Keeping Creation Collaborative with Silkroad</h1> <article> <h1>Keeping Creation Collaborative with Silkroad</h1> <p>srasmuss — Wed, 10 Apr 2024 13:25:40 +0000</p> <span>Keeping Creation Collaborative with Silkroad</span> <span><span>srasmuss</span></span> <span><time datetime="2024-04-10T09:25:40-04:00" title="Wednesday, April 10, 2024 - 09:25">Wed, 04/10/2024 - 09:25</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Ask Haruka Fujii what instrument she plays, and she won’t be able to tell you exactly.</p> <p>“I play anything that makes noise,” the percussionist says. “Anything that I can make music with—including pure water, to ceramic rice bowls, to anything.”</p> <p>A specialist in contemporary music, Fujii says she focuses on working with living composers to “innovate and invent the boundary of what the percussionist can do.” Since 2010, she’s been doing just that as a member of the Silkroad Ensemble, a musical collective dedicated to cross-cultural collaboration. </p> <p>On April 26, she’ll be coming to �鶹��Ƶ for the first time, as part of the group performing Silkroad’s program “Uplifted Voices.”</p> <p>Fujii will be joined by a collection of people she calls “all my favorite ladies”: Maeve Gilchrist (harp and vocals), Karen Ouzounian (cello), Wu Man (pipa), Nathalie Joachim (flute and vocals), and Pura Fé (lap-steel slide guitar and vocals).</p> <p>The original idea was to spotlight the female and non-binary voices in the ensemble, but after some brainstorming sessions, the focus expanded beyond just the gender identities of the players. “We wanted to construct the program with not just that, but the voices that we think it's important to uplift in the world,” Fujii says.</p> <p>Most of the works were written by the ensemble members themselves and are tied to their own cultural heritage. Karen Ouzounian modeled Der Zor after a Turkish-language tune sung by the victims of the Armenian Genocide, while Pure Fé—who is Tuscarora/Taíno—embraces Indigenous musical traditions in works like Mahkjchi and Canoe Song. </p> <p>Nasim Khorassani doesn’t perform on the program, but Fujii says they included Khorassani’s piece Lullaby to amplify the Iranian composer’s perspective, “supporting the ladies in Iran who are fighting for their rights.”</p> <p>Fujii’s own contribution, <em>Tamping Song</em>, is named after a folk tune that Japanese railroad workers sang as they labored. She discovered it while researching the 13,000 Japanese immigrants who helped build the American railroad at the turn of the 20th century.</p> <p>While Fujii’s not sure if this specific song was sung in the United States, she says her piece “represents my imagination of the ambition of all these Japanese immigrants who, like me, come from Japan to the U.S. as American dream lands and try to make their own next life.”</p> <p>The piece premiered during the first tour of “Uplifted Voices” in 2023, when the ensemble visited Connecticut and Virginia. The pre-tour rehearsals were “a wonderful journey of learning about each other,” Fujii says. “Everyone bonded really well, and it's just so fun to spend time with them, making music and sharing our backgrounds together.”</p> <p>Although one of the original voices on the 2023 tour—violinist Mazz Swift—couldn’t make it this time around, the Haitian-American flutist Nathalie Joachim will be joining the group as they tour in Ohio, West Virginia, and Arkansas. Fujii says she is “really excited” to share the program with audiences again.</p> <p>“Uplifted Voices” is part of a larger thematic endeavor for Silkroad spearheaded by artistic director Rhiannon Giddens—who Fujii calls a “genius.” Giddens, who studied voice at �鶹��Ƶ and graduated in 2000, took over the Silkroad position from founder Yo-Yo Ma in 2020. </p> <p>Fujii was recently featured in Giddens’ documentary series, “My Music with Rhiannon Giddens,” for an episode set to be aired in May. She talks about Japan’s deep history with the marimba, as well as her own family ties—she and her sister Rika both play, and sometimes they perform together as a duo. The two followed in the footsteps of their mother Mutsuko, who helped pioneer Japanese marimba playing in the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s. </p> <p>“For me, the marimba is part of the Japanese voice,” Fujii says, adding that she loves sharing the instrument’s history with people outside of Japan. “I really appreciate Rhiannon giving me a chance to tell these interesting stories.”</p> <p>Now on her 14th year as a member of Silkroad, the percussionist says the spirit of collaboration within the group remains strong. She says the ensemble’s message “is really needed more than ever now—to be really curious about the people outside of your community, and to get to know how they see things and why they do things.”</p> <p>Being part of the ensemble has also changed her perception of her own music-making, from a vehicle for self-expression into something bigger. Now, she says, “I try to think of music as: how can I connect people? So that's been an amazing journey that I'm really fortunate to be a part of.”</p> <p>Concert Details</p> <p><a href="/events/artist_recital_series_silkroad_ensemble_uplifted_voices?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=paid&utm_campaign=ao_facebook_instagram_traffic_lookalike&utm_content=static_uplifted_voices&fbclid=IwAR3Gk39o7rU45yODTpI8MG7pE_8ima2Tz34Bmdu1pSL8S27oTkimDV4dQqE">Uplifted Voices: Silkroad with Special Guests Wu Man, Pura Fé, and Nathalie Joachim</a><br> 7:30 p.m.<br> April 26, 2024<br> �鶹��Ƶ College Finney Chapel<br> 90 N. Professor Street<br> �鶹��Ƶ, Ohio</p> <p>Tickets <br> $35 Public | $30 OC Staff/Faculty/Alumni, Seniors, Military | $10 Students</p> <p>Concert tickets are available <a href="/tickets/event-details?EventId=7201">online</a> and by phone at 800-371-0178. Patrons may also purchase them in person between noon and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, at �鶹��Ƶ College's Central Ticket Service, located at 67 N. Main Street, in the lobby of the Eric Baker Nord Performing Arts Complex.</p> <p>Free Artist Recital Series tickets for enrolled �鶹��Ƶ students are available through the <a href="/artsguide/ticket-information/claim-your-seat">Claim Your Seat</a> program, made possible through the generosity of Richard ’62 and Linda ’62 Clark. </p> <p>Learn more about the <a href="/artsguide">Arts at �鶹��Ƶ</a>.</p> <p>This program is proudly supported by <a href="https://www.ideastream.org/">Ideastream Public Media</a>, official media partner of the Artist Recital Series.</p> <p>—</p> <p><em>Stephanie Manning ‘23 completed her bachelor’s degree in bassoon performance with a dual concentration in arts management and journalism. A 2022 fellow of the Rubin Institute for Music Criticism, she has contributed frequently to ClevelandClassical.com and Early Music America. She is currently pursuing a graduate diploma in journalism from Concordia University in Montreal.</em></p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-subhead field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Percussionist Haruka Fujii and friends elevate women composers and their cultural influences on the Silkroad Ensemble’s “Uplifted Voices” program, coming to �鶹��Ƶ’s Artist Recital Series.</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2024-04-10T12:00:00Z">Wed, 04/10/2024 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Stephanie Manning '23</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2356">Conservatory</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2364">Artist Recital Series</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2366">Guest Artists & Speakers</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2548">Concerts and Recitals</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Sean Elliot courtesy of Connecticut College</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Richard Powers to Deliver Commencement Address to Class of 2023</h1> <p>eburnett — Mon, 17 Apr 2023 16:49:25 +0000</p> <span>Richard Powers to Deliver Commencement Address to Class of 2023</span> <span><span>eburnett</span></span> <span><time datetime="2023-04-17T12:49:25-04:00" title="Monday, April 17, 2023 - 12:49">Mon, 04/17/2023 - 12:49</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Richard Powers, author of 13 novels, polymath, and celebrated tree whisperer, will deliver the keynote address for �鶹��Ƶ’s Commencement ceremony honoring the Class of 2023 on Monday, May 22.</p> <p>Powers’ compelling, genre-busting writings on environmentalism, music, diversity, and the implications of technological innovation have received praise and recognition from readers and reviewers alike.</p> <p>His novel <em>The Echo Maker</em> won the National Book Award in 2006. Powers is the recipient of a MacArthur “Genius Grant” and the 2019 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction for <em>The Overstory</em>—“the best novel ever written about trees, and really, just one of the best novels, period,” in the words of author Ann Patchett.</p> <p>“Trees used to talk to people all the time,” Powers wrote in <em>The Overstory</em>. “Sane people used to hear them.”</p> <p>Fans of the cerebral bestseller, an epic spanning generations that challenges the primacy of humans in life and literature, include Barack Obama. “It changed how I thought about the earth and our place in it,” the former President told the <em>New York Times</em>.</p> <p><a href="https://www.richardpowers.net/category/novel/">Powers’ work</a> makes him an especially apt choice to address �鶹��Ƶ’s 2023 graduating class, says <a href="/node/365211">Valerie Hotchkiss</a>, the Azariah S. Root Director of Libraries and professor of English and book studies at �鶹��Ƶ. “The themes he deals with are so central to values that �鶹��Ƶ holds—namely, the conundrum of living responsibly in the modern world and the importance of the humanities and humanity in our struggle to do so.”</p> <p>Like so many �鶹��Ƶ alumni, Powers has many talents. An accomplished student of vocal music, he trained in the cello and also plays guitar, clarinet, and saxophone.</p> <p>Powers was born in Evanston, Illinois. A voracious reader—he devoured Darwin’s <em>The Voyage of the Beagle</em> in fourth grade—he believed he was “destined to become a scientist.”</p> <p>He enrolled at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to study physics, but a charismatic teacher convinced him that literature was “the perfect place for someone who wanted the aerial view,” Powers has said. He switched his major to English and earned two degrees in the subject.</p> <p>He quit his day job as a computer programmer to write his first novel, <em>Three Farmers on Their Way to a Dance</em>. “I thought, <em>I’m going to put everything that I know in this book, because I’m never going to get another shot at this,</em>” Powers has said. “Afterwards, I figured I’d have to go back and do jobs that people are willing to pay for.” The critical reception persuaded him he could make a living as a writer.</p> <p>Powers joins a list of notable authors to visit campus as �鶹��Ƶ Commencement speakers, among them Robert Frost (1937), Alex Haley (1976), Maya Angelou (1983), and David Sedaris (2018). He will also be awarded an honorary doctor of humanities degree.</p> <p>The address will be <a href="/commencement">livestreamed</a> as part of Commencement weekend festivities.</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-subhead field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Prolific, Pulitzer Prize-winning author celebrated for his thoughtful explorations of humanity’s place in the world.</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="2023-04-17T12:00:00Z">Mon, 04/17/2023 - 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=3152">Commencement</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2366">Guest Artists & Speakers</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2373">Awards and Honors</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-programs field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25316">Comparative Literature</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25326">Creative Writing</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25346">English</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="/valerie-hotchkiss" hreflang="und">Valerie Hotchkiss</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/comparative-literature" hreflang="und">Comparative Literature</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/creative-writing" hreflang="und">Creative Writing</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/english" hreflang="und">English</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">courtesy of Richard Powers</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Trailblazing Musician Wu Man in Residence at �鶹��Ƶ</h1> <p>jreinier — Mon, 20 Feb 2023 16:52:16 +0000</p> <span>Trailblazing Musician Wu Man in Residence at �鶹��Ƶ</span> <span><span>jreinier</span></span> <span><time datetime="2023-02-20T11:52:16-05:00" title="Monday, February 20, 2023 - 11:52">Mon, 02/20/2023 - 11:52</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>This is due in large part to the artist Wu Man, recognized as the world’s premier pipa virtuoso and a leading ambassador of Chinese music. She’ll be in residence at �鶹��Ƶ February 24-25 and take part in three events across campus that culminate in a concert with �鶹��Ƶ College quartet-in-residence, the <a href="/verona-quartet">Verona Quartet</a>. All events are free and open to the public.</p> <p>Wu Man has carved out a career as a soloist, educator, and composer, giving the pipa a new role in both traditional and contemporary music. The creative projects she has initiated have resulted in the instrument finding a place in numerous musical settings and genres, as well as in collaborations in theater productions, film, dance, and with visual artists.</p> <p>Born in Hangzhou, China, Wu Man was an early trailblazer. She was hailed as a child prodigy at age 13 and went on to earn the first master's degree in pipa the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. She moved to the U.S. in 1990 and was awarded a Bunting Fellowship at Harvard Radcliffe in 1998.</p> <p>Since then, she has performed as a soloist with many of the world’s major orchestras and is the leading interpreter of contemporary pipa music written by composers including Philip Glass, Terry Riley, Tan Dun, and Bright Sheng.</p> <p>Her notable career has also been marked by several “firsts.” She was the first Chinese traditional musician to receive the United States Artist Fellowship and the first artist from China to perform at the White House. In 2013, she was named Musical America’s Instrumentalist of the Year.</p> <p>She is a founding member of the Silkroad Ensemble and is a frequent collaborator with ensembles such as the Kronos and Shanghai Quartets.</p> <p>It is her work with quartets—as well as her performance at Portland’s Chamber Music Northwest Summer Festival—that inspired the Verona Quartet to reach out to Wu for a new collaboration.</p> <p>“We were at the festival and heard Wu Man’s concert, and were so struck by her artistry,” says Verona’s cellist, Jonathan Dormand. “That was the genesis of this particular project.”</p> <p>Dorothy Ro, Verona Quartet second violinist, expanded: “Wu Man has commissions from leading composers and is a composer herself. This program came together through a conversation about the meeting point between the western classical string quartet and the Chinese folk idiom, as well as how this interaction could become a mechanism for exploring the voices of global cultures and traditions.”</p> <p>The members of the multi-award-winning Verona Quartet hail from locations far and wide: first violinist Jonathan Ong is from Singapore; Ro is Canadian; violist Abigail Rojansky ’11 is from the San Francisco Bay area; and Dormand is from England.</p> <p>Dormand explained, “We come from all over, so the notion of ‘home’ is something that we’re very interested in exploring. Every culture, from every corner of the world, has discovered a way to find expression through music.”</p> <p>The partners have titled the program, "Goin' Home: An exploration of nostalgia and searching for home." “Goin Home” is sourced from Antonín Dvořák’s song setting in the Largo movement of his “New World” symphony—and it is the idea of “home” that serves as the guidepost for the music chosen. The performance here in �鶹��Ƶ’s Warner Concert Hall will be the first for the collaboration. They will be on tour with this program next season.</p> <p>Wu Man’s residency at �鶹��Ƶ begins with a lecture on at 4:30 p.m. on Friday, February 24 in Dye Lecture Hall. Part of <a href="/events/guest_lecture_pipa_virtuoso_wu_man_unexpected_cross-cultural_collaborations">�鶹��Ƶ Shansi’s Jacobson-Cocco Lecture Series</a>, she will give a talk, “Unexpected Cross-Cultural Collaborations,” about her personal journey creating a career for herself in a country which had no pipa tradition.</p> <p>On Saturday, February 25, Wu Man’s work turns to the Conservatory, first with a <a href="https://calendar.oberlin.edu/event/guest_master_class_wu_man_pipa_6562">10:30 a.m. master class </a>for students in �鶹��Ƶ’s Performance and Improvisation program. Performance and Improvisation (PI) Ensembles provide an opportunity for students to enrich their existing musical vocabularies and skills through practical exploration of many different world musics and improvisation across a range of genres and styles.</p> <p><a href="/events/verona_quartet_with_wu_man">That evening at 7:30</a>, audiences will be treated to the concert. They will perform works by John Dowland, Antonín Dvořák, Luigi Boccherini, Sulkhan Tsintsadze, Zhao Jiping, and Wu Man. The concert is free, but <a href="/tickets/event-details?EventId=5201">reservations are required</a>.</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-subhead field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">The pipa virtuoso and composer will perform with the Verona Quartet, teach, and lecture</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2023-02-20T12:00:00Z">Mon, 02/20/2023 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Cathy Partlow Strauss</div> <div class="text-content field field--name-field-intro-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>The pipa is not an instrument on which students at �鶹��Ƶ Conservatory perform, but the lute-like instrument developed in China more than 2000 years ago is influencing increasingly more concert music found on stages throughout the world.</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=2366">Guest Artists & Speakers</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2397">Shansi</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=3341">Conservatory Faculty</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2865">Performance & Improvisation (PI)</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="/verona-quartet" hreflang="und">Verona Quartet</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> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Courtesy of the Verona Quartet and Wu Man</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>�鶹��Ƶ-Como Piano Master Class Series Opens with Robert Spano '84</h1> <p>eburnett — Mon, 22 Nov 2021 17:10:48 +0000</p> <span>�鶹��Ƶ-Como Piano Master Class Series Opens with Robert Spano '84</span> <span><span>eburnett</span></span> <span><time datetime="2021-11-22T12:10:48-05:00" title="Monday, November 22, 2021 - 12:10">Mon, 11/22/2021 - 12:10</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>The �鶹��Ƶ-Como Piano Master Class Series, a partnership between �鶹��Ƶ Conservatory and Italy’s esteemed <a href="https://www.comopianoacademy.org/">International Piano Academy Lake Como</a>, will return for the 2021-22 academic year with a schedule of live events that will also be presented in summer 2022 as a virtual festival.</p> <p>The first events of this year’s series feature pianist-composer Robert Spano, the longtime music director of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, music director of the Aspen Music Festival and School, music director designate of the Fort Worth Symphony, and a 1984 graduate of �鶹��Ƶ Conservatory.</p> <p>Spano will lead public master classes on <a href="https://calendar.oberlin.edu/event/oberlin_como_piano_academy_master_class_robert_spano">Tuesday, November 30</a>, and <a href="https://calendar.oberlin.edu/event/oberlin_como_piano_academy_master_class_robert_spano_7517">Thursday, December 2</a>, with sessions taking place each day from 4 to 6 p.m. in Clonick Hall.</p> <p>Founded in 2016 as the <a href="/news/oberlin-partners-international-piano-academy-lake-como">�鶹��Ƶ-Como Piano Academy</a>, the �鶹��Ƶ-Como program brings remarkable young pianists from around the world to �鶹��Ƶ to work with master teachers, an arrangement that benefits not just the program’s students—called �鶹��Ƶ-Como Fellows—but all �鶹��Ƶ piano students.</p> <p>The �鶹��Ƶ-Como Piano Master Class Series continues in the new year with events featuring �鶹��Ƶ-Como Artistic Director <a href="/william-grant-nabore">William Grant Naboré</a> and �鶹��Ƶ Conservatory professors <a href="/stanislav-ioudenitch">Stanislav Ioudenitch</a> and <a href="/node/79936">Dang Thai Son</a>.</p> <p>Each teacher will lead a series of master classes with this year’s participants: �鶹��Ƶ-Como Fellow Kenneth Broberg and current �鶹��Ƶ Conservatory students JJ Bui, Kai-Min Chang, Leo Choi, and Yangrui Cai, each of them earning the distinction �鶹��Ƶ-Como Young Artists.</p> <p>Broberg, winner of the 2021 American Pianists Association Award and silver medalist of the 15th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2017, is a graduate student of Ioudenitch at Park University in Missouri.</p> <p>Bui is a second-year student of Dang who earned sixth prize in the 18th Chopin International Piano Competition in October.</p> <p>Chang is a third-year student of Dang and a quarterfinalist in the 18th Chopin International Piano Competition.</p> <p>Choi is a fourth-year student of <a href="/node/6726">Angela Cheng</a> and a prize winner in numerous competitions throughout China, including the 2016 Asian Youth Music Competition.</p> <p>Cai is a fourth-year student of Ioudenitch and a prize winner at international competitions in Japan and the U.S.</p> <p>Dates and times of the 2022 events will be announced at a later date.</p> <p>This year’s live-virtual hybrid format builds on the format of the <a href="/conservatory/stage-left/oberlin-como-2021-piano-festival">2021 �鶹��Ƶ-Como Piano Festival</a>, which successfully transitioned to online-only in response to the ongoing pandemic. The festival included �鶹��Ƶ-Como Fellow Bruce Liu, a student of Dang who went on to win first prize at the <a href="https://chopin2020.pl/en/news">18th Chopin International Piano Competition</a> in October. Bui and Cai also participated in the 2021 festival.</p> <p>To date, the 20 videos that make up the 2021 festival have received more than 30,000 views.</p> <p>�鶹��Ƶ-Como programs taking place on campus throughout this academic year will be released for a virtual audience in summer 2022.</p> <p><em>The 2021 �鶹��Ƶ-Como Festival, which includes master classes and insightful interviews with each master teacher, can be viewed on the <a href="/conservatory/stage-left/oberlin-como-2021-piano-festival">�鶹��Ƶ-Como Piano Festival website</a>, which includes a complete lineup of events and links to each broadcast.</em></p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-subhead field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Nov. 30, Dec. 2 events to be followed by four additional artist-teacher visits, with virtual festival in summer.</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="2021-11-22T12:00:00Z">Mon, 11/22/2021 - 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=2399">�鶹��Ƶ-Como Piano Academy</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2366">Guest Artists & Speakers</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-faculty field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/stanislav-ioudenitch" hreflang="und">Stanislav Ioudenitch</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/dang-thai-son" hreflang="und">Dang Thai Son</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/william-grant-nabore" hreflang="und">William Grant Naboré</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/robert-spano" hreflang="und">Robert Spano</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/conservatory/divisions/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>'Remaining Awake Through a Great Revolution'</h1> <p>ygay — Fri, 15 Jan 2021 16:38:31 +0000</p> <span>'Remaining Awake Through a Great Revolution'</span> <span><span>ygay</span></span> <span><time datetime="2021-01-15T11:38:31-05:00" title="Friday, January 15, 2021 - 11:38">Fri, 01/15/2021 - 11:38</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. visited �鶹��Ƶ College several times, first in February 1957, a few months after he and the Montgomery Improvement Association successfully ended the bus boycott. During this visit he presented three topics to the �鶹��Ƶ community: "Justice Without Violence" and "The New Negro in the South" at the First Church of �鶹��Ƶ and "The Montgomery Story" during a noon assembly at Finney Chapel. Rev. King returned to �鶹��Ƶ in November 1963, but was too sick with the flu to speak. His two-minute speech received a three-minute standing ovation. In October 1964, shortly after being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, his talk in Finney Chapel titled "The Future of Integration" was heard by an estimated 2,500 people. This visit was accompanied by death threats. Local police officers attended the talk to provide protection for him and his press secretary. </p><figure class="captioned-image"><p></p><figcaption>The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. addresses members of the graduating class and guests. Photo credit: Arthur E. Princehorn courtesy of �鶹��Ƶ College Archives</figcaption></figure><p>In 1965, �鶹��Ƶ College awarded Rev. King an honorary degree. His commencement speech, "Remaining Awake Through a Great Revolution," was heard by 483 members of the graduating class along with a record number of returning alumni. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Read Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s <a href="https://www2.oberlin.edu/external/EOG/BlackHistoryMonth/MLK/CommAddress.html" target="_blank">1965 commencement address</a>. </p><p class="text-align-center"><br><em>The photographic images in this article may not be downloaded or reproduced. Permission for reproduction must be sought from the </em><a href="https://libraries.oberlin.edu/archives" target="_blank"><em>�鶹��Ƶ College Archives</em></a><em>.</em></p><p><br> </p><p> </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">Office of Communications</div> <div class="text-content field field--name-field-intro-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>On this Martin Luther King Jr. Day we look back at the civil rights activist's visits to �鶹��Ƶ College, and the powerful 1965 commencement speech he gave in Tappan Square.</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=3152">Commencement</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2366">Guest Artists & Speakers</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and �鶹��Ƶ College President Robert Carr at the 1965 graduation exercises.</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">Arthur E. Princehorn courtesy of �鶹��Ƶ College Archives</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-article-header field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">0</div> </article> <article> <h1>Verona Quartet to Hold 2020-21 �鶹��Ƶ Residency</h1> <p>eburnett — Fri, 17 Jul 2020 15:31:18 +0000</p> <span>Verona Quartet to Hold 2020-21 �鶹��Ƶ Residency</span> <span><span>eburnett</span></span> <span><time datetime="2020-07-17T11:31:18-04:00" title="Friday, July 17, 2020 - 11:31">Fri, 07/17/2020 - 11:31</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>The <a href="http://www.veronaquartet.com/">Verona Quartet</a>, winners of Chamber Music America’s Cleveland Quartet Award for 2020, will serve as quartet in residence at �鶹��Ƶ Conservatory for the 2020-21 academic year.</p> <p>The ensemble’s focus includes secondary lessons and chamber music coaching with students from the College of Arts and Sciences, as well as collaborations with the �鶹��Ƶ Arts and Sciences Orchestra, which consists of standout musicians from the college as well as members of the community. The quartet will also perform a series of concerts throughout the upcoming season.</p> <p>Established by Chamber Music America in 1995, the Cleveland Quartet Award promotes the career development of young string quartets of exceptional promise. Previous winners include such renowned ensembles as the Pacifica, Jupiter, and Mirò quartets, all of which feature �鶹��Ƶ alumni.</p> <p>The Verona Quartet has earned acclaim for its championing of contemporary repertoire and composers, as well as its numerous interdisciplinary collaborations—among them performances with Dance Heginbotham of New York City, an artistic exchange with poets from the United Arab Emirates, and performances with the folk trio I’m With Her, made possible through the Kennedy Center’s Direct Current Festival. Hailed as “outstanding” by <em>The New York Times</em>, the quartet won the 2015 Concert Artist Guild competition and has performed in such famed venues as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and Wigmore Hall. Its debut recording, <em>Diffusion</em>, featuring works by Ravel, Szymanowski, and Janáček, is forthcoming on Azica Records.</p> <p>The quartet consists of violinists Jonathan Ong and Dorothy Ro, violist Abigail Rojansky, and cellist Jonathan Dormand.</p> <p>The residency represents a homecoming for Rojansky, a 2011 �鶹��Ƶ Conservatory graduate. Like her Verona colleagues, she gravitated toward chamber music early in her career—and ultimately to the sort of boundary-bending collaborations that have become a hallmark of the Verona Quartet’s young career.</p> <p>“I have always been so thankful for the ways �鶹��Ƶ opens students up to opportunities and encourages you to pursue your passions,” Rojansky says. “I left �鶹��Ƶ with the sense that I could do whatever I wanted to. There were no limitations, and this quartet grew out of that same sensibility.”</p> <p>The Verona Quartet currently maintains residencies at Indiana University Summer String Academy, North Carolina’s Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle, and the Lunenburg Academy of Music Performance. Previous fellowships include the Juilliard School, New England Conservatory, and Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music. Their mentors include members of the Cleveland Quartet, Juilliard Quartet and Pacifica Quartet.</p> <p>“With the Verona Quartet at �鶹��Ƶ, we will be providing our college students with the highest level of musical instruction,” says <a href="/node/44016">Sibbi Bernhardsson</a>, professor of violin at �鶹��Ƶ and a former coach of the quartet at Indiana, when he was also a member of the Pacifica Quartet.</p> <p>Bernhardsson notes that the quartet will live in �鶹��Ƶ for the 2020-21 season, the better to facilitate opportunities for robust collaboration with students.</p> <p>“Part of what I think is so exciting is that they are not commuting in and out of town and trying to fit �鶹��Ƶ into their tour schedule,” he says. “They will be here as part of our community, and they will be able to do very meaningful work with our students. They will serve as very important role models—not just for our college students, but for our conservatory students as well.”</p> <p>The Verona Quartet’s �鶹��Ƶ residency is made possible through the generosity of Richard L. Clark ’62, a physician and avid cellist who performed in the �鶹��Ƶ Orchestra while pursuing zoology studies at �鶹��Ƶ College, and by an anonymous gift from the family of a current �鶹��Ƶ student to support enhanced musical offerings for students in the College of Arts and Sciences.</p> <p>The residency’s emphasis on collaborations with college musicians and ensembles aligns with �鶹��Ƶ’s broader mission of providing vibrant, immersive opportunities in music for all students. Learn more about <a href="/node/372011">music opportunities at �鶹��Ƶ College</a>.</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2020-07-17T12:00:00Z">Fri, 07/17/2020 - 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>Winner of Chamber Music America’s Cleveland Quartet Award, rising ensemble will mentor college musicians through lessons, chamber music, 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=3328">Musical Opportunities for College Students</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2366">Guest Artists & Speakers</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=3476">Residencies</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=36206">Viola</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=35261">Cello</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-faculty field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/sibbi-bernhardsson" hreflang="und">Sibbi Bernhardsson</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/conservatory/divisions/strings" hreflang="und">Strings</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 Verona Quartet</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>�鶹��Ƶ Students Host Earth Day Symposium Online</h1> <p>anagy — Tue, 12 May 2020 17:24:51 +0000</p> <span>�鶹��Ƶ Students Host Earth Day Symposium Online</span> <span><span>anagy</span></span> <span><time datetime="2020-05-12T13:24:51-04:00" title="Tuesday, May 12, 2020 - 13:24">Tue, 05/12/2020 - 13:24</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>For the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, five �鶹��Ƶ students hosted a vibrant, 10-day digital symposium with panel discussions on climate change and a keynote speech by environmental scholar Carolyn Finney about race and the environment.</p> <p>Planning for the <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1G4_LX3vv4ViVuh_D8zLXsPGqwpGHT5pgElt7L4S9OTQ/edit">Earth Day 50</a> <span aria-hidden="true" class="fa fa-external-link"></span> celebration began in the fall, but when the COVID-19 pandemic forced the campus to move to remote learning, organizers decided it was important to proceed with the scheduled programming by shifting events to Zoom.</p> <p>Fourth-years Madeleine Gefke, Olivia Vasquez, and Ora Hammel, along with third-year Wenling Li and second-year Phoebe von Conta planned and organized the commemoration. They received input from <a href="/john-petersen">John Petersen</a>, Paul Sears Distinguished Professor of Environmental Studies and Biology, who connected them with John Elder ’53, a Kendal at �鶹��Ƶ resident and cochair of the residents’ environmental concerns committee.</p> <p>From December to March, the students attended green group monthly potlucks facilitated by Elder in the basement of Peace Community Church, where they planned the symposium, built connections with green group representatives, and collaborated with various academic departments, offices, and student groups, EnviroAlums, and the Office of the President. Elder, in particular, was instrumental in leading meetings, connecting the students to others, and bringing people together.</p> <p>In March, the COVID-19 pandemic forced �鶹��Ƶ to suspend in-person classes, and it became uncertain if the symposium could still happen. However, with input from Petersen and with the community’s encouragement, the student committee shifted the majority of the panels, keynote speeches, and events to Zoom. Pandemic or not, climate change was still a pertinent issue that had to be addressed. </p> <p>“This was a lightbulb moment which ultimately dictated the purpose, planning, and outcome of the event,” Vasquez says. “From then on, it was established that if we were going to go full-steam and pursue this, it was going to be a collaborative college and city effort.”</p> <p>Of course, moving an entire symposium online was not without challenges. Gefke and others spent hours testing Zoom links and settings. </p> <p>“After the abrupt ending of life on campus, I felt a deep hole from the lack of community, of motivation, of something to look forward to,” Gefke says. “[However], I felt that Earth Day 50 was even more imperative now. This event series was a goal we could still work toward, a celebration we could still look forward to, and a way to bring the �鶹��Ƶ community and college together again, all of which I desperately wanted and needed in this separation.”</p> <p>The 10-day celebration included the �鶹��Ƶ Virtual Sustainability Fair with presentations from local organizations and student groups about sustainability initiatives, multiple panels led by writer Mary Anaïse Heglar ’06, a Professor Panel on Climate Change from a variety of departments, and a keynote speech by Finney about race and the environment.</p> <p>The organizers credit the collective effort, passion, and commitment to the cause, from participants’ willingness to adjust their panels and speeches to Zoom to the attendees’ continued interest in the symposium during a pandemic.</p> <p>“It goes without saying that Mary Anaïse Heglar made our Earth Day series what it was,” von Conta said. “Not only did she agree to hold four separate discussions, but she invited her friends and colleagues along too, expanding the network.”</p> <p>Li says the success of Earth Day 50 is a testament to the �鶹��Ƶ community’s “resilience and persistent commitment to the sustainability of �鶹��Ƶ as a college and as a community.”</p> <p>“[The] Earth Day 50 events really highlighted how climate change is not just relevant to environmental studies majors,” Li says. “Rather, it is also a moral, economic, social, cultural issue at this time.”</p> <p>The current pandemic brings a myriad of stresses, and the students are grateful that climate change was not being ignored. </p> <p>“While a pandemic and climate change are different, there is a lot of social injustice and policy response parallels, further demonstrating the need to begin listening to the scientific experts and creating better policy,” Hammel said. </p> <p>“There's a lot on the mind for everyone right now,” von Conta added. “The events would be nothing without the engagement and attendance of students and community members, and faculty and friends, who showed up, and gave themselves to the effort.” </p> <p>Gefke sees Earth Day 50 as a culmination of her experiences at �鶹��Ƶ.</p> <p>“I was so incredibly impressed with the commitment of everyone involved in finding ways to connect and support each other even from afar,” Gefke added. “The relationships and collaborations I have had at �鶹��Ƶ have been the most meaningful part of my �鶹��Ƶ experience, and this Earth Day experience has only emphasized the fact that these relationships and collaborations will continue despite time and space differences.”</p> <p><a class="view-more" href="https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1gGTQiXlStn4UnXKiyVJE7sJUaIB1r-Nj">View an archive of the event recordings</a>.</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2020-05-12T12:00:00Z">Tue, 05/12/2020 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Jaimie Yue '22</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=2369">Environment & Sustainability</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2390">Events</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2410">Students</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2366">Guest Artists & Speakers</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=3499">Climate Action</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=25351">Environmental Studies and Sciences</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="/john-petersen" hreflang="und">John Petersen ’88</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/environmental-studies" hreflang="und">Environmental Studies and Science</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">�鶹��Ƶ students work on George Jones Memorial Farm.</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> <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-27061" class="paragraph paragraph--type--para-el-copy paragraph--view-mode--default o-flex--basic-copy basic-copy"> <p>Explore the <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/oberlin/sets/72157713974723331/">Green Side of �鶹��Ƶ on Flickr</a> <span aria-hidden="true" class="fa fa-external-link"></span>.</p> </div> </div> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Russian Renaissance Brings Classical-Folk Fusion to �鶹��Ƶ Feb. 28</h1> <p>eburnett — Sun, 09 Feb 2020 15:15:16 +0000</p> <span>Russian Renaissance Brings Classical-Folk Fusion to �鶹��Ƶ Feb. 28</span> <span><span>eburnett</span></span> <span><time datetime="2020-02-09T10:15:16-05:00" title="Sunday, February 9, 2020 - 10:15">Sun, 02/09/2020 - 10:15</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Once you get to know the world of <a href="/artsguide/artist-recitals/russian-renaissance">Russian Renaissance</a>, you come to expect the unexpected.</p> <p>The ensemble’s four musicians hail from the far corners of Russia, but they came together over—of all things—Serbian <em>punk </em>music.</p> <p>Their sound is grounded in the traditions of their native country, but their output incorporates influences that veer far afield from Russia.</p> <p>So settle in for an exhilarating ride when Russian Renaissance makes its Ohio debut at �鶹��Ƶ on Friday, February 28. Part of the Artist Recital Series, the performance begins at 7:30 p.m. in historic Finney Chapel.</p> <p>The quartet will traverse the globe and several centuries in the course of one evening, delivering music first by Bach and Tchaikovsky, then by French accordionist Richard Galliano, Argentinian composer Astor Piazzolla, Brazilian guitarist-pianist Egberto Gismonti, Italy’s Niccolò Paganini, America’s Béla Fleck, and others.</p> <p>The ensemble first made a splash in the United States by winning the 2017 M-Prize Competition at the University of Michigan, claiming the world’s most lucrative honor for chamber music. It followed that success with a gold medal at the 2019 Vienna International Music Competition, and made its Lincoln Center and Kennedy Center debuts that same year.</p> <p>Just this month, Russian Renaissance has released its self-titled debut album on Azica Records. (Sample their sound with <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=6&v=WqWC94Nh__E&feature=emb_logo">this YouTube clip</a> of a tango by Galliano.)</p> <p>While on campus, the ensemble will meet with students in �鶹��Ƶ College’s Russian and East European studies department, lead a master class with conservatory students, and present a public talk—"World Music with a Russian Soul: What We Do and How We Do It"—in the Birenbaum (lower level of the Hotel at �鶹��Ƶ) from 12:15 to 1:30 p.m. on February 28.</p> <p>“We are fond of noting that ‘the world comes to �鶹��Ƶ,’ an expression of our pride in bringing an unparalleled range of artists to campus every year, to perform on our stages and to interact with our students,” says Dean of the Conservatory William Quillen.</p> <p>“Russian Renaissance embodies exactly what we mean by this. We are thrilled to welcome them in concert and in the numerous other capacities they will engage with our community. They are one of the most fascinating, versatile young chamber ensembles performing today, and their wide-ranging influences provide a welcome model for us all.”</p> <p>Russian Renaissance was cofounded in 2015 by balalaika player Ivan Kuznetsov and domra player Anastasia Zakharova, both of whom were newly graduated from the Gnessin Russian Academy of Music in Moscow when they had a chance encounter with the musicians of the long-running Serbian garage-punk band No Smoking Orchestra. They hit it off, jammed together, and followed the urge to establish an ensemble of their own. The following year, Russian Renaissance won first prize at Russia’s Coupe Mondiale competition—the first contest they ever entered.</p> <p>At the heart of the ensemble’s sound is its decidedly traditional Russian instrumentation. The balalaika is a tri-cornered, three-stringed instrument popularized in the States by the 1965 film <em>Doctor Zhivago</em> and more recently by <em>The Grand Budapest Hotel</em> (2014). The balalaika’s oversized cousin, the balalaika contrabasso (played by Ivan Vinogradov), emits a sound similar to a plucked double bass. Zakharova’s domra may be likened to a mandolin, while Alexander Tarasov plays a button accordion, a staple of folk and polka ensembles all over the world.</p> <p>Tickets for Russian Renaissance at �鶹��Ƶ are $35 ($30 for seniors, members of the military, and �鶹��Ƶ faculty, staff, and alumni). All student tickets are just $10.</p> <p>Get yours by calling 800-371-0178, buy online at <a href="/artsguide/artist-recitals/russian-renaissance">oberlin.edu/artsguide</a>, or visit Central Ticket Service (<a href="/node/129181">Nord Performing Arts Annex</a>) from noon to 5 p.m., weekdays.</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="2020-02-09T12:00:00Z">Sun, 02/09/2020 - 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>Convention-busting quartet deftly bridges sounds from multiple worlds and eras.</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2356">Conservatory</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2364">Artist Recital Series</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2366">Guest Artists & Speakers</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=25426">Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/conservatory/divisions/strings" hreflang="und">Strings</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 Russian Renaissance</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Kwanzaa Founder Maulana Karenga Visits �鶹��Ƶ</h1> <p>anagy — Tue, 10 Dec 2019 15:40:55 +0000</p> <span>Kwanzaa Founder Maulana Karenga Visits �鶹��Ƶ</span> <span><span>anagy</span></span> <span><time datetime="2019-12-10T10:40:55-05:00" title="Tuesday, December 10, 2019 - 10:40">Tue, 12/10/2019 - 10:40</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>As part of �鶹��Ƶ’s annual celebration of Kwanzaa, the holiday’s founder, Maulana Karenga, visited campus to deliver a lecture and lead the Kwanzaa ritual at <a href="/ahh">Afrikan Heritage House</a>.</p> <p>Currently, Karenga works at California State University, Long Beach as a professor and the chair of Africana studies. Throughout his lifetime, Karenga has been an activist. He was a part of the Black Power movement and started the US Organization. In 1966, Karenga created Kwanzaa, an annual pan-African tradition to commemorate black history and culture. </p> <p>During his talk on Sunday titled ’’Living Kwanzaa and the Seven Principles: An All-Seasons Celebration and Practice of the Good,” Karenga explained the history and significance of the holiday as well as the meaning of Nguzu Saba, the seven principles: Umoja (unity), Kujichagulia (self-determination), Ujima (collective work and responsibility), Ujamaa (cooperative economics), Nia (purpose), Kuumba (creativity), and Imani (faith).</p> <figure class="captioned-image"> <figcaption>Karenga led the ritual of Kwanzaa at Afrikan Heritage House.<br> Photo credit: Lucie Maria Weismueller</figcaption> </figure> <p>“Even though our ancestors had lost their language and no longer wore their clothes, they still taught us to be the best of what it means to be African and human in the fullest,” Karenga said. “They teach us to speak truth, to do justice, to honor our elders and our ancestors, to cherish and challenge our children, to care for the poor, to have a rightful relationship with the environment, to constantly struggle against evil, injustice, and oppression, and always raise up praise in pursuit of good.”</p> <p>Candice Raynor, the director and faculty in residence of Afrikan Heritage House, organized the event.</p> <p>“In preparation for the Africana studies and A-House 50th anniversary celebration, I went through the archives at the beginning of the semester and saw that Dr. Karenga visited �鶹��Ƶ in 1977, 1980, and 1983,” Raynor explained.</p> <p>“I thought it would be cool to invite him back for our 50th anniversary. In addition to special events to mark the occasion, I wanted to make our annual events a little bigger this year. Having the creator of the holiday you’re celebrating come and speak about that holiday is pretty big.”</p> <p><a class="view-more" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/oberlin/sets/72157712133957446/">View more photos from the event in our Flickr album</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="2019-12-10T12:00:00Z">Tue, 12/10/2019 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Jane Hobson ’22</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=2390">Events</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2379">Student Life</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2366">Guest Artists & Speakers</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=4821">Africana Studies</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/africana-studies" hreflang="und">Africana Studies</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">Maulana Karenga gave a talk explaining the seven principles of Kwanzaa.</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">Lucie Maria Weismueller</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>A Different Kind of Puppet Show</h1> <p>eburnett — Mon, 14 Oct 2019 13:42:38 +0000</p> <span>A Different Kind of Puppet Show</span> <span><span>eburnett</span></span> <span><time datetime="2019-10-14T09:42:38-04:00" title="Monday, October 14, 2019 - 09:42">Mon, 10/14/2019 - 09:42</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>If a performance of adventuresome new music—with puppets—sounds like a quintessentially �鶹��Ƶ experience, there is good reason for that.</p> <p>The Zohn Collective, a new music ensemble formed by composer Ricardo Zohn-Muldoon, will present <em>Portals</em> at �鶹��Ƶ on Wednesday, October 16. The piece unites the forces of the collective’s musicians and the master artists of La Coperacha Puppet Company of Guadalajara, Mexico. And the Zohn Collective boasts extensive ties to �鶹��Ƶ, including soprano Tony Arnold ’90 and flutist Molly Barth ’97. Its conductor is Timothy Weiss, a longtime professor of conducting in the conservatory and a driving force behind �鶹��Ƶ-bred new music ensembles including Eighth Blackbird and International Contemporary Ensemble.</p> <p>In 2018, the Zohn Collective’s recording <em>Songtree</em> was released on the �鶹��Ƶ Music label, further bolstering the group’s ties to the school.</p> <p>The performance will take place not in a traditional concert hall, but in the Main Space of Wilder Hall, �鶹��Ƶ College’s historic student union, located at 135 West Lorain Street. Admission is free on a first-come, first-served basis, with doors opening at 7:30 p.m. for the 8 p.m. performance. Attendance will be capped at 100.</p> <p>(The Zohn Collective and La Coperacha will join forces again in a performance of <em>Portals</em> at the Cleveland Museum of Art on Friday, October 19. Tickets to that show are $25, but admission is free for those who present a valid �鶹��Ƶ ID.)</p> <p><em>Portals</em> consists of two distinct yet highly evocative works: Zohn-Muldoon’s scenic cantata <em>Comala</em>, which explores the search for identity and love inside ancestral memory, and the world premiere of Daniel Pesca’s <em>Nocturnes</em>, a setting of four poems by Irving Feldman.</p> <p><em>Comala</em> is based on Mexican author Juan Rulfo’s novel <em>Pedro Páramo</em>, which the composer considers among the most essential writings of the 20th century. <em>Comala</em> conveys a fractured narrative about a village in which the dead commune with the living; in Zohn-Muldoon’s interpretation, this is accomplished through speech among the living and by song among the dead.</p> <figure class="captioned-image obj-right"> <figcaption>photo by Hanna Hurwitz</figcaption> </figure> <p>“The idea behind this approach is that the living act under the pressure of time, seeking immediate communication, whereas the dead, free from the bonds of time, reflect endlessly in song,” Zohn-Muldoon (pictured) shares in his program notes.</p> <p><em>Comala</em>’s roots can be traced to a 2001 performance in Mexico City. A later version of it was recorded in 2010 for Bridge Records, and the piece was a Pulitzer finalist in 2011. <em>Comala</em> has continued to evolve in the years since; its current iteration was completed for this tour, which also includes an engagement in Chicago.</p> <p>The Zohn Collective’s collaboration with La Coperacha—a 40-year-old troupe started by present-day member Antonio Camacho Oropeza—grew out of a shared performance at a 2018 festival in Guadalajara, where the collective’s music was paired with puppetry for the first time.</p> <p>“A staging with puppetry had been my original conception when I first embarked on the composition of <em>Comala</em>, but for one reason or another, it had never come to be,” says Zohn-Muldoon. “We were all so pleased by the production and by the synergy between the two groups that we decided to bring the project to the U.S.A. However, we wanted to develop the idea of collaboration further. So, in conceiving <em>Portals</em>, we wanted to commission a new work that could be performed alongside <em>Comala</em>."</p> <p><em>Nocturnes</em>, by Zohn Collective member Pesca, probes the different ways perception is altered at night, and it draws from poems written throughout Feldman’s career, each one united by its use of nighttime imagery.</p> <p>“I do not think of this work as dark in the sense of moody, disconsolate, or despairing,” writes Pesca, who admits that the hues inherent in the poems are mostly dark. “Rather, night in these poems is often rapturous, or enchanted, or an occasion to reflect upon our dearest memories.”</p> <p>The overarching purpose of <em>Portals</em>, according to Zohn-Muldoon, is to build aesthetic and social bridges through artistic collaborations. “On one level, the artistic content of the project intertwines dualities such as life/afterlife, perception/memory, reality/fantasy, and love/hatred,” he writes. “On a broader level, our project seeks to highlight the interaction between literature, music, and puppetry, with the purpose of finding a balance between the unity of the whole and the independence of each art form.</p> <p>“Lastly, we strive to take a community-based perspective, in which we reach diverse audiences through complementary performance and outreach activities with bicultural and bilingual content.”</p> <p><em>Portals</em> is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts and by the Eastman School of Music. La Coperacha’s participation is made possible with support from the Fondo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes.</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="2019-10-14T12:00:00Z">Mon, 10/14/2019 - 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>Guest artists Zohn Collective and La Coperacha join forces for an artful mashup of music and puppetry.</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=2366">Guest Artists & Speakers</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> <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 La Coperacha</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> </main></body></html>