February 22, 2005—The Oberlin Conservatory of Music will have the opportunity to display some of its exceptionally talented students during the prestigious Conservatory Project Series at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., on Friday, Feb. 25. A part of the Center's Millennium Stage Initiative, the Conservatory Project is a new program for developing and presenting young talent from the nation's leading music conservatories.  

"The Conservatory Project creates an ongoing showcase for our nation's exceptional young musical artists," says Michael M. Kaiser, president of the Kennedy Center, "and is a wonderful opportunity for them to be heard on a national stage."

The Kennedy Center offers the music series twice a year as a means of introducing Washington audiences to young performers who show extraordinary talent with performances of classical music, jazz, and opera. National Public Radio will record the performances, which will be broadcast via the Kennedy Center's web site. Student participants also will have the opportunity to be critiqued by world-renowned musicians, including Leonard Slatkin and Placido Domingo.

"We welcome this wonderful opportunity to demonstrate on a national level Oberlin's pursuit of excellence," says Andrea Kalyn, associate dean of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. "By inviting Oberlin to participate, our nation's performing arts leaders have affirmed that our school offers one of the country's finest music programs."

Oberlin's Friday night performance is one of a series of six nights of concerts, each presented by a different school.   The free events take place from 6 to 7 p.m. in the Kennedy Center's Terrace Theatre, which seats 513 people.       

Five sets of musicians, each selected by different departments in the Conservatory, will represent Oberlin at the Kennedy Center. The Oberlin program includes:

• Yuncong Zhang '07, violinist, and pianist Scott Meek '05. Carmen, fantasie brillante (1877) by Jenö Hubay (1858-1937)

• Todd Boyce '05, baritone, with pianist Yingying Su '07. Selections from Mörike-Lieder (1889): Heimweh ; Der Jäger; Die Geister am Mummelsee by Hugo Wolf (1860-1903)

• Emily Brebach '05, oboist, accompanied by pianist James Howsmon, associate professor of instrumental accompanying. Concerto for Oboe II. Poco andante III. Poco allegro by Bohuslav Martinu (1890-1959)

• Jasper Quartet: J Freivogel '06 and Evan Few '06, violins; Sam Quintal '06, viola; Rachel Henderson '06, cello. String Quartet No. 4 (1928) by Béla Bartók (1881-1945)

• Yury Shadrin '05, pianist. Andante spianato et Grande polonaise brillante by Frederick Chopin (1810-1849)

The Oberlin Conservatory of Music, founded in 1865 and situated within the intellectual vitality of Oberlin College since 1867, is the oldest continuously operating conservatory in the United States. It is renowned internationally as a professional music school of the highest caliber, and its alumni have gone on to achieve illustrious careers in all aspects of the serious music world. Numerous Oberlin alumni have attained stature as solo performers, composers, and conductors, among them Jennifer Koh, Steven Isserlis, Denyce Graves, Franco Farina, Lisa Saffer, George Walker, Christopher Rouse, David Zinman, and Robert Spano. All of the members of the contemporary music ensembles eighth blackbird and the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE) are Oberlin graduates, and members of the Miró, Pacifica, Juilliard, and Fry Street quartets, among others, include Oberlin alumni, who can also be found in major orchestras and opera companies throughout the world.

For more information about Oberlin, please visit Oberlin.edu.