Program Overview
Percussion
The Oberlin Percussion Group performs at the Cleveland Museum of Art.
Photo credit: Yevhen Gulenko
The undergraduate focus of our Percussion Program emphasizes individualized, rigorous instruction and plentiful opportunities to put all you learn into practice. You will build a foundation in music theory and aural skills and develop your technique and musicianship through the study of both contemporary solo and chamber literature, digital and electroacoustic practices, and orchestral repertoire. The Oberlin percussion curriculum ensures that every student is provided with unique opportunities to shape their distinctive paths.
Program Facts
- Program Type: Major
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- Bachelor of Music (BM)
- Division: Winds, Brass, and Percussion
Division Director
Richard Hawkins,
Professor of Clarinet
Quick Links
Ensembles for Percussionists
In addition to the Oberlin Percussion Group, which is dedicated to presenting contemporary music written for percussion, students perform with the Oberlin Orchestra and Contemporary Music Ensemble. Other ensembles include Performance & Improvisation (PI) Ensembles, Silent Film Ensemble, Oberlin Improvisation & New Music Collective, Djembe Orchestra, Javanese Gamelan, Oberlin Baroque Orchestra, Oberlin Jazz Ensemble, and the student-led Oberlin Taiko ensemble.
Percussion Studio
The percussion studio is a modular space for creative projects, lessons, and rehearsals. It’s packed with all manner of mallet instruments and drums and a deep collection of rare sounds.
Students have access to this impressive array of professional-quality instruments which include several sets of clutch and balanced-action timpani (Spenke & Metzl, Clevelander, and Adams), five octave marimbas (Kori, Marimba One, Adams), vintage xylophones on modern frames, four vintage glockenspiels, tubular bells, and Musser, Deagan, and Yamaha vibraphones on modern frames. You’ll also find our unique library of chromatic and untuned metallic instruments such as gongs, tam tams, crotales, almglocken, cymbals, as well as shelves of piece-specific instruments too numerous to describe! The studio also has the largest collection of Kolberg racks and hardware of any conservatory in the United States. Follow @rkarre for a POV of life in the percussion studios of Oberlin Conservatory of Music
Percussion Faculty
Conservatory faculty maintain active performance schedules while remaining accessible and committed to their students. Individual instruction is paramount to helping students develop their mechanical, technical, stylistic, psychological, and musical skills. And because Oberlin is dedicated to undergraduate education, all applied studio teaching, class room instruction, and ensembles are coached by professors—never by graduate students.
I want to help this studio develop agency: creative agency, technological agency, and administrative agency. Because percussionists have to do that, no matter what the setting. They have to be a complete person.
Affiliated Faculty
Billy Hart
Associate Professor of Jazz Percussion
Upcoming Percussion Events
Details: Date, Time, and Location
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Finney Chapel
Conservatory Orientation Recital
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David H. Stull Recital Hall
Faculty Recital: Alexa Still, flute & Hyunsoo Kim, piano
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Finney Chapel
Concert: Oberlin Chamber Orchestra
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Finney Chapel
2026-27 Senior Concerto Competition
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Kulas Recital Hall, Conservatory Central Unit
Guest Master Class: Erin Hannigan, oboe
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Finney Chapel
Concert: Oberlin Orchestra
Percussion News
Oberlin Ensembles Perform for United Nations at Carnegie Hall
December 2 concert before U.N. General Assembly celebrates new partnership; public preview in Oberlin slated for November 29.
Ross Karre Named Percussion Professor at Oberlin Conservatory
Appointment begins in fall 2022, charts new course for department led for 50 years by Michael Rosen.
Conservatory Percussion Department Prepares for Life After a Legend
Pablo Rieppi to teach at Oberlin in 2021-22 as professor Michael Rosen concludes remarkable tenure.
Performing at Oberlin and Beyond
Percussion students gain performance acumen across a broad variety of genres in ensembles large and small. They perform in venues on and off campus and participate in recording projects on the Oberlin Music label. And, they collaborate with faculty, guest, and student composers in acoustic and electroacoustic works. Oberlin alumni percussionists perform around the world in orchestras and new music collectives, on Broadway and in recording studios, they lead artistic organizations around the world, and they serve on the faculties of music schools across the country.
Next Steps
Get in touch; we would love to chat.
