A Tribute without Words, Answered with Silence
To withhold applause following an exquisitely beautiful performance seems wholly unnatural ­ doing so runs counter to a powerful human instinct. But silence filled the rafters in Finney Chapel after each musical offering at the September 11 memorial concert on November 8, 2001, allowing the final note of each performance a direct transfer from acoustic reality to a listener's heart. . . a healing imprint.

Wendy Richman '01 and Hudie Broughton '02 led a group of Conser-vatory students in organizing the free event, "A Tribute without Words."

Professor of Trombone James DeSano conducted the Oberlin Trombone Choir in "How Lovely is Thy Dwelling Place" from the German Requiem, op. 45, by Johannes Brahms. The Enesco Quartet (Emily Fowler BMus'01/MMus'03, violin; Elizabeth Weisser '03, violin; Adam Meyer '02, viola; and Christopher Gross '04, cello) performed the third movement of Claude Debussy's String Quartet in G Minor. Violinist Cibran Sierra-Vazquez AD '03 performed the "Sarabande" from J. S. Bach's Partita no. 2 in D Minor. Violist Richman was accompanied by pianist Michael Gallope '03 in Elliott Carter's "Elegy." The Apelila Brass Quintet (trumpeters Daniel Davis '02 and Brody Wilson '02, with Stephen Emhof '03 on horn, Shannon McLeod '02 on trombone, and Andrew Madej '03 on tuba) offered J. S. Bach's Prelude and Fugue in C Sharp Minor. Pianist William McDaniel '02 concluded the program with two intermezzos by Brahms.

- Marci Janas '91

The Class of 2005
New students welcomed to the Conservatory of Music in September were selected from 1,086 applicants, among the largest pool ever to apply. Just 27 percent were accepted, making this year also the most selective. With this new group of 155 (representing 28 states and 15 countries), the Conservatory met overall enrollment objectives for class quality, distribution by major, and instrumental discipline.

Eighty-nine students entered as B.Mus. candidates; three entered the Performance Diploma program; and 13 transferred from other institutions. At the graduate level, the new group contains seven Artist Diploma students and two students in the Historical Performance Program.

The Conservatory also achieved a nearly perfect distribution by instrument and program area, while also yielding a record number of students (57) for Oberlin's signature Double-Degree program. A 55 percent enrollment rate for this program is remarkable given the fact that throughout the last decade the enrollment rate was typically 40 percent.

The 2001-2002 Conservatory admissions year is already well underway, with all indicators pointing to a promising outcome.

- Michael Manderen '76 BA/BMus,
Director of Conservatory Admissions

Exploring The Planets with the Smithsonian and OAI Members of the 1990 Oberlin Orchestra probably never envisioned that their Oberlin performance of Gustav Holst's The Planets, under the baton of Conductor Robert Ponto, would be used to guide school children through a visual exploration of the solar system. Yet, that is precisely what has happened.

The Conservatory's recording of the performance is the melodic backdrop in a Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum (NASM) CD-ROM entitled Solar System Explorer.

The CD-ROM features virtual gallery tours, information displays, interactive presentations on the planets, animation videos, music, and educational games. It is linked to a number of related sites designed to engage and inform users about the solar system, including a freestanding audio site designed to introduce listeners to the wonders of Holst's work. To be released this spring and sold at the NASM, the Smithsonian will promote it to more than 10,000 elementary schools nationwide.

The Conservatory entered into an agreement in fall 2001 with Aware Concepts, LLC, a Virginia-based interactive multimedia software developer, permitting use of the recording after Aware was commissioned by the Smithsonian to develop the CD-ROM to commemorate the museum's 25th Anniversary.

In another educational product that features this Oberlin Orchestra performance, in November 2001 the Ohio Aerospace Institute (OAI) was licensed to use the recording in an animated video designed to simulate a Mars landing through technology being developed under OAI's supervision. The video, which also includes a performance of Jean Phillipe Rameau's Le Rapell Des Oiseaux, performed by harpsichordist Michael Robert Sponseller '97, is being used to educate government officials and others contributing to the development of the technology. Franklin Porath '58 directs the OAI project team.

- David R. Daniels '84

Go to page { 1 :: 2 :: 3 :: 4 :: 5 :: 6 :: 7 :: 8 } of OF NOTE