Cuts to the piano faculty and a greater emphasis on interdivision cooperation and international performance are among the changes planned for the Conservatory in the coming years.

While recent announcements about the strategic plan implementation and faculty cuts have provoked controversy and even outrage in the College faculty and student body, in the Conservatory these developments have garnered little fanfare or attention.

“A couple of departments will get smaller over time,” said Conservatory Dean David Stull. “It’s purely through retirements or natural departures, if you will.”

The College plans to cut five faculty positions from the Conservatory along with seven from the College.

“Specifically, the piano department is going to have the most immediate reductions,” said Associate Dean Andrea Kalyn. “The upside is that we’re going to be bringing in artists-in-residence.”

“Since classical piano applicants have been declining worldwide, it makes sense to have a smaller piano department and go for quality,” said piano professor Robert Shannon. “With fewer faculty members in place some funds should be freed up to hire some artists-in-residence from the professional world and perhaps some more paid assistants to handle the collaborative needs of the school.”

The attitude about changes and the Strategic Plan specifically seems to be far less tense within the Conservatory than in the College. Kalyn said that she hasn’t seen any real concerns equivalent to those in the College.

“There is great purpose in the Con to make this the undergraduate institution,” she said. “Everything that’s been done with the Strategic Plan and faculty cuts has been done with that in mind. I think that sense of specific purpose has shielded us from their concerns.”

“The Conservatory is different from the College,” said music technology professor and Strategic Planning Committee member Tom Lopez. “For example, we already are vertical in our curriculum. Just by nature, our students come in as freshmen already knowing their major. They have four years to dig in deep.”

“We’re in a very strong position already, both in the country and internationally,” said Stull. “We broke our application record again. It’s really about improving our strength.”

“The process of coming up with the plan was somewhat discouraging to me,” said Lopez. “This is partly because I came in late and didn’t witness the groundwork. But now that it’s here, I’m actually fairly optimistic about what can be done under its auspices.”

For one thing, the Strategic Plan stipulates the need for the Conservatory to expand outside performance opportunities and form alliances.

“Formalizing off-campus performances during classes is hard,” said Stull. “Winter Term is a big window.”

Of course, the Conservatory already does this somewhat, and rather successfully at that. Some examples are the faculty quartet that toured the West Coast and the jazz quartet that performed in Aspen.

“In February we sent five groups to the Conservatory Project at the Kennedy Center,” said Kalyn. “New England Conservatory and CIM was there. Oberlin got a huge mention, way ahead of the other groups.”

“We’re figuring out ways to establish alliances,” said Stull. “Next year, Marilyn Horn will be in residence. Another priority is staying in contact with the Oberlin family through alumni involvement.”

The Strategic Plan also states the intention to “identify and explore the many intellectual interconnections across Oberlin’s curriculum.”

A major way that the Conservatory plans to implement this is through collaboration classes.

“I’ve taught collaboration classes with theater, dance and art,” said Lopez. “I was really glad to see it in the Strategic Plan because it’s all been under the radar and without very much support.”

“Stephanie Wilde and I have been working to collaborate between Allen Art Museum and the Conservatory,” said Stull, citing the recent performance of period concerts in conjunction with contemporary French art. “It’s a strength unique to Oberlin. It’s unparalleled.”

“The Conservatory is capable of offering courses to college students that they really can’t get anywhere else,” said Kalyn. “Although we don’t know what those courses will look like yet.”

The Strategic Plan additionally urges departments to identify “academic priorities.”

“We want to focus specifically on chamber music,” said Stull. “It gives students opportunities to develop a broader range of skills in performance. At its core, it’s about training musicians at the very highest level. This will serve them extremely well after leaving Oberlin.”

“We want to support really great chamber groups,” said Kalyn. “Chamber music is really significant in the education of musicians and the future of music. We want our students prepared for that.”

“One thing I would have liked to have seen was a previous strategic plan and how its implementation worked out,” mentions Lopez. “We should have learned lessons from previous plans and which implementations worked out and which didn’t. Why weren’t these lessons part of the process? That having been said, there’s a lot of room for fantastic improvement at Oberlin under the Strategic Plan. It’s just going to take hard work and sweat.”