You’ve heard of Spotify Wrapped, but to  change things up a bit, may I present you with Oberlin Wrapped, where Obies recall the most memorable, meaningful pieces of art that they experienced this spring 2025 semester. 

These interviews have been edited for length and clarity.

Armand Andry, College second-year: 

“Station Surfin’” with [College second-year] Jeremiah Ince — that concert was awesome. The energy was crazy. His stage presence was unprecedented. There was nothing that could have replaced or surpassed that experience. He did a couple songs that I already knew, but he did some new ones too, and the new ones really rivaled the old ones; he’s just getting better every time.

Ella Ezrin, College second-year:

My favorites were the Drag Ball and the art markets. I really enjoyed both of those because of the diversity of performance, especially at the art markets. It’s interesting to meet people from around the school that do different types of art and to see what people do in their free time. In Drag Ball, I like the diversity of student and local performers. 

Z Fluger, College third-year:

I got to see Nourished by Time at the ’Sco, and that is a person who I’ve adored for several years. He rarely performs anywhere, so the fact that he showed up here was really exciting. The whole thing was intimate and beautiful and made me so happy. He has sort of an ’80s aesthetic, with pop–indie music. In a way, some of it created cognitive dissonance, because these are songs that I know every word to, that I listen to on my phone every day. To see them performed here was mind-blowing. 

Fernando Garcia Biestro, College first-year:

Craig Hella Johnson’s Considering Matthew Shepard was a really big performance by Oberlin College Choir and Oberlin Musical Union. It is based around the story of Shepard’s tragic murder. It was really moving. I got goosebumps during five different passages in the performance. The story had so many layers, and I was finding that out through this really moving production. There’s so much respect to be paid, and it is such a beautiful creation. There are so many different genres and feelings and colors in the piece. 

Mallika Narayan, College second-year:

The Michael Mayo Quartet performed at the Cat in the Cream. Michael Mayo is a jazz vocalist who interacted with jazz music in a way that I hadn’t ever seen before. There was one song where he layered the music onto his voice in a way that was really cool. I think another memorable piece of art was the Student Dance Showcase. I have always loved going to SDS because there are so many different types of dance that interest me.

Cathy Saccone, College fourth-year:

The Chris Fleming show in Finney Chapel. You know how people are like, ‘You can remember something if it’s funny or if it’s related to sex?’ I remember this one because it was funny. Nothing I see at the Conservatory is ever funny or about sex, and that’s where I see the majority of art here.

Bizzy Seay, College fourth-year:

[Conservatory fourth-year] Penina Biddle-Gottesman’s TIMARA senior recital in Fairchild Chapel was visually very engaging. There was a string quartet, and she was wearing a white dress and had dancers that were dancing in a circle around her. Then, she came up dressed like a bird. The recitals that I end up having the most thoughts about are TIMARA recitals because I feel like they’re more conceptual than other recitals. This recital had a concept that felt really grounded in reality and was also very personal. It’s hard for a recital to have a full concept and a lot of fruitful content in a way that’s cohesive, and Biddle-Gottesman did that in a way that was really impressive to me.