Oberlin Conservatory of Music

Last updated
Oberlin Conservatory of Music
Oberlinconservatoryfront e.jpg
Musician entering the Oberlin Conservatory
Type Private music conservatory
Established1865
Parent institution
 Oberlin College
DeanWilliam Quillen
Academic staff
88
Students615
Location
Oberlin
,
Ohio
,
United States

41°17′29″N82°13′10″W / 41.291402°N 82.219407°W / 41.291402; -82.219407
Website http://www.oberlin.edu/conservatory

The Oberlin Conservatory of Music is a private music conservatory of Oberlin College, a private liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio. It was founded in 1865 and is the second oldest conservatory and oldest continually operating conservatory in the United States. It is one of the few American conservatories to be completely attached to a liberal arts college, allowing students the opportunity to pursue degrees in both music and a traditional liberal arts subject via a five-year double-degree program. Like the rest of Oberlin College, the student body of the conservatory is almost exclusively undergraduate.

Contents

History

Bibbins Hall houses the conservatory's Classical Department and administration. Oberlin music1.jpg
Bibbins Hall houses the conservatory's Classical Department and administration.

The Oberlin Collegiate Institute was built on 500 acres (2.0 km2) of land, founded in 1833 and became Oberlin College in 1850. In 1867, two years after the Oberlin Conservatory's founding in 1865, the previously separate Oberlin Conservatory became incorporated with the college on a similar grant. [1]

In tandem, the administration claimed that "Oberlin is peculiar in that which is good," notable as the first college and first conservatory in the United States to regularly admit African-American students. Oberlin College's role as an educator of African-American students prior to the Civil War and thereafter is historically significant. [2] Notable is the graduation of William Grant Still, a student who widely became regarded as the "dean of African-American composers." These efforts have helped Oberlin remain committed to its values of freedom, social justice, and service. [3]

The Kohl Building, home of the Jazz and Musicology Departments, opened in 2010 The Kohl Building.jpeg
The Kohl Building, home of the Jazz and Musicology Departments, opened in 2010

It is also the oldest continuously operating coeducational conservatory, since its incorporation with Oberlin College, the first coeducational college. The college and conservatory were listed as a National Historic Landmark on December 21, 1965, for its significance in social progress. [4]

Due to the conservatory's affiliation with Elisha Gray, inventor of the electromechanical oscillator, and Thaddeus Cahill, inventor of the telharmonium, Oberlin Conservatory plays a role in the origins of electronic music. The TIMARA (Technology In Music And Related Arts) program was the world's first conservatory program in this field, established in 1967.

Oberlin Conservatory was the recipient of the 2009 National Medal of Arts, the highest award given by the United States government to artists and arts patrons in recognition of the wealth and depth of their creative expressions. The Oberlin Conservatory of Music is the only professional music school to be so honored by President Barack Obama.

Admissions

Due to the conservatory's affiliation with Oberlin College, students may either enter the conservatory only or Oberlin's five year Double-Degree program, in which the student will complete both a Bachelor of Music degree as well as a Bachelor of Arts. Admission is based primarily on an extremely competitive audition; over 1,400 musicians from around the world apply for a freshman class of around 120.

Facilities

The conservatory was previously housed in Warner Hall, a large stone building where the King Building now stands. It now occupies four interconnected buildings on the south side of Tappan Square. The original structure of three big white buildings was designed by the Japanese-American architect Minoru Yamasaki in 1963, which closely resembles Yamasaki's later design of the World Trade Center in New York City. A vertical expansion was completed in 2010, improving the buildings acoustics and creating a double height recital room. [5]

In 2010, The Bertram and Judith Kohl Building, designed by architectural firm DLR Group, opened to provide a new home for the Jazz Studies, Music History, and Music Theory departments. [5] Kohl is connected to Robertson by a third-floor enclosed bridge, which also contains the Sky Bar, named for the iconic Cleveland jazz club that closed in 1954.

The Robertson Building houses around 150 practice rooms, most with windows. In addition, the Otto B. Schoepfle Vocal Arts Center, Career Resource Center, Kulas Organ Center, reed-making rooms, computer labs, faculty studios, and staff offices are located here.

Oberlin has been an all-Steinway school since 1877, [6] and contains one of the largest collections of Steinway & Sons pianos, in the world, consisting over 240 pianos. [7]

Oberlin Conservatory Pond.jpg
Panoramic view of the Conservatory Pond, the junction between Bibbins and Robertson.

Academics

Warner Concert Hall Warner Concert Hall, Oberlin Conservatory.JPG
Warner Concert Hall

Oberlin Conservatory offers private study in 31 applied areas and undergraduate majors, including a double major in piano performance and vocal accompanying. [8] It offers the Bachelor of Music, Master of Music, a performance diploma, and an artist diploma. Students accepted to both the College of Arts and Sciences and the Conservatory of Music pursue a degree in each division in the double-degree program.

These programs are organized into four departments:

Oberlin Jazz Ensemble

The Oberlin Jazz Ensemble, composed of jazz as well as classical performance majors, is a component in a four-year curriculum in jazz studies, leading to a bachelor of music degree with a concentration in performance, composition, or both.

Wendell Logan, Professor of African-American Music and Chair of the Oberlin Jazz Studies Program, founded the Oberlin Jazz Ensemble in 1973.

Notable members of the Ensemble include:

Notable people

Faculty

Alumni

See also

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oberlin College</span> Private college in Oberlin, Ohio, US

Oberlin College is a private liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1833, it is the oldest coeducational liberal arts college in the United States and the second-oldest continuously operating coeducational institute of higher learning in the world. The Oberlin Conservatory of Music is the oldest continuously operating conservatory in the United States. In 1835, Oberlin became one of the first colleges in the United States to admit African Americans, and in 1837, the first to admit women. It has been known since its founding for progressive student activism.

The Juilliard School, also known as Juilliard, is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became the Juilliard School, named after its principal benefactor Augustus D. Juilliard. Juilliard is one of the most prestigious performing arts schools in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lawrence University</span> Private college and conservatory in Appleton, Wisconsin, US

Lawrence University is a private liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Appleton, Wisconsin. Founded in 1847, its first classes were held on November 12, 1849. Lawrence was the second college in the U.S. to be founded as a coeducational institution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Berklee College of Music</span> Music college in Boston, Massachusetts

Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level courses in a wide range of contemporary and historic styles, including rock, hip hop, reggae, salsa, heavy metal and bluegrass.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New England Conservatory of Music</span> Private music school in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.

The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. The conservatory is located on Huntington Avenue along the Avenue of the Arts near Boston Symphony Hall, and is home to approximately 750 students pursuing undergraduate and graduate studies, and 1,500 more in its Preparatory School and School of Continuing Education. NEC offers bachelor's degrees in instrumental and vocal classical music performance, contemporary musical arts, composition, jazz studies, music history, and music theory, as well as graduate degrees in collaborative piano, conducting, and musicology. The conservatory has also partnered with Harvard University and Tufts University to create joint double-degree, five-year programs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conservatory of Music of Puerto Rico</span> Public conservatory in San Juan, Puerto Rico

The Puerto Rico Conservatory of Music is a public conservatory in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It has hosted a number of international musicians as students as well as faculty, and has a longstanding relationship with the classical music movement in Puerto Rico, including the annual Casals Festival and the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra (PRSO).

The Henry and Leigh Bienen School of Music is the music and performance arts school of Northwestern University. It is located on Northwestern University's campus in Evanston, Illinois, United States.

The Bard College Conservatory of Music is part of Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. Founded in 2005, the program is unique among music conservatories in the United States in that all undergraduate students are required to participate in a five-year dual-degree program, in which both a B.M. in music and a B.A. in a subject other than music are obtained. Many of the Conservatory's faculty also teach at other conservatories such as the Juilliard School and the Curtis Institute.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Schulich School of Music</span>

The Schulich School of Music is one of the constituent faculties of McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is located at 555, Rue Sherbrooke Ouest. The faculty was named after the benefactor Seymour Schulich.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blair School of Music</span> Music school of Vanderbilt University

The Blair School of Music, located in Nashville, Tennessee, provides a conservatory-caliber undergraduate education in music performance, composition, or integrated music studies within the context of a major research university, Vanderbilt University. Blair also provides music lessons, classes and ensembles to over 800 precollege and adult students each semester. Blair is the youngest and smallest of Vanderbilt's ten constituent schools and colleges.

The University of Santo Tomas Conservatory of Music, popularly known as "UST Music", is the music school of the University of Santo Tomas, the oldest and the largest Catholic university in Manila, Philippines.

Randolph 'Randy' Coleman is an American composer and educator. He was the first chairman of the national council of the American Society of University Composers, now called The Society of Composers, Inc.

Leon Lee Dorsey is an American jazz bassist, composer, arranger, producer, and educator known for his well-received debut for Landmark Records. He teaches at the Berklee School of Music in Boston.

The Conservatory of Music at Wheaton College is a music conservatory located in Wheaton, Illinois. It is both a department and professional school of Wheaton College. It currently has 21 full-time faculty members and approximately 200 undergraduate music majors, and is fully accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music. The Conservatory also operates a Community School of the Arts, serving the music and arts education needs of the surrounding community.

The Lionel Hampton School of Music is the music school at the University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho. The school is named after jazz vibraphonist Lionel Hampton.

Wendell Morris Logan, was an American jazz and concert music composer who created the jazz department at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music.

The Don Wright Faculty of Music is the faculty of music at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario, Canada. The faculty was founded in 1968. Originally known as just the Faculty of Music, it was renamed in 2002 in honour of Don Wright after a significant donation.

The University of Iowa School of Music is a part of the Division of Performing Arts of the College of Liberal Art & Sciences. The school trains musicians for professional careers in performance, composition, music therapy, music theory, musicology, conducting, and music education. Admission to the school is selective, requiring students to be admitted to the university itself before being able to apply and audition for the school of music, at least at the undergraduate level.

Lawrence University Conservatory of Music is a conservatory on the campus of Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin. Founded in 1894, it is one of the oldest operating conservatories in the United States. Attached to a liberal arts college, the conservatory is exclusively an undergraduate institution.

The Faculty of Music at the University of Toronto is one of several professional faculties at the University of Toronto. The Faculty of Music is located at the Edward Johnson Building, just south of the Royal Ontario Museum and north of Queen's Park, west of Museum Subway Station. MacMillan Theatre and Walter Hall are located in the Edward Johnson Building. The Faculty of Music South building contains rehearsal rooms and offices, and the Upper Jazz Studio performance space is located at 90 Wellesley Street West. In January 2021, the Faculty announced Dr. Ellie Hisama as the new Dean starting July 1, 2021.

References

  1. ↑ Fletcher, Robert Samuel. A History of Oberlin College From Its Foundation Through the Civil War. Chicago: R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company, 1943. Print.
  2. ↑ "Constructing Black Education at Oberlin College: A Documentary History". Ohio University Press / Swallow Press. Archived from the original on Dec 8, 2022.
  3. ↑ "African Americans at Oberlin: Then and Now". Oberlin College. Archived from the original on March 8, 2012. The college's approach to African Americans was by no means perfect. Nonetheless, Oberlin graduates accounted for a significant percentage of African American College graduates at the end of the 19th century.
  4. ↑ "Oberlin College". National Historic Landmarks Program. Archived from the original on 17 October 2007. Retrieved 8 May 2007.
  5. 1 2 "Oberlin College+Conservatory". DLR Group. Retrieved 2022-05-19.
  6. ↑ "All-Steinway Schools | Steinway & Sons - Steinway & Sons". www.steinway.com. Retrieved 2022-04-26.
  7. ↑ "Piano Technology". Oberlin College and Conservatory. 2022-01-31. Retrieved 2022-07-31.
  8. ↑ "Degrees and Departments". Oberlin Conservatory. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.