Artist Recital Series Bonus Event: Laureates of the Cooper International Competition

“Supremely gifted” (Cleveland Plain Dealer) Cooper Laureates perform on Oberlin’s Artist Recital Series

Oberlin, Ohio — Some of the most promising young musicians in the world will perform on April 11 as part of Oberlin College’s distinguished Artist Recital Series (ARS). This unique concert features violin and piano laureates of the annual Thomas & Evon Cooper International Competition, introducing northeast Ohio music lovers to the next generation of musical superstars.

The concert will take place in Finney Chapel at 7:00 p.m. with host Robert Conrad, president of WCLV, Cleveland’s classical music radio station. The event will be broadcast live on 104.9 WCLV and on www.wclv.com. The live broadcast can also be viewed on Oberlin’s live-stream portal. Admission to the concert is free, and no tickets are required.

The Cooper International Competition, which began in summer 2010, enhances educational opportunities for young musicians while building on the historic relationship between Oberlin and The Cleveland Orchestra. The competition alternates annually between piano and violin and is open to musicians between the ages of 13 and 18. Each year the competition awards more than $20,000 in prize money, scholarships to Oberlin Conservatory, and culminates in a final round at Severance Hall in Cleveland, where the top three competitors perform a full concerto with the incomparable Cleveland Orchestra.

The April 11 Cooper Laureate concert is part of the first-ever Thomas & Evon Cooper International Festival. Exclusive to Cooper Competition participants, the festival invites laureates for a specially designed weekend that includes private lessons, master classes, a special session with major artist managers, a recording session in Oberlin’s Clonick Hall, and the festival capstone, a featured performance on Oberlin’s ARS.

"We are thrilled to introduce our Artist Recital Series subscribers to these wonderful young talents,” says piano competition director Robert Shannon, professor of piano and director of keyboard studies at Oberlin. “We feel it equally important to create a mini-festival in which they would be exposed to aspects of professional life that might be somewhat new to them using the resources of the conservatory and its audiences. It should be an exciting time for everybody."

Of the featured violinists that are coming to perform and take part in the festival, Gregory Fulkerson, violin competition director and professor of violin at Oberlin, says, "These young violinists, first heard in Oberlin at our inaugural Cooper Violin Competition in 2011, are poised to become leaders in the next generation of great performing violinists, and it is our privilege to help them in the realization of their dreams."

Upcoming Cooper events include the 2013 Cooper International Violin Competition, July 18–26, and the first biennial Cooper Piano Festival, July 23–31. This will be the fourth annual Cooper Competition, open this year to accomplished young violinists, ages 13 through 18, from around the world. The Piano Festival, which runs concurrent with the Competition, invites pianists of all ages and skill levels to enjoy a week of performances, forums, lessons and master classes with Oberlin and guest faculty, and an insider’s view of the energy and excitement of the Cooper International Violin Competition. The Piano Festival will conclude with its own Festival Competition, which invites participants to compete for cash prizes totaling $1,500.

For information on the 2013 Cooper International Violin Competition, please visit http://oberlin.edu/cooper/.

For more information on the Cooper Piano Festival, please visit http://new.oberlin.edu/office/summer-programs/cooper-piano-festival/.

Laureates of the Cooper International Competition to perform on April 11

Fact sheet

Thursday, April 11, 2013, 7:00 p.m.
Laureates of the Cooper International Competition
An Artist Recital Series Bonus Event

Finney Chapel, Oberlin College
90 N. Professor St., Oberlin, OH 44074