Spring 2007 News Releases

The Prima Trio, an Oberlin Conservatory of Music Student Ensemble, Wins the Coveted Grand Prize at the 2007 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition
The Prima Trio, a student chamber ensemble from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music at Oberlin College, has won the coveted 2007 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition’s Grand Prize ($7,500) and the Gold Medal ($3,000) in the Senior String Division. The competition took place May 11 through 13, 2007. The Senior Division finals round and a grand-prize winner’s concert and reception were held in Leighton Concert Hall at the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center on the campus of the University of Notre Dame in Indiana.

Oberlin Conservatory Students Showcased at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on May 23
For the third time in two years, students from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music will showcase their talents at the prestigious John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. The free concert, on Wednesday, May 23, at 6 p.m., features a tenor, two string instrumentalists, a pianist, and a contemporary-music sextet performing in the Terrace Theatre as part of the center’s Conservatory Project series.

Paul Dwyer, a Senior Cello Performance Major at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, Named Javits Fellow
Cellist Paul Dwyer, a senior cello performance major at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music at Oberlin College, has received a Jacob K. Javits Fellowship. The award, more than $40,000 a year for up to four years, will cover Dwyer’s tuition and fees and provide a stipend while he pursues a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in cello performance with Professor Richard Aaron at the University of Michigan.

Oberlin College Names Marvin Krislov as its 14th President
The Oberlin College Board of Trustees announced today that Marvin Krislov will become the College’s 14th president. Mr. Krislov, Vice President and General Counsel at the University of Michigan, will take office on July 1, 2007, and will make the transition to Oberlin during the months of July and August. He will be on campus full time beginning August 6.

Career of International Renowned Professor of Singing Richard Miller to be Celebrated at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music with a Concert in Finney Chapel on Sunday, April 29
Internationally renowned vocal pedagogue Richard Miller, who retired at the end of the 2005-06 academic year after serving as a faculty member of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music for 42 years, will be honored at a concert featuring 10 of his former students, all of whom are in the midst of critically acclaimed careers.

Oberlin College Recognized by EPA as Top Green Power Purchaser Among Colleges and Universities
Oberlin College has been recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as the 2006-2007 Individual Conference Champion for purchasing more green power than any other school in the North Coast Athletic Conference.  The EPA has been tracking green power purchasing among collegiate athletic conferences through its College & University Green Power Challenge, which concluded April 18 with 33 schools and 16 conferences participating nationwide. 

Oberlin College Receives National Wildlife Federation Award for Innovation in Reducing Global Warming
The National Wildlife Federation has named Oberlin College a winner in its Campus Ecology Chill Out contest. The competition recognizes colleges and universities around the country that are implementing innovative programs to reduce the impacts of global warming—the #1 environmental threat facing the nation.

Pulitzer Prize Winning Author Louis Menand to Speak April 19
Louis Menand, Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Professor of English and American Literature and Language at Harvard and winner of the Pulitzer Prize for History, will deliver the 2007 Jesse Mack Lecture in the Humanities at Oberlin College on April 19.  His lecture, entitled "Art and Ideas in the Cold War,"  will begin at 4:30 p.m. in Craig Lecture Hall in the Oberlin College Science Center.  The event is free and open to the public.

Reading by MacArthur Award Winner George Saunders April 18
George Saunders is the author of the short story collections Pastoralia, CivilWarLand in Bad Decline (both New York Times Notable Books), and most recently, In Persuasion Nation. Saunders will be in Oberlin for a Reading on April 18 in the Science Center’s Craig Lecture Hall. The program begins at 7:30 p.m. and is free and open to the public.

Documentary Film Maker Explores China Through Folk Songs Meera Jaffrey and James Ivory in Oberlin for Screening
Meera Jaffrey '82 will be in Oberlin on April 5 for a screening of her documentary film, "Fine Rain: Politics and Folk Songs in China." After the screening there will be a question and answer session with Jaffrey and the film’s producer, James Ivory, of the Merchant and Ivory Foundation. The screening will begin at 8:00 p.m. in the Science Center’s West Lecture Hall and is free and open to the public.

Junior From Bethesda, Maryland, Wins Goldwater Scholarship
The Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation has named Shira Ziegler '08 a Goldwater Scholar for 2007-08. A total of 317 scholars were selected on the basis of academic merit from a pool of 1,110 mathematics, science, and engineering students who were nominated by the faculties of colleges and universities nationwide.

Alek Shrader, a Student at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, Wins the Metropolitan Opera’s National Council Audition
Tenor Alek Shrader, a master’s degree student in opera theater at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, is one of six young singers to win the Metropolitan Opera’s 2007 National Council Auditions and with it, a $15,000 cash prize. He was selected from 11 finalists who performed arias with the Met Orchestra, conducted by Marco Armiliato, at the Grand Finals Concert, held at the Met on April 1. Shrader performed “Il mio tesoro intanto” from Mozart’s Don Giovanni and “Ah! mes amis” from Donizetti’s La Fille Du Regiment.

A Major Gift to the Oberlin Conservatory of Music Supports the Purchase of the Renowned School’s 200th Steinway Piano
The Oberlin Conservatory of Music at Oberlin College, Steinway & Sons’ oldest continuous client and the first “All-Steinway School,” recently received a significant addition to its collection of Steinway pianos. A $150,000 gift from Alan and Marilyn Korest, of Naples, Florida, has supported the purchase of Oberlin’s 200th Steinway piano. The instrument, a Model “D” built at Steinway’s factory in Hamburg, Germany, will be introduced to the world at a dedication concert on Sunday, April 29, at 3 p.m. in Finney Chapel, on the Oberlin campus.

Oboists Alex Klein and Robert Walters Named to Professorships at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music
Alex Klein ’87, AD ’89, who joined Oberlin’s faculty last year as Artist in Residence and Visiting Professor of Oboe, has been named Professor of Oboe. Klein is former principal oboe of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Robert Walters, currently Visiting Assistant Professor of Oboe and English Horn, is now Associate Professor of Oboe and English Horn. Walters is a member of the Cleveland Orchestra and serves as the ensemble’s solo English horn player.

China Rising—A Symposium Promoting the Understanding of Contemporary Chinese Society, Culture, and Economy
For more than a century, Oberlin College has promoted ties with China and East Asia, both academically and institutionally. To cultivate a deeper understanding of contemporary Chinese society, the East Asian Studies Program will present the symposium “China Rising” on March 9-10. Five distinguished alumni will share their expertise and personal experiences during the two-day program, including keynote speaker Sophie Richardson ’92, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch.

Miriam Zoll to Speak at Oberlin College - Public Policy Expert on HIV/AIDS and Human Rights
Miriam Zoll has more than 20 years experience in the public policy and international development sector, with expertise in HIV/AIDS, orphans and vulnerable children, gender equity and human rights.

University of Cambridge Professor Robin Osborne to Present 2007 Charles Beebe Martin Classical Lectures at Oberlin College
Cambridge University Professor of Ancient History Robin Osborne will present the 2007 Charles Beebe Martin Classical Lectures at Oberlin College. Osborne will give four talks in the series "The Politics of Pictorial Representation in Early Athenian Democracy." All lectures are free and open to the public and will take place in Craig Lecture Hall.

UC Berkeley Professor Samuel Otter to Present 2007 Oberlin Lectures in English and American Literature
University of California at Berkeley Associate Professor Samuel Otter will present the 2007 Oberlin Lectures in English and American Literature. Otter will give three talks in the series "Philadelphia Stories: Experiments in Freedom, 1790-1860" and a final presentation "Moby Dick and the World We Live In.” All lectures are free and open to the public and will take place in Craig Lecture Hall.

The Roches Bring Their Swirling Harmonies and Extraordinary Lyrical Perspective to Oberlin College
The Roches, three sisters from New York City who have created fifteen recordings in various configurations, will be at Oberlin College on Saturday, March 3, at 8:00 p.m. The performance will take place in Finney Chapel and tickets are $8 and $4 for seniors.

Oberlin College Board of Trustees Supports Divestment in Sudan
The Oberlin College Board of Trustees has amended its investment policy to encourage the College’s investment managers to divest from targeted companies that conduct business with the government of Sudan. The goal is that divestment will put economic pressure on the Sudanese government, making it difficult to fund actions that have been recognized internationally as genocide.