Robert Spano ’83, Music Director of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (ASO), will conduct the Oberlin Conservatory Symphony Orchestra, with pianist Pedja Muzijevic, in concerts at Carnegie Hall and in Oberlin in January 2007. The program for both concerts features Jennifer Higdon’s blue cathedral, Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 25 in C Major, K. 503, and Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra. The concerts are presented by Oberlin College with corporate sponsorship provided by the DeWitt Stern Group.

The Oberlin concert, which is free and open to the public, takes place Wednesday, January 24, at 8 p.m. in Finney Chapel. Seating is by general admission.

The New York concert takes place in Carnegie Hall’s Isaac Stern Auditorium, Friday, January 26, at 8 p.m., with Muzijevic making his Carnegie Hall debut. Also in Stern Auditorium, a 6:30 p.m. lecture/discussion,“Playing to Win: The Future of Great Music in the 21st Century,”will precede the concert. The panel includes composer Jennifer Higdon; music critic and historian James Keller; Aaron Dworkin, founder and president of the Sphinx Organization; and Professor of Music Theory Brian Alegant. Dean of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music David H. Stull will moderate. Tickets for the lecture and concert, which are $20 for the general public and $5 for students, will go on sale Monday, November 27, 2006. Seating for the lecture/discussion is by general admission; seats for the concert are reserved. Please call the Carnegie Hall Box Office at 212-247-7800 or visit www.carnegiehall.org for more information.

Spano, Professor of Conducting at the Conservatory, earned his bachelor of music degree from Oberlin in 1983. He will be in residence on campus in January, preparing the orchestra.

Recognized internationally as one of the brightest and most imaginative conductors of his generation, Spano’s innovative programming has enriched and expanded the ASO’s repertoire. He joined the ASO after eight years as Music Director of the Brooklyn Philharmonic, where he also made his mark, leaving it at a new level of international prominence. (His successor at the Brooklyn Philharmonic is Michael Christie ’96, who studied with him as an Oberlin student.)

“All of us at Oberlin eagerly look forward to Maestro Spano’s presence on campus,” says Dean of the Conservatory David H. Stull. “His gifted leadership of young orchestras is legendary, and he has a unique ability to inspire young musicians to transcend their capacity.”