November 15 , 2006 -- Robert Spano, 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, located at 90 N. Professor St. (corner of Professor and Lorain streets), Oberlin. Seating is by general admission. Finney Chapel is wheelchair accessible, and free parking is available throughout campus. For more information, please visit www.oberlin.edu/con or call the Conservatory’s 24-hour Concert Hotline at 440-775-6933.

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.”

Bosnian-born pianist Pedja Muzijevic previously shared the stage with Spano during a concert of Hungarian music at the Brooklyn Academy of Music Opera House in 1998. Jennifer Higdon’s blue cathedral is one of the most performed orchestral works by a living composer; 100 orchestras have performed the piece since its 2000 premiere.

Robert Spano, conductor
Music Director of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Robert Spano is recognized internationally as one of the brightest and most imaginative conductors of his generation. He has conducted nearly every major North American orchestra and has appeared with the opera companies of Seattle, Santa Fe, Chicago, and Houston. He is also Music Director of the 2006 Ojai Music Festival.
Born in Conneaut, Ohio, and raised in Elkhart, Indiana, Mr. Spano grew up in a musical family, playing flute, violin, and piano as well as composing. He studied with Robert Baustian at the Oberlin Conservatory and with Max Rudolf at the Curtis Institute of Music. His achievements have been recognized with honorary doctorates by Bowling Green State University and the Curtis Institute of Music.

Jennifer Higdon, composer
Jennifer Higdon is one of America’s most frequently performed composers. Her works have been recorded on more than two dozen CDs. In 2004, the Atlanta Symphony released the Grammy-winning Higdon: Concerto for Orchestra/City Scape. Fall of 2006 sees the release of a CD of Higdon’s music on Naxos, as well as a recording with eighth blackbird. Higdon enjoys more than 200 performances a year of her works. She teaches composition at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.

Pedja Muzijevic, piano
Making his Carnegie Hall debut, Pedja Muzijevic has been widely praised for his interpretations of the standard literature and for his imaginative programming. He has toured extensively throughout eastern and western Europe, Great Britain, Canada, the United States, South America and Asia. Muzijevic has performed with the Milwaukee Symphony, the Residentie Orkest in The Hague, Dresden Philharmonic, and the Boston Pops. Recital appearances include the Frick Collection in New York, Lincoln Center, the 92nd Street Y and the Library of Congress. Muzijevic studied at the Academy of Music in Zagreb, the Curtis Institute of Music, and at the Juilliard School. He is the Director of Music Programming at the Baryshnikov Arts Center in New York City. 

About the Oberlin Conservatory Symphony Orchestra
and the Oberlin Conservatory of Music at Oberlin College
After Sir Simon Rattle conducted the Oberlin Chamber Orchestra in December 2004, Plain Dealer music critic Donald Rosenberg wrote that the concert was “stamped by magnificence.” Indeed, Rosenberg included the Oberlin-Rattle performance of Mahler’s Symphony No. 4, which he described as “uncommonly rich in poetry and drama,” in his list of top 10 memorable events from the 2004 concert season.
Magnificence has come to be synonymous with all aspects of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, from its exacting standards for incoming students to the excellence in teaching and performance expected of its faculty and the notable careers of its alumni, who can be found performing in every major orchestra and opera house and with many of today’s acclaimed chamber ensembles.
Founded in 1865 and situated amid the intellectual vitality of Oberlin College since 1867, Oberlin is the oldest continuously operating conservatory in the United States. An undergraduate institution, Oberlin is renowned internationally as a professional music school of the highest caliber and has been called a “national treasure” by the Washington Post.
Past guest conductors of the Oberlin Orchestra have included Marin Alsop, Pierre Boulez, Catherine Comet, Tan Dun, Eve Queler, Robert Shaw, Oscar Shumsky, Igor Stravinsky, composer John Williams, and Hugh Wolff.