Gear Co-op Combines Music, Fundraising in 4th Festival
Daniel Markus, Arts and Culture editor
May 5, 2017
Filed under ARTS, Features, Music
In spring 2015, the Oberlin College Gear Co-op, then still a fledgling organization with little more than a few beat-up drum sets and some old amps, hosted the first edition of Gear Fest, a mammoth day-long festival that featured 22 different acts at two different locations. The event has since been en...
Folk Fest Reaches Beyond Genre’s Traditional Boundaries
Sydney Allen, Production editor
April 28, 2017
Filed under ARTS, Features, Music
Since its inception in 1999, community members and College students alike have flocked to Tappan Square for Folk Fest, an annual celebration of the genre featuring multiple live performances and events. Nineteen years ago, the inaugural concert featured a single headliner followed by student acts, but the...
On the Record with Pianist Vijay Iyer
Interview by Louis Krauss, News editor
April 14, 2017
Filed under ARTS, Music, On the Record, Recent Stories
Vijay Iyer is a world-renowned jazz pianist and composer who has also written music for various classical and electronic ensembles. Iyer visited Oberlin last weekend to attend a workshop performance of his new violin concerto, titled Trouble, by Oberlin Sinfonietta ahead of its worldwide premiere at O...
Kero Kero Bonito Brings Upbeat Pop to ’Sco Performance
Samantha Spaccasi, Staff writer
April 14, 2017
Filed under ARTS, Music
“I’m having a party / Everyone can come / By the way, you’re invited / You seem pretty fun,” Sarah Midori Perry, frontwoman of Kero Kero Bonito, sings in “My Party,” a track from the group’s first mixtape, Intro Bonito. “My Party” and other songs from the Intro Bonito mixtape, release...
“Colors of Rhythm” Highlights POC Performances
Julia Peterson, Production editor
April 7, 2017
Filed under ARTS, Dance, Features, Music, Recent Stories
Student artists of color took the stage in Finney Chapel for the 21st annual Colors of Rhythm showcase last Thursday night, showcasing languages, instruments and dance traditions underrepresented in Oberlin classes and campus life. This year, the event featured spoken word performers, singers, OCTai...
Students Get Hyped for Princess Nokia ’Sco Show
Samantha Spaccasi, Staff writer
April 7, 2017
Filed under ARTS, Music
“My name is Ms. Destiny / I go hard in everything / I bring out the best in me / And do what is best for me,” Destiny Frasqueri raps in “Excellent,” the eighth track from her 2016 mixtape titled 1992, her first release under the name Princess Nokia. Frasqueri is one of the most refreshing and ecle...
Lorenzo’s Jazz Night Connects Conservatory, City
Kiley Petersen, Managing editor
April 7, 2017
Filed under ARTS, Features, Music
When Conservatory senior Jared Hochberg arrived in Oberlin from Chicago and realized there were few outlets in town for jazz jam sessions, he decided to create one. Jazz Night, now a monthly event at Lorenzo’s Pizzeria, was born. Hochberg plays a 90-minute set with double-degree sophomore Ari Smith and...
First Church, Family Promise Host 11th Annual Homelessness Benefit
Quentin Nguyen-Duy and Daniel Markus
March 31, 2017
Filed under ARTS, Features, Music
Family Promise of Lorain County has partnered with the Conservatory for more than a decade to host annual classical music concerts to raise money for the county’s homeless population. This year, the series’ 11th installment, taking place this Sunday at the First Church in Oberlin, will feature a qua...
Award-Winning Composer Assesses State of Contemporary Music
Ivan Aidun, Staff writer
March 31, 2017
Filed under ARTS, Features, Music
The recently set concrete walls of the Birenbaum Innovation and Performance Space accommodated musicians and music enthusiasts Tuesday evening for a talk on contemporary classical music, given by British-American composer Bernard Rands. The room buzzed as people filed in, and quiet conversation pervaded the ...
On the Record with Ethnomusicologist Aaron Fox
Interview by Rachel Mead, Staff writer
March 31, 2017
Filed under ARTS, Features, Music, On the Record
Aaron Fox is an associate professor of music and ethnomusicology and the director of the Center for Ethnomusicology at Columbia University. His educational background demonstrates the intersection of fields in which he works; he holds a bachelor’s degree in Music from Harvard University and a Ph.D. in S...
Acclaimed Poet, Musician Jamila Woods to Perform at Cat
Samantha Spaccasi, Staff writer
March 3, 2017
Filed under ARTS, Music
The first time College junior Athena Matsil heard Donnie Trumpet and the Social Experiment’s song “Sunday Candy,” she remembers being struck by the track’s lead vocalist, Jamila Woods. “I was really moved by the beauty, quality, and purity of the timbre of Woods’ voice,” Matsil wrote in an em...
Cole to Lead Oberlin Orchestra in Classical, Contemporary Show
Ivan Aidun, Staff writer
February 24, 2017
Filed under ARTS, Music
A thought-provoking mixture of contemporary and classical music awaits listeners at the Oberlin Orchestra concert tomorrow in Finney Chapel. The program includes two pieces written in the last 20 years — the 2003 Violin Concerto by Israeli-American composer Shulamit Ran, performed by Concerto Comp...