This week, we went into the practice rooms — literally — to interviewing students about what repertoire they are working on.

These interviews have been edited for length and clarity.

Stephanie Bloch is a Conservatory second-year studying Percussion.

I’m working on an electroacoustic trio for three percussionists and three speakers. Its emphasis is on spatialization. It’s pretty tonal. There’s gonna be three big percussion setups, and there’s a lot of hocketing between the speakers and the percussions. I worked on it in Logic Pro, but I plan on performing it in Max/MSP to have an integrative feeling, so I can interact with the electronics, so it’s not just fixed media. The first movement will be premiered by Oberlin Percussion Group in April. The whole piece will be performed during my junior recital next year, hopefully next semester, hopefully in October.

Marcus Jensen is a second-year College student studying Musical Studies and Gender and Feminist Studies.

I’m currently arranging the Roches’ “Quitting Time” for the a cappella group I’m in, ’Round Midnight, and highly enjoying it. The song seems simple on first listen, but is really hard to notate in traditional senses. Outside of that, I’m playing in a quartet with a few friends. We’re slowly working our way through Dvorak’s Quartet No. 12 (American Quartet) and Borodin’s Quartet No. 2. I’m also hosting a radio show with my roommate Fridays at 3 p.m. that will encompass everything from Caroline Shaw’s “Partita for 8 Voices” to Lisa Loeb’s “The Disappointing Pancake.”

Iris Sim is a double-degree second-year studying Flute and History.

Right now, I’m doing a piccolo focus. I’m recording tonight for the NFA Piccolo Orchestral Repertoire Competition, specifically Berlioz’s La Damnation deof Faust excerpts, Rossini’s La gazza ladra, Ravel’s Bolero — God, I hate that one. I hate working on excerpts, I’ll be honest. I don’t know anyone who likes working on excerpts. In terms of flute repertoire right now, definitely Mozart, both Concerto in G major and Concerto in D major exposition for festival audition stuff. In terms of repertoire, I was looking at piccolo pieces I wanted to work on, and I was lucky enough to find Dorff’s Sonatine for Piccolo and Piano and Thea Musgrave’s Piccolo Play. All of these are in the Conservatory Library, which is great.

Jonny Ollendorf is a Conservatory second-year studying Composition.

I’m currently working on a setting of a poem by my roommate, Conservatory second-year Viola major Z Campbell, called “Berry,” which is about berries. I’m composing it collaboratively with Z and my other roommate, Chapin Dobbins, College second-year Environmental Science major. Fantastic singer. We’re putting it together, we’re gonna perform it in two weeks at the second-year Composition Midway Concert. It’ll feature a lot of fun instruments, some theatrical elements for sure, and possibly real raspberries as well. I’m working on an orchestra piece, and I’m working on a choral piece for Now Chorale, a setting of a poem by College third-year Creative Writing and Theater major Ethan Katz.

In terms of piano repertoire, I’m currently working on a viola and piano duet for Conservatory fourth-year Francesca Neibel-Spruill’s senior recital, which will be fun.

On organ, I’m working on Jehan Alain’s “Second Fantasy” (Deuxième Fantaisie), which is a really cool mid 20th-century piece, as well as Jean Louis Florentz’s “Laudus,” which is also a mid 20th-century piece.

And I’m currently working on a rhythm called Sunu, which is originally called Gui, from southern Mali that we’re playing in Djembe Orchestra. It’s a really cool rhythm that is played totally differently across different regions. It’s got a four pattern going, then in some regions there’s another six pattern, and then in some regions that pattern is shifted and it becomes like a four groove again. It’s just totally different, and we’re figuring out different ways to play it. It’s really flexible. I’m learning Tonsole. I know the rhythm well, but I’m learning the dance right now, as well as practicing a lot of rhythms I already know, such as Mendiani. It’s one of my favorites.

Samantha Lewis is a double-degree second-year student studying Voice and Economics.

Right now I’m preparing the role of Ramiroomero for the spring opera, which is Mozart’s La finta giardiniera. I’m working on my arias, the recits, and the ensemble numbers for that. Last semester, I worked on Samuel Barber’s Hermit Songs, and I might prepare those for a departmental recital this semester. I’m also looking at some Brahms pieces. One of those is “Immer leiser wird mein Schlummer.” 

I have to say the opera [is my favorite]. It’s really fun. It’s definitely a step up for me, technically. It’s definitely a bigger project, but it’s really rewarding. It’s a lot of fun, and the show is going to be great.

Aeryn Veazie is a second-year Conservatory student studying Viola.

So, there’s the basic repertoire that I’m working on. I’m working on the Bartók Viola Concerto and Bach Cello Suite No. 3, some excerpts. A somewhat exciting one is that I’m gonna be starting my own transcription of Ernst’s “The Last Rose of Summer” for viola from the original violin.

And I’ll mention my Baroque rep:. I’m doing one of the Rosary Sonatas by Bieber for Baroque violin, which is exciting because we have to tune all of our strings to different notes. A friend of mine in the class has to tune up a fifth. I have to tune mine up a third, which is unheard of, but a fifth is insane. I’m doing the third one, “The Nativity Mystery.” And then I’ll be working on a Telemann Fantasia for Unbroken Viola. I’m Uundecided on which one yet. 

But, the exciting thing I’m doing right now: I’m doing a piece written by Conservatory fourth-year Zola Saad-Klein for singing, traveling viola. It’ll be fun. It’ll be very exciting. I love the piece. It’s been a lot to work on, obviously. It’s my first singing viola piece and I’m starting with this one? But it’s going well. It’s been interesting to practice all the walking to different points. I’m excited also because during the performance, we’re planning on doing it lights-out with colored lights at the different stations. We’re gonna do a whole outfit look and makeup look. I’m only really working on that right now because even though I knew about it earlier and had the score, I started working on it a week and a half ago. I’m trying to be memorized except for maybe one section, which is stationary anyway.

I’m also working on some Bach. It’s just like a violin partita or something, but I want to play it on a mallet, cut, and synthesize it.