On Saturday September 20, Midge Wood Brittingham’s friends and fellow alumni gathered to celebrate her retirement from her position as Executive Director of the Alumni Association. Kulas could barely accommodate all the past and present Obies and the abundance of nostalgia and joviality they brought with them.

The multi-genre tribute concert featured singers Carl Bewig (OC ‘62), Connie Matthews Webber (OC ‘64), Kathy Chiavola (OC ‘74), Carol A. Silverman-Kurtz (OC ’82) and versatile pianist Richard Shirey (OC ‘64). Brittingham herself graduated in the class of 1960. The performers came from varied musical backgrounds, but each exuded the kind of graceful, humble ease onstage that comes with advancement in years.

Bewig, a charismatic bass (and former Director of Admissions), opened the program with a Gilbert and Sullivan set. He brought a certain subtlety to the music, making the sometimes overblown operetta songs sound delightfully sophisticated. The audience sang along giddily to “When I Was a Lad” from HMS Pinafore.

Softening the ambiance, former music education major Webber sang a romantic group of Brahms and Strauss songs. Her presence, smooth line and joy onstage brought a rare breed of calm into the often tension-filled Kulas. Strauss’s “Allerseelen” was particularly moving.

Chiavola gave the hall another rarity: bluegrass music. The only singer making her living in the business, this raw and passionate artist said she “felt a calling” for bluegrass after years as a successful soprano. Her songs, one of which she composed, centered around loss and healing. Murmurs and tears followed what was doubtlessly the emotional highlight of the evening.

A self-described “singer in the shower,” Silverman-Kurtz rounded out the program with some musical theater tunes. She called coming back to Kulas 20 years after her graduation “the highlight of her life.” Her huge, dark voice filled the hall and was particularly affective in Sondheim’s “Send in the Clowns.” Dressed in an appropriately glitzy gown, she finished her set with John Kander’s, OC ’55, “Cabaret.”

Bewig closed the evening with “Luck Be A Lady” from Guys and Dolls, a production in which he and Brittingham partook while students at Oberlin. His buoyant voice and debonair mannerisms made him the perfect closer.

Hidden behind the Steinway, Shirey humbly supported all of the artists, save Chiavola who brought her guitar. He is clearly an experienced accompanist and all, performers and audience members alike, were lucky to have him.

What truly made this concert one of the Conservatory’s most enjoyable this year was the audience. Kulas has seen many receptive, open, and enthusiastic houses, but this one was particularly celebratory. The evening was an example of the intimate, positive relationship of which performers and audiences are capable. All attending clearly left any baggage at the door and came to simply enjoy the music, Ms. Brittingham and their memories of Oberlin.