Oberlin Community Remembers a Dedicated Professor of Voice

A member of the Oberlin faculty for 40 years, Marlene Rosen was known by her students and colleagues as a kind and supportive teacher who valued her connections with students and remained influential throughout their professional lives.

A lyric soprano, Rosen earned critical acclaim not only for her voice and interpretive skills but for the unusual breadth of her performance capabilities. She appeared as a soloist with the Milwaukee Symphony, Cleveland Chamber Symphony, Philadelphia Brazilian Festival Orchestra, University of Evansville Oratorio Society, Canton Symphony, and the New Music Associates of Cleveland State University.

She performed numerous times with the Plum Creek Chamber Ensemble, the Fischer Duo, and the Ensemble Pierrot, and gave recitals in Germany, Holland, Finland, and China. As a collaborative musician she appeared with Pierre Boulez, George Crumb, John Harbison, Luciano Berio, and John Cage and recorded on a number of labels.

Rosen earned her master’s degree at the University of Illinois, an undergraduate degree at Temple University, and was a Midwest Regional winner of the Metropolitan Opera Auditions. She began her teaching career at Oberlin in 1982, rising to full professor in 2003, and retiring nearly 20 years later in 2022. 

In 2013 she was awarded one of Oberlin’s Excellence in Teaching awards. At the time of the award she wrote, “For me, teaching is more than making someone a better singer. It's also about addressing the entire individual and finding opportunities to teach life-lessons.”

Tim LeFebvre, Oberlin professor of voice recalls, “Marlene was one of the three senior voice teachers at Oberlin when I was hired in 2010. She was always very kind and supportive of me—both as a teacher and as a performer, and we often talked about our students and providing the best possible experience for them. She championed all her students and provided a high level of expertise and passion to everything she did.”

Rosen is survived by her husband of 61 years, Mike Rosen (retired Oberlin professor of percussion), her children Rebecca and Josh, and three grandchildren.