyan.com/">Jingge Yan ’10</a>, Dongfan Wen ’17, and Zheyu Crystal Jiang ’19.</p> <p>Takács approached each of the invited alumni after it became clear that this concert would have to be an online broadcast. The original plan was, of course, to have these pianists perform all 32 sonatas for live audiences in one marathon venture in Warner Concert Hall. They pivoted and agreed to make recordings. As each of the sonatas came in from across the country, and across the Atlantic, Takács was delighted with the variety of interpretations. “Everyone plays to their personality,” he says. “Some are emotional, some are analytical. Others are cerebral.” And, as Takács proudly notes, “this an amazing legacy of 91ֱ�� piano alumni.”</p> <p>Over the course of the last year, Takács has been asked to respond to the question, “Why are we still performing so much Beethoven?” In the May 2020 91ֱ�� Stage Left broadcast “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMNfd7coX50&feature=youtu.be">Does Beethoven Matter</a>,” he and two 91ֱ�� faculty panelists—composer Jesse Jones and historian Annemarie Sammartino—discussed Beethoven’s identity and enduring presence on concert programs and in the psyche of composers who have followed. Each panelist spoke to how Beethoven’s artistry, synonymous with 19th-century music and German culture, transcends that identity.</p> <p>“He was not a god,” says Takács. “He was a working musician who also had to pay the rent and deal with society as it was. But somehow, through all of that, there’s a kind of nobility of spirit that always comes through. There’s an elevated sense of what humanity means.”</p> <p>“There are universal themes in his music that are relevant to today—freedom and justice; implacable destiny versus the vulnerable human who is trying to exist in the face of these forces. These themes speak to the core of what it means to be human.”</p> <p>Takács reflects that 91ֱ�� was able to make the best of the situation for this sonata marathon program. “We made lemonade out of lemons, and turned adversity into triumph.” How <em>Beethoven</em>.</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2020-12-14T12:00:00Z">Mon, 12/14/2020 - 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>Beethoven's 250th birthday—December 16—begins with a midnight celebration on 91ֱ�� Stage Left.</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=3438">91ֱ�� Stage Left</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2974">Conservatory Alumni</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-programs field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=29541">Piano</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/conservatory/divisions/keyboard-studies" hreflang="und">Keyboard Studies</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Rhiannon Giddens '00 to Appear on 91ֱ�� Stage Left</h1> <p>eburnett — Mon, 07 Dec 2020 18:50:24 +0000</p> <span>Rhiannon Giddens '00 to Appear on 91ֱ�� Stage Left</span> <span><span>eburnett</span></span> <span><time datetime="2020-12-07T13:50:24-05:00" title="Monday, December 7, 2020 - 13:50">Mon, 12/07/2020 - 13:50</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p><a href="https://www.rhiannongiddens.com/">Rhiannon Giddens</a>, a 2000 91ֱ�� Conservatory alumna who has forged a remarkable—and remarkably wide-ranging—career in music, returns to her 91ֱ�� roots for a Thursday, December 10, appearance on <a href="/conservatory/stage-left">91ֱ�� Stage Left</a>.</p> <p>She will perform with collaborator Francesco Turrisi, with whom she created her most recent recording. Their set will span traditional Irish and Scottish tunes, as well as blues, bluegrass, gospel, and more. It will be preceded by a conversation between Giddens and music theory professor <a href="/node/6881">Jan Miyake</a> that touches on the performer’s career and her longstanding commitment to social justice issues.</p> <p>The interview and performance begin at 7:30 p.m.</p> <p>A former vocal student at 91ֱ��, Giddens is cofounder of the Grammy Award-winning country-blues ensemble Carolina Chocolate Drops, for which she is the lead singer, violinist, and banjo player. A native of North Carolina, she has also released a pair of acclaimed solo albums, <em>Tomorrow Is My Turn</em> and <em>Freedom Highway</em>, and has collaborated on numerous well-received projects including <em>Lost on the River: The New Basement Tapes</em>, a 2014 recording of previously unreleased music by Bob Dylan she made with Elvis Costello, Marcus Mumford, and others.</p> <p>Her most recent recording, <em>there is no Other</em> (2019), is a collaboration with Turrisi, an Italian jazz musician.</p> <p>In 2017, Giddens was <a href="/node/54761">named a MacArthur Fellow</a>, recognition she earned for her efforts in reclaiming African American contributions to folk music and other styles, and identifying new connections between modern music and sounds of the past.</p> <p>In summer 2020, Giddens became artistic director of Silkroad, the multicultural arts organization founded by Yo-Yo Ma.</p> <p>"She is gifted with a voice of rare beauty that deeply touches those who hear her, and she has the imagination to create musical ideas that are fresh and unerringly honest,” voice professor <a href="/node/7061">Marlene Rosen</a>, Giddens’ mentor at 91ֱ��, said in 2017. “She is a highly intelligent woman, but more than that, a person of substance and integrity, respected and loved by her peers."</p> <p>91ֱ�� Stage Left is 91ֱ�� Conservatory’s virtual programming platform developed for the era of COVID-19. Launched in April 2020, it has showcased performances featuring 91ֱ�� faculty, students, alumni, and more, and hosted conversations on a broad array of topics pertaining to music-making.</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2020-12-07T12:00:00Z">Mon, 12/07/2020 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Erich Burnett</div> <div class="text-content field field--name-field-intro-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>December 10 performance with Francesco Turrisi also features Giddens in conversation.</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2356">Conservatory</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2368">Alumni</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=3438">91ֱ�� Stage Left</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-programs field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=32971">Opera Theater</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=35596">Voice</a></div> </div> <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 Rhiannon Giddens</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Conservatory Launches ‘‘91ֱ�� Stage Left’’</h1> <p>eburnett — Wed, 08 Apr 2020 14:40:13 +0000</p> <span>Conservatory Launches ‘‘91ֱ�� Stage Left’’</span> <span><span>eburnett</span></span> <span><time datetime="2020-04-08T10:40:13-04:00" title="Wednesday, April 8, 2020 - 10:40">Wed, 04/08/2020 - 10:40</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Online celebrations of our conservatory's exemplary musicians are nothing new to 91ֱ��.</p> <p>Online experiences that don’t lean heavily on the hundreds of meticulously prepared concerts that happen on campus every year? That’s sort of a different story.</p> <p>But as opportunities for interpersonal connection are put on hold for now, the time is right to introduce new opportunities for <em>virtual</em> connection.</p> <p>In that spirit, we proudly flip the switch on “<a href="/conservatory/stage-left">91ֱ�� Stage Left</a>,” a new series of online programs featuring our own faculty and students, as well as fascinating guests from throughout the musical world. It'll be fun. It’ll be informative. It’ll be distinctly <em>91ֱ��</em>. And it will carry us all through the days till we share the music together—in person—again.</p> <p>“Fostering connections through the artistry of our 91ֱ�� community is central to what we do—in good times and in challenging times too,” says Dean of the Conservatory William Quillen.</p> <p>“With this great wealth of creativity come great opportunities to share it with those who can’t experience it firsthand. Through 91ֱ�� Stage Left, we are thrilled to offer exciting new points of connection, inspiration, and discovery for everyone who finds joy and comfort in the work of our creative community.”</p> <p>Beginning April 14, 91ֱ�� Stage Left will be broadcast three times each week: on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, as well as Sunday afternoons. Content can be accessed via the 91ֱ�� website at <a href="/conservatory/stage-left">www.oberlin.edu/conservatory/stage-left.</a></p> <p>Most programs will be available at the time of broadcast as well as on demand. Stay tuned to the Stage Left website and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pg/oberlincon/posts/?ref=page_internal">91ֱ�� Conservatory on Facebook</a> for additional details on upcoming performances and new additions to the schedule.</p> <p></p> <p>91ֱ�� Stage Left premieres at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 14, with an interview featuring Dean Quillen and 91ֱ�� harp professor Yolanda Kondonassis. Their discussion will cover the Grammy Award-nominated performer’s stage and recording career as well as the influence of Argentinian composer Alberto Ginastera, whose music she has performed in concert countless times. It will be followed by a pre-recorded performance of Ginastera’s virtuosic Harp Concerto featuring Kondonassis and the 91ֱ�� Orchestra, a piece that appeared on the 2016 91ֱ�� Music recording <em>Ginastera: One Hundred</em>.</p> <p>91ֱ�� Stage Left continues with the following programs:</p> <p><strong></strong></p> <p><strong>BIOGRAPHER PETER CARLIN TALKS BRIAN WILSON AND MORE<br> Thursday April 16<br> 7:30 p.m.</strong><br> 91ֱ�� Assistant Professor of Ethnomusicology Kathryn Metz leads a discussion with rock music biographer Peter Carlin, who has chronicled the lives of Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon, and others. They’ll touch on the research that informed Carlin’s biography of the Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson, as well as his forthcoming book on the genius of Warner Bros. Records.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong></strong></p> <p><strong>INTERVIEW AND SCREENING OF <em>COMPOSED</em> DOCUMENTARY<br> Sunday, April 19<br> 2 p.m.</strong><br> Join us for a screening of the documentary <em>Composed</em>, which probes the phenomenon of performance anxiety through the experience of classical musicians. The 78-minute film features musicians and mental-health experts from the U.S. and U.K., including members of major orchestras such as the New York Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, as well as 91ֱ�� professors <a href="/node/6996">Peter Slowik</a> (viola) and <a href="/node/7136">Robert Walters</a> (oboe and English horn). The screening will be preceded by an interview with 91ֱ�� flute professor <a href="/node/7131">Alexa Still</a> and the film's Rachael Lander, a versatile cellist who has performed with the London Chamber Orchestra and in a multitude of live and studio settings, including tours with prominent pop and rock artists.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong></strong></p> <p><strong>BEAT THE BLUES WITH BROADWAY!<br> Tuesday, April 21</strong><br> <strong>7:30 p.m.</strong><br> It’s a ConFab listening party! Join musicology professor <a href="/james-oleary">Jamie O’Leary</a> and opera theater professor <a href="/node/50511">Chris Mirto</a> for a (virtual) stage-ready celebration of reasons <em>it's a good day to be fabulous</em>—even in the era of COVID-19.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong><em></em></strong></p> <p><strong><em>RANDS AT OBERLIN</em> PRE-RELEASE LISTENING SESSION</strong><br> <strong>Thursday, April 23</strong><br> <strong>7:30 p.m. </strong><br> We celebrate the April 24 release of <em>Rands at 91ֱ�� </em>on the 91ֱ�� Music label. It features the recorded premiere of Bernard Rands’ Concerto for English Horn and Orchestra, which was commissioned by 91ֱ�� for Professor of Oboe and English Horn Robert Walters on the occasion of the conservatory’s 150th anniversary. Join us for a conversation between Walters and composer Rands, a longtime friend of 91ֱ��, followed by a performance of the concerto featuring Walters and the 91ֱ�� Orchestra, under the direction of <a href="/raphael-jimenez">Raphael Jiménez</a>.</p> <p> </p> <p></p> <p><strong>STORY TIME WITH THE SNEETCHES AND OBERLIN ORCHESTRA</strong><br> <strong>Sunday, April 26<br> 2 p.m. </strong><br> Perhaps the most beloved recording in the 91ֱ�� Music archives, the 2013 release of <em>Dr. Seuss’ The Sneetches</em> brings the perils of bigotry to vivid life through an inspired performance of Lorenzo Palomo’s original score by the 91ֱ�� Orchestra, featuring spirited narration from actor John de Lancie (<em>Star Trek: The Next Generation</em>, <em>Breaking Bad</em>). Join us for this family-friendly broadcast, featuring an introduction from 91ֱ��’s own Professor of Musicology <a href="/node/6921">Steven Plank</a> (and his grandkids!)—or enjoy it on demand any day at bedtime.</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2020-04-09T12:00:00Z">Thu, 04/09/2020 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Erich Burnett</div> <div class="text-content field field--name-field-intro-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Virtual programs celebrate 91ֱ��’s people and music; first episode arrives April 14.</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=3438">91ֱ�� Stage Left</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="/robert-walters" hreflang="und">Robert Walters</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/peter-slowik" hreflang="und">Peter Slowik</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/william-quillen" hreflang="und">William Quillen</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/james-oleary" hreflang="und">James O’Leary</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/steven-plank" hreflang="und">Steven Plank</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/raphael-jimenez" hreflang="und">Raphael Jiménez</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">Graphic by Ryan Sprowl</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> </main></body></html>