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  Vocalist
Accepted into Pittsburgh Young Artist ProgramSecond-year artist-diploma student Zara Barrett has been invited to participate in the Pittsburgh Opera Young Artist program's 2001-02 season, which will include productions of Mozart's Don Giovanni, Strauss' Salome, Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, Weill's Street Scene, and Puccini's Madama Butterfly. "This program is a very important part of my future," says Barrett, a Chelmer, Australia, native who studies voice with Richard Miller, Wheeler Professor of Music. "A young-artist program lets you continue to learn and explore as a performer and singer, while at the same time allowing you to make contacts that will lead to further opportunities." Pittsburgh Opera is only one of Barrett's recent successes. She was alternate winner in the voice semi-finals of the Sorantin Young Artist Competition in November and placed first at the Cleveland District 2000 Metropolitan Opera Guild Competition, advancing in January to the regional competition, held in Pittsburgh. The opportunity to be heard is the main benefit of competitions, says Barrett. "It's a great way to expose others in the business to my voice and show them what I can do." Miller praises Barrett's abilities. "She is a very strong singer, a strong musician, and an expressive and vivacious communicator. All of these talents come through in her singing and should provide her with some great opportunities." After graduating in May, Barrett will take part in the Glimmerglass Opera Young American Artists summer program before beginning the Pittsburgh Opera program in the fall. -Charity Lofthouse '99 Artist Diploma Student Takes Third Place in International Piano Competition Pianist Giacomo Battarino '02, an artist-diploma student from Genoa, Italy, took third place at the Los Angeles Liszt Competition in November. His prize includes an invitation to perform two solo recitals this spring – in Los Angeles and in Santa Barbara – but Oberlin audiences heard him in April, when he presented his artist-diploma recital.  Battarino
competed with 97 others in his division, performing "Harmonies
du soir" from the Twelve Etudes, "Au Bord d'une Source"
from Années de pélerinage, and Spanish Rhapsody
in this, his first U.S. competition.Battarino is no stranger to competing internationally. In Italy, he won first prize in two international competitions, Genova 1997 and the Trofeo Città di Casarza Ligure in June 2000, among other awards. Battarino holds a piano diploma from the Conservatorio G. Verdi in Milan, a diploma on scientific studies from Liceo Scientifico G. Marconi in Genoa, and a first in English from Cambridge University. He began his Oberlin studies with Professor of Piano Sedmara Zakarian Rutstein in the fall of 2000, after working with the late Gaelyne Gabora at Oberlin-at-Casalmaggiore for five years. Oberlin's reputation and the friends he made at Casalmaggiore drew him here, as did the opportunity to study the Russian technique with Rutstein. "People here tell me, ‘You're from one of the best places in the world' and wonder why I've come here, to Oberlin, Ohio," he says. "I really love Oberlin and I consider it a great place that offers the best. We don't have this in Italy – the amazing library here and the amazing opportunities. Probably, after I finish at Oberlin, I will return to Italy, but I will be talking about the opportunities here." -Jennifer Spitulnik '01 Adam Schoenberg Wins ASCAP Award Adam Schoenberg, a junior composition major and piano performance minor, spent part of last summer studying the film scores of Italian composers in Florence, Italy. He was not merely on holiday; as an American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) Foundation 2000 award winner, he had received a fellowship from New York University's film school. The ASCAP award was presented at Lincoln Center in December. In addition to examining the works of Nino Rota (The Godfather), Gabriel Yared (The Talented Mr. Ripley), and Ennio Morricone (The Good, the Bad and the Ugly), Schoenberg learned the technical processes of fitting music to film. Schoenberg studies with Professor of Composition and Music Theory Randolph Coleman and Assistant Professor of Composition Anna Rubin. Calling him "a very motivated student," Rubin says Schoenberg "addresses the tasks that are given him, but always with his own twist." Schoenberg submitted three original recordings for the ASCAP competition: Darklight, a work for solo cello performed by Conservatory senior Kivie Cahn-Lipman; Life, a digital piece; and the first movement of a string quartet, Woman in Red, performed by the Enesco Quartet, a student ensemble. After pursuing a graduate degree, Schoenberg plans a career scoring films. -Marci Janas '91 |