Listening to a band at a live music venue like the ‘Sco, concertgoers don’t often peel their eyes off the mainstage to look at the individuals running sound. However, the complexity behind this job, and the technician who works this position, warrants further examination.  Audio engineers are technicians who work in live sound or recording studios, and these positions are often held by cisgender men. According to Women’s Audio Mission, less than 5 percent of audio engineers in 2018 were women. Notably, this is a number based on binary statistics of cisgender individuals and does not reflect the impact of gender-based discrimination on non-binary and transgender audio engineers. Music technology, a broader field t...

 Objects like rocks, pots, pans, and trash cans may not sound like typical musical instruments, but they are artfully used to produce The Innocents, a percussionist exhibit that will be performed this Sunday, Sept. 15. Percussionist John Lane and Allen Otte, OC ’72, created The Innocents to address issues of wrongful imprisonment, the American criminal justice system, and exoneration. This is one of many projects, including several at Oberlin, that advocate for prison reform through artistic means.�...

Dizzy Fae is a rising R&B artist from Minneapolis. At just 21 years old, she has shared the stage with an impressive list of musicians. Shortly after graduating from her performing arts high school in 2017, she went on tour with pop icon Lizzo. Since then, she has also performed alongside artists like Kehlani, Toro Y Moi, and Jorja Smith, and at 2019 World Pride in NY. Last Friday, students packed the Cat in the Cream to watch her perform as part of the New Student Orientation Week series.  Th...

If you were on campus this week, chances are you heard the buzz about Esperanza Spalding’s Wednesday performance, which lasted over two hours in Finney Chapel. What you may not know, however, is that Spalding’s performance was part of a three-day festival marking the Conservatory Jazz Studies department’s 30th anniversary.  College junior George Hawk was ecstatic that a fellow member of the student acapella group ’Round Midnight ran into Spalding at the Hotel at Oberlin.  “’Round ...