Conservatory Celebrates Standout Students for 2024

Each spring, Oberlin Conservatory’s faculty and administration celebrate students whose academic and artistic work is especially meritorious. They are selected by committees and competition juries for exemplary musicianship and academic and personal achievement. Awards generated by numerous endowed funds are dedicated to acknowledging these musicians’ demonstrated excellence, supporting their ongoing study and creative projects, and even assisting with instrument purchases.

This year’s honorees were celebrated at a May 13 reception in Stull Recital Hall (see photos of the event on Flickr). They are listed below in alphabetical order by last name:

Beethoven Prize in Piano: Finalist
Awarded to piano majors by the piano faculty for excellence in performing works by Beethoven
Nio L. Ajero

Louis and Annette Kaufman Music Achievement Award in Violin
Awarded to an outstanding student of violin
Max W. Ball

Theodore Presser Undergraduate Scholar Award
Awarded to an outstanding returning student for excellence in musicianship
Max W. Ball

James H. Hall Prize in Musicology
Awarded to a graduating senior for excellence in work in musicology
Eliza R. Balmuth

Delores and Donald White Prize
Awarded to conservatory students who demonstrate leadership in elevating Oberlin Conservatory’s diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging goals through music performance
Joshua A. Barron

Walter E. Aschaffenburg Prize
Awarded to a graduating senior for outstanding music composition
Jake L. Berran

Flint Initiative Grant
Awarded to innovative, motivated, and prepared conservatory and double-degree students to develop imaginative artistic projects
Holly Bogle 

Faustina Hurlbutt Prize
Awarded to an outstanding graduating student in cello, piano, violin, or voice
JJ Jun Li Bui

Beethoven Prize in Piano: Finalist
Awarded to piano majors by the piano faculty for excellence in performing works by Beethoven
James Chen

Arthur Dann Senior Piano Competition
Awarded to the winner of this juried competition for excellence in piano performance
Yihang Chen

Senior Concerto Competition
Awarded in a juried competition each fall. Four winners are featured as soloists in performances of complete concertos with Oberlin orchestras during the spring semester
Drew Dansby, cello

Senior Concerto Competition
Awarded in a juried competition each fall. Four winners are featured as soloists in performances of complete concertos with Oberlin orchestras during the spring semester
Juan Pedro Espinosa Monteros, clarinet

Margot Bos Stambler ’84 Professional Development Award
Awarded to an outstanding voice major of great promise
Elizabeth N. Hanje

James H. Hall Prize in Musicology
Awarded to a graduating senior for excellence in work in musicology
Sam C. Hart

TIMARA Founders Fund John Clough Prize
Awarded to a TIMARA major for distinctive work within the department
Ben P. Hochster

Carol Nott Piano Pedagogy Prize
Awarded to an outstanding graduating senior for continued study in piano pedagogy
Soyoung Jeong

Delores and Donald White Prize
Awarded to conservatory students who demonstrate leadership in elevating Oberlin Conservatory’s diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging goals through music performance
Daniela Jimenez Ochoa

Senior Concerto Competition
Awarded in a juried competition each fall. Four winners are featured as soloists in performances of complete concertos with Oberlin orchestras during the spring semester
Maya Irizarry Lambright, violin

John Elvin Piano Prize
Awarded to the student judged by the piano department to be the most talented in the junior class
Yu-Wei Lee

Beethoven Prize in Piano Third Place: Howard Karp ’51 Prize
Awarded to the third-place finisher of this juried competition for excellence in performance of works by Beethoven
Leo Lu

Beethoven Prize in Piano First Place: Peter Takács Prize
Awarded to the winner of this juried competition for excellence in performance of works by Beethoven
Iskandar O. Mamadaliev

TIMARA Founders Fund Olly Wilson Prize
Awarded to a TIMARA major for distinctive work within the department
Maya T. McCollum

Watson Fellowship
Awarded by the Thomas J. Watson Foundation to graduating seniors for pur­pose­ful, inde­pen­dent explo­ration out­side the Unit­ed States
Maya T. McCollum

Ohio Federation of Music Clubs Agnes Fowler Collegiate Scholarship
Awarded to a junior majoring in music and strong in instrumental or vocal performance
Ian N. McEdwards

Ruth Cogan Memorial Scholarship in Vocal Performance
Awarded to an outstanding voice major who has dedicated significant time to the Otto B. Schoepfle Vocal Arts Center
Isabel Merat

Pi Kappa Lambda Prize for Musicianship
Awarded to students judged to be the most outstanding  of those elected to Pi Kappa Lambda
Immanuel B. Mykyta-Chomsky

Piano Faculty Prize in Accompanying
Awarded to a graduating senior who has demonstrated excellence in accompanying singers and instrumentalists
Immanuel B. Mykyta-Chomsky

Ernest Hatch Wilkins Memorial Prize
Awarded to a returning student who has demonstrated academic excellence in the three preceding years
Khai Nien K. Nguyen

Flint Initiative Grant 
Awarded to innovative, motivated, and prepared conservatory and double-degree students to develop imaginative artistic projects
Sangeetha Ramanuj

David S. Boe-C. B. Fisk Prize for Excellence in Organ Performance
Awarded to an outstanding organ student
William F. Rehwinkel

Earl L. Russell Award in Historical Performance
Awarded to a student majoring in Historical Performance to assist with the purchase of a musical instrument
William F. Rehwinkel

Margot Bos Stambler ’84 Professional Development Award
Awarded to an outstanding voice major of great promise
Alan F. Rendzak

Pi Kappa Lambda Prize for Musicianship
Awarded to students judged to be the most outstanding of those elected to Pi Kappa Lambda
Alan F. Rendzak

Wendell and Bettye Logan Prize in Jazz Studies
Awarded to a graduating student who has demonstrated excellence in performance or composition
Coleman Rose

Selby Harlan Houston Prize
Awarded to a graduating senior whose performance in organ and music theory is of distinguished quality
Mark U. Slatter

Rudolph Serkin Scholarship
Awarded to a student demonstrating excellence in piano performance
Chau Minh Tran

Flint Initiative Grant 
Awarded to innovative, motivated, and prepared conservatory and double-degree students to develop imaginative artistic projects
Sebastien Tsai

Louis and Marguerite Bloomberg Greenwood Prize in Voice
Awarded to a graduating student excelling in cello, piano, violin, or voice
Jordan L. Twadell

Senior Concerto Competition
Awarded in a juried competition each fall. Four winners are featured as soloists in performances of complete concertos with Oberlin orchestras during the spring semester
Jiongli Wang, piano

Beethoven Prize in Piano Second Place: Leon Fleisher Prize
Awarded to the second-place finisher of this juried competition for excellence in performance of works by Beethoven
Fiona Wu