We are in the peak of college decision season! Currently, and in the next couple of weeks, students meticulously weigh the pros and cons of their college acceptances to decide which school they’ll finally choose to attend this fall. To assist the thousands of potential future Obies who weigh the merits of Oberlin in contrast to other schools, I’m providing a couple of student perspectives on what life in the conservatory could look like.
I interviewed 4 students across various performance disciplines: Sarah Spitzer ’30, a viola performance major enrolled in the Double Degree program, Kevin McGuire ’29, a piano performance major, Freddy Morest ’28, a cello performance major, and Isaiah Gallegos ’28, a vocal performance major.
Sarah Spitzer ’30
Sarah studies viola performance under Kirsten Docter and is in the College of Arts and Sciences. While she hasn’t yet declared a college major, she’s interested in Environmental Science and related fields. She’s intrigued by the intersection of music performance and non-profit work, such as organizing recitals to fund environmentalist efforts, or, as she says, “composing music for an ad that could help save the planet.”
Sarah appreciates how easy it is at Oberlin to maintain an active lifestyle. She frequents the Jesse Philips Physical Education Center, the largest gym in Oberlin. “Working out is really good stress management for me. There are classes at the gym for that as well.” Weather permitting, she also enjoys going on bike rides around campus. “I really like the campus’ structure because I'm definitely more active here than I would be at home.”
She also enjoys going to concerts at Oberlin. Some highlights of hers were the Miro Quartet’s Artist Recital Series performances, where they performed all of Beethoven’s quartets across six performances for the 30th anniversary of their founding at Oberlin. She especially liked their performance at the Allen Memorial Art Museum, which had a round audience setup. “You got to be really close. It was my favorite performance of theirs.”
While Sarah’s social circle mostly consists of fellow Conservatory students, she’s made many close friends in the college as well, a versatility that she desired coming to Oberlin as a Double Degree student: “I like the variety of friends I have; there’s always someone to do something with.” You can find her and her friends hanging out in the Conservatory Lounge, lying in the grass in Wilder Bowl, and partying at the various co-ops across campus.
Kevin McGuire ’29
Kevin studies piano performance under Haewon Song. One thing he values the most about Oberlin is how accessible musical engagement is. “I went to a very small high school where there weren’t many musical opportunities,” he says. “Having so much music happening in one place, all the time, is really cool for me.” A piano recital he enjoyed seeing this school year was “Marathon from Oberlin to Warsaw for the International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition,” a 5-hour recital featuring the first-round programs of the seven Oberlin piano students who were selected to perform in the prestigious competition.
He often performs in community outreach performances at the First Church in Oberlin, organized by one of his friends and fellow piano students. He and his friends all perform pieces of their choice in these student-led concerts. “The audience is a nice mix of people. It’s mostly our friends who come to watch, but some churchgoers like to come as well.” He’s also performed in concerts held by other student-led efforts such as The Musikos Collective, a multidisciplinary performance organization.
This school year, Kevin had the chance to perform with his peers on a more personal level…as a collaborative pianist! As part of the piano curriculum, he's taking Keyboard Accompanying, which pairs Oberlin piano students with other instrumental majors for private study, end-of-year jury, and junior and senior recital performances.
One piece he was assigned is Beethoven’s Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 8 in G Major. “I’m playing it with one of my friends, and we’ve performed it in her lessons and studio classes. As a pianist, collaborating with other musicians is one of the most fun things to do, and it’s even better when it’s with a good friend.”
Freddy Morest ’28
Freddy studies cello performance under Darrett Adkins. He is well-versed in the interdisciplinary performance opportunities across campus: He spent his winter term this year in the pit for the 2026 Winter Term Mainstage Production “Fun Home,” and was also in the 2025 Fall Lab Series production of “As You Like It.” He has also premiered the works of Oberlin student composers in various recitals. For a Musikos Collective concert last fall, he performed “God How Lonely” by Calvin Ray Shawler ‘28, a piece scored for 2 violas, 2 cellos, 3 bassoons, and vibraphone.
Freddy appreciates that Oberlin grants a vast range of opportunities to perform music outside of the traditional Western classical canon. “I really like getting out of the space that I’m used to,” he says. He also acknowledges the practical benefits of taking on different commitments. “It's good as a musician to learn to balance what I have going on. I’ve gotten good experience playing lots of different music with different people.”
I took Chamber Music last fall with Freddy! He and I were in a string quartet and spent the semester studying Tchaikovsky’s String Quartet No. 1 in D Major. We performed the first movement in a masterclass led by the Miro Quartet, the same week of their aforementioned Beethoven performance series. We also engaged in interdisciplinary work, performing Chausson’s “Chanson Perpetuelle” for voice, piano, and string quartet in a concert at the Allen Memorial Art Museum, which paired French vocal chamber music with the Allen’s exhibition, “Picturing Paris: Monet and the Modern City.”
Isaiah Gallegos ’28
Isaiah studies vocal performance under Salvatore Champagne. He values the breadth of performing opportunities available to vocal majors at Oberlin, particularly as an undergraduate institution. “Having lots of stage experience is really important as a vocal major. [At Oberlin,] I’m not competing with master’s students.”
He has graced the stage of several Oberlin Opera Theater productions, including his lead role in the fall 2025 production of L’amant anonyme by Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges. He also spent his Winter Term on campus preparing for his role in this spring’s Opera Theater Production, Later the Same Evening and Bastianello, two one-act operas with music by John Musto and librettos by Mark Campbell. (I was in the pit orchestra as part of the Contemporary Music Ensemble for this production!)
This summer, Isaiah will be in Sicily, Italy, studying at the Mediterranean Opera Summer Festival. He looks forward to the chance to continue his musical development during summer break. “I can keep my voice fresh over the summer when I’m not working with my instructor here. There will be lots of different teachers from schools like the Curtis Institute of Music and the local Italian voice academies.”
When he’s not singing, he enjoys spending time with his friends around campus. He and his friends like to eat at the restaurants in town—his favorite is ThiNi Thai, which just reopened this week following a relocation and renovation!
