Oberlin is currently in the midst of an unprecedented happening: the TIMARA Reunion Festival. The Conservatory’s Technology In Music And Related Arts department has brought on this large-scale event in honor of the distinguished Professor of Electronic and Computer Music Gary Lee Nelson and his upcoming retirement.

“We have six decades of alums, all the way from the ’50s,” said TIMARA Associate Professor of Computer Music and Digital Arts Tom Lopez, OC ’89. “The variety of performances will be extraordinary.”

The festival includes over a dozen performances by students, alumni and even former faculty.

Fairchild Chapel hosted the first performance Monday night. The chapel, with its eerie, reverberating characteristics was a match for two recent alums, Doron Sadja, OC ’05 and Zeljko McMullen, OC ’06, who are mid-tour with their experimental electronics. Accompanied by cellists Conservatory sophomore Karen Peters and juniors Evan Kuehl and Teddy Rankin-Parker, the 45-minute set of musical exploration was as extreme as it was atmospheric.

Despite Monday night’s low turnout, the festival drew a sizeable crowd to Warner Concert Hall on Tuesday night for R.O. Blechman’s, OC ’52, animation video set to Igor Stravinsky’s L’Histoire du Soldat. Accompanied by three actors, several laptops processing live audio and the Oberlin Wind Ensemble, the work was performed flawlessly and with great passion.

Accomplished illustrator Blechman attended the performance and gave an informal lecture Wednesday evening.

Several events tonight will be worth seeing.

At 8 p.m. in Finney Chapel, Oberlin’s Contemporary Music Ensemble will perform a series of live electronic performances including sound file playback, the processing of live instruments and even electronic interaction. Mario Diaz de Leon, OC ’04, and Michael Klingbeil, OC ’96, both contributed pieces to the performance, as well as Ashley Rose, OC ’04, and Lopez.

“Piano Piece” by Olly Wilson is expected to be the highlight of this performance. A faculty member from 1965-70, Wilson was one of the original founders of what is now the TIMARA department. A composer, multi-instrumentalist and recipient of numerous awards, he has been an important figure in contemporary music as an African-American musical frontrunner. “Piano Piece” will be performed by Conservatory sophomore Tom Fosnocht and CME conductor and Director of the Conducting and Ensembles Division Timothy Weiss.

Later tonight, the ’Sco is hosting the most informal of all the festival’s events. Beginning at 11 p.m., the night will feature voice and TIMARA graduate Amy X Neuburg with her masterful voice manipulation performance. Warner Jepson, OC ’52, will screen the film The Bed by James Broughton, for which he wrote the music. Clay Chaplin, OC ’95, will perform with his “Stupid Thing,” a wireless glove from which he derives his musical musings. A sextet of Conservatory students will perform ’92 alum Peter Flint’s “Music for a Fabulous Time!”

The festival will culminate with Saturday evening’s Dance Collaborations performance in Hall Auditorium at 8 p.m. This concert will be a large production, complete with full lighting and costuming, and will feature performances by alumni and faculty. The TIMARA and Dance departments have long since worked together in the “Collaborations” workshop, improvising with dance, electronics and live interaction between the two.

Seven performances will complete Saturday night’s Collaborations performance, but one highlight will be a piece by Stephen Sloan, OC ’88, and Ken James, OC ’86.

“Stephen will be driving from L.A. with a truckload of old synthesizers from the ’70s and ’80s,” Professor Lopez said with amazement.

James is a renowned choreographer with his own dance company, and the piece he is creating with Sloan on Saturday is the sort to be determined by a performer on stage.

Fairchild Chapel will host the last of the events at 11 p.m. on Saturday. It looks to be a shorter, more personal concert featuring more work by Nelson and Jepson.

The Festival is shaping up to be a fruitful one. With so many returning figures and a high volume of performances, there is enough to keep one busy the entire weekend. All artists returning to Oberlin have interesting stories to tell, and going to see their performances will not only allow people to hear these successes, but to experience the contemporary music and media to which Oberlin has contributed so greatly.