Sept. 10 Faculty Concert to Include André Previn Premiere

The first Faculty Chamber Series performance of the 2017-18 season includes the world premiere of a piece by pianist and composer André Previn. Montfort was written by Previn for oboe and piano in August 2016. Professor of Oboe and English Horn Robert Walters was offered the world premiere by the composer’s publisher. He will be joined by Professor of Instrumental Accompanying James Howsmon.

The free performance takes place at 4:30 p.m. Sunday, September 10, in Warner Concert Hall (77 W. College St.). It will be live streamed at oberlin.edu.

“I have always loved Previn’s music, and for my forthcoming solo CD on the Oberlin Music label, I had just finished recording his Wedding Waltz for two oboes and piano with Mingjia Liu ’08, the principal oboist of the San Francisco Opera,” says Walters (pictured). Montfort will also appear on the recording, which is due out in 2018.

The September 10 concert will also include Jacques Ibert’s Deux Interludes with faculty flutist Alexa Still, violinist Marilyn McDonald, and pianist Monique Duphil, who retired from the conservatory faculty in spring 2017 after a 25-year career at Oberlin.

Still, Howsmon, and faculty bassoonist Drew Pattison ’09 will perform Charles Koechlin’s Trois pièces, Op. 34bis, and piano faculty Robert Shannon ’72 and Haewon Song close the evening with Ferruccio Busoni’s Duettino concertante nach Mozart, K. 459 and Debussy’s Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune and the second movement of Nocturnes.

“The faculty at Oberlin are all world-class performers on their instruments,” says Walters, who is also a member of the Cleveland Orchestra. “It's a huge privilege to be able to play chamber music together. The opportunity to perform with both colleagues and students is one my favorite things about teaching here.”

For more information on this concert and all performances at Oberlin, visit the online events calendar.