2008 Awardees

Bach’s Suites for Solo Cello (Recording Project and Tour)Steuart Pincombe ’09 (B.M. Performance)
The project is a presentation of the complete suites for solo cello by Bach. I will be presenting concerts in nine different cities across the United States in February.  This project will also involve making a recording of suites 1, 3, and 5 in January 2008. My goal is to present Bach’s cello suites as I believe they are intended to be played, with a focus on presenting the original bowings written in the Anna Magdalena Bach copy of Johann Sebastian Bach’s manuscript. I have been handcopying from the Anna Magdalene Bach facsimile and have tried my best to copy the exact bowings/articulations contained within this source.

The Pianos Winter Term Tour
Jordan Goldstein ‘09 (B.A. Cinema Studies);
Julian Chin ’08 (B.M. Performance – Jazz Piano);
Alex Morris ‘10 (B.M. Performance – Jazz Percussion);
Matthew Orenstein ’11 [B.M. Individual Major; B.A. English);
Matthew Davis ’08 (B.M. Performance – Jazz Trombone)
The Pianos, an Oberlin student band composed of both Conservatory and College students, did an intensive week-long east-coast tour in January in support of their  EP, “hello.”  Their unique sound and approach, creative original songwriting, and high level of musicality make them positive ambassadors of the Oberlin Conservatory and College.

Music in Non-Traditional SpacesJames Scott Chowning ’08 (B.M. Performance – French Horn)
With Evan Adams ’09 (B.A. Philosophy)
Our goal in this project is to learn about creating music in non-traditional spaces, to create awareness of this perspective in performance practice, and to further our careers as electro-acoustic musicians by analyzing and performing in sonically complex natural and man-made environments.
WATCH THE VIDEO

2009 Awardees

Classical Recording AssistantshipGarrett Openshaw OC '10 (B.M. Performance - Violin)
Recording Assistantship with Channel Classics Records. Besides learning about DSD, surround mixing, and Classic Channel's business model, [Managing Director and Oberlin alumnus] Jared Sacks has invited me to travel with him to Budapest and London, where he will record the Budapest Festival Orchestra and Rachel Pdger and Gary Cooper. These trips would be a highlight of my studies as I could see exactly how the recordings are made-the microphone placement, the number of microphones, the gain structure .... After each session, we will return to Jared Sacks' home to edit and mix the recordings."

Syzygy TourTim Ballard, OC ' 10 (B.M. Performance - Classical Guitar; B.A.
Environmental Studies)
Andrew Flachs, OC '10 (B.M. Performance - Classical Saxophone; B.A. Anthropology)
"We plan to undertake a two-week-long tour in January, performing eight
concerts at community centers and universities in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, and North Carolina. Through this tour, we hope to engage the interest of the general public, as well as other music students, in our unusual combination of classical saxophone and guitar. While such dueos have been historically uncommon, they are gaining popularity in contemporary music; we hope to be at the forefront of this trend. While many such duos primarily choose to perform arrangements of existing works, our interest lies in performing contemporary pieces composerd for saxophone and guitar duo that take advantage of the unique timbre, range, and character of our respective instruments. We will continue to perform out previously premiered Oberlin student commissions and are currently soliciting more."

Sound as MateriaLTed Rankin-Parker, OC '09 (B.M. Performance - Cello)
with Jonathan Corey, OC '08 (B.M. Performance - Piano)
"WonderRoot is an Atlanta-based non-profit arts organization committed to uniting artists and community to inspire positive social change. We would like to present a series of workshops and concerts through WonderRoot' s Creativity for Kids program in which Wonder Root artists go to schools, partner with mentoring organizations, and partner with other community service organizations to teach art production methods. The workshops will be titled "Sound as Material" and will focus on concepts we have learned at Oberlin through studies in contemporary music, dance, sculpture, and experimental improvisation through these media. They will also offer us a means to develop skills we have learned through our extensive pedagogical study and work with the Oberlin Music Mentors program, in order to bring an understanding and engagement of new wyas of approaching music to a new generation of listeners,"