Program Overview

Recording Arts and Production

Oberlin Conservatory’s major in Recording Arts & Production is intended for students interested in exploring the history, theory and practice of recorded music. This program leads to a bachelor of music degree and focuses on applying skills acquired in the classroom in collaboration with ensembles of all sizes and styles. While much of what we do is based in the conservatory, this major is genre non-specific and seeks to teach musicians of all styles the technical skills and aesthetic considerations needed to explore the field of music production as both a profession and an art.

Through group and individualized instruction, hands-on opportunities to record a multitude of styles, and exposure to accomplished engineers and producers, students who complete this program are poised for audio careers that demand the highest level of expertise.

A string and wind ensemble in the recording studio with microphones all around.
Photo credit: Kevin G. Reeves

Program Facts

Director

Andrew Tripp,
Associate Professor and Chair of Recording Arts and Production

Record with Incredible Musicians

Through projects on the Oberlin Music recording label, live concerts for annual programming in the Conservatory of Music, and a growing number of film productions, there is no shortage of opportunities to collaborate with a broad range of performing and creative artists.

Course of Study

“The simplest way to make a recording is to truly understand the process from start to finish. Any time we spend grappling with technical issues is time spent not fully invested in the music. Once all the barriers between technology and music are torn down, we find ourselves in a much better position to explore recording as an art.”

—Andrew Tripp

Program & Curriculum Details

A string ensemble and oboist in the recording studio, as seen through the control room glass.
A control-room view of Kendra Colton ’83 recording “Crossroads” in Clonick Hall with the Oberlin Sinfonietta.
Photo credit: Yevhen Gulenko
  • Photo of Andrew Garver

    Andrew Garver

    Associate Professor of Recording Arts and Production

  • Andrew Tripp

    Andrew Tripp

    Associate Professor and Chair of Recording Arts and Production

Recording Spaces

Nine spaces in all—from intimate recital halls and jazz club settings to grand concert venues to a sophisticated recording studio.

Recording and Performance Spaces
Equipment List

Mixing console in the control room

Recording Arts and Production News

Finney on Demand

April 20, 2020

A homegrown app allows musicians everywhere to mimic the acoustics of their favorite Oberlin venues.
speaker mounted on the stage of Finney Chapel.

How to Apply

Learn about the online application, interviewing, and other aspects of the admissions process.

Microphones above a grand piano