OBERLIN CONSERVATORY MAKES CHICAGO SYMPHONY CENTER DEBUT AS PART OF 150th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION; Highlights include North American Premiere of One Bright Morning by Jesse Jones and homecoming performance from Oberlin Conservatory and Roosevelt University alumna Marcy Stonikas

OBERLIN CONSERVATORY MAKES CHICAGO SYMPHONY CENTER DEBUT AS PART OF 150^th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION

Highlights include North American Premiere of One Bright Morning by Jesse Jones and homecoming performance from Oberlin Conservatory and Roosevelt University alumna Marcy Stonikas

Roosevelt University’s Ganz Hall, January 29

Chicago Symphony Center, January 30

December 9, 2015—Oberlin Conservatory of Music, the nation’s oldest continuously operating conservatory, makes its Chicago debut this January in celebration of its 150^th Anniversary as a world leader in professional training for musicians. The Chicago tour is a key component of Oberlin’s yearlong anniversary and features more than 100 conservatory students in two performances: Oberlin’s Contemporary Music Ensemble at Roosevelt University’s Ganz Hall on January 29, 2016, followed by the Oberlin Orchestra at Chicago Symphony Center on January 30, 2016. Complete tour information is available at www.oberlin.edu/chicago2016.

Chicago audiences are already familiar with Oberlin Conservatory’s extensive network of alumni, including the Grammy Award-winning eighth blackbird sextet, which formed at Oberlin, and members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and International Contemporary Ensemble.

“The tour represents an important professional moment for our students, as they step out of the practice room and onto the stage of one of the world’s great concert halls,” says Andrea Kalyn, dean of the Oberlin Conservatory. “But it is also an opportunity for us to share the artistry and work of our students and faculty, and to bring alumni and friends together in celebration of music.”

The Oberlin Contemporary Music Ensemble will kick off the Chicago tour with a performance at Ganz Hall on the campus of Roosevelt University on Friday, January 29 at 7 p.m. The program will open with the North American premiere of One Bright Morning by Jesse Jones, featuring Oberlin student Olivia Boen, a soprano from River Forest, Ill., in addition to Passion Prayers by University of Chicago Professor Augusta Read Thomas, featuring cello soloist and Oberlin faculty member Darrett Adkins (Oberlin Conservatory 1991); and the Grammy Award-winning piece Meanwhile, written by Oberlin Professor of Composition Stephen Hartke. The performance will be led by Oberlin Professor of Conducting Timothy Weiss.

The Oberlin Orchestra will follow with a performance at Chicago Symphony Center on Saturday, January 30 at 8 p.m. under the direction of Associate Professor of Conducting Raphael Jiménez. The program includes Roosevelt University alumna Marcy Stonikas (Oberlin Conservatory 2002) as the featured soprano in Strauss’ Four Last Songs. Saturday’s program also includes Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring and Berlioz’s Roman Carnival Overture. This performance will be preceded by a lecture featuring Harvard University musicologist and author Thomas Kelly, beginning at 7 p.m.

In addition to these main stage performances, Oberlin students will visit area schools and community music programs in Chicago and nearby Milwaukee, Wis., sharing their experiences, presenting brief concerts, and fueling inspiration for future generations of musicians.

“It is worth noting the fact than an undergraduate orchestra can play The Rite of Spring with ease nowadays,” says Jiménez. “This is a piece that, for its premiere, took a professional orchestra 22 rehearsals to prepare. It speaks of the evolution of orchestral playing in the world and loudly speaks of the sophisticated training that our conservatory students are receiving.

“There is no room for error in this kind of repertoire,” Jiménez continues. “But nothing motivates Oberlin students more than a challenge, and to have the opportunity to perform it in Symphony Center makes it even more exciting for us.”

TICKETS

Tickets for the Oberlin Orchestra at Symphony Center on Saturday, January 30 are free but required. Reservations can be made through the Symphony Center Box Office (312-294-3000) or online HERE.

Admission to Oberlin Contemporary Music Ensemble at Ganz Hall on Friday, January 29, is also free, but tickets are required; reserve yours by calling 440-775-8200 or online HERE.

Complete tour information is available at www.oberlin.edu/chicago2016.

PROGRAM

ABOUT OBERLIN

Founded in 1865 and situated amid the intellectual vitality of Oberlin College, the Oberlin Conservatory of Music is the oldest continuously operating conservatory in America and the only major conservatory dedicated primarily to the education of undergraduate musicians.

In the past decade alone, Oberlin ensembles have performed in important concert halls in New York City, Shanghai, Beijing, Los Angeles, Cleveland, and Washington, D.C. Graduates of Oberlin hold key roles in major orchestras throughout the world. Through their work on campus and beyond, Oberlin students play a critical role in elevating communities worldwide through music.

Conservatory alumni and faculty have won countless Grammy Awards, prominent fellowships, and international competitions. Many of them have attained national and international stature as performers, conductors, and composers, among them Jennifer Koh, Steven Isserlis, Jeremy Denk, Elizabeth DeShong, David Adam Moore, George Walker, Christopher Rouse, Huang Ruo, David Zinman, Robert Spano, and James Feddeck. The contemporary music sphere enjoys the contributions of Oberlin-trained eighth blackbird, as well as founding members of the International Contemporary Ensemble, Talea Ensemble, and So Percussion. Oberlin alumni perform in the early music ensembles of Apollo’s Fire, Rebel, Wayward Sisters, and Smithsonian Chamber Players, as well as the Miró, Pacifica, and Fry Street quartets. Still more go on to prominence as scholars, educators, and arts administrators. Oberlin leads all undergraduate institutions in the number of graduates who go on to earn doctorates in music.

For more information regarding the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, please visit www.oberlin.edu

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