Con has faced faculty turnover this year

Three teachers in the Conservatory left Oberlin this year. Tuba players lost Rex Martin because of the lack of support he received from the College and for personal reasons; French horn players lost James Sommerville because he decided to leave the Conservatory to take a job in Toronto; and Technology in Music and Related Arts (TIMARA) students lost Kristine Burns after the Conservatory Faculty Council (CFC) denied her a tenure track position.

The most audible protest in the Conservatory concerning the teachers lost this year came from three tuba students, disappointed with Martin leaving next year, who played their tubas in front of Dean of the Conservatory Karen Wolff's office on April 15 .

The tuba players began playing trios outside Wolff's office and among their selections were a few transcriptions of Christmas music for tuba ensembles. More brass players joined the protest over the next two hours. The ensemble peaked with around 15 members before the group decided to stop for the day after two hours.

The tuba students planned their protest in advance of the meeting with Wolff. Before she went into the dean's office, Morgan Matthews, a conservatory sophomore, said, "We will honk in her face."

Although the protest did nothing to change Wolff's decision, the tuba players in their protest made their woes heard throughout the Conservatory.

Conservatory sophomore Jeremy Stoner said that many professors and students have asked him questions concerning Martin's situation and how the situation has been moving along. He said, "The faculty has more interest in it now than before the protest."

Rex Martin, teacher of tuba, was not invited back to Oberlin next year. He had been commuting from Northwestern University at a cost of about $5,000 a year.

Stoner said, "Martin was the primary reason for me coming here." He added, "Three of us have had an interest in transferring."

Stoner said that he met one of next year's two admitted tuba students. "He seemed turned off by the whole thing," Stoner said.

Michael Manderen, director of Conservatory admissions, recognizes the effects personnel changes can have on a department and on prospective student interest in Oberlin. "Faculty have a great factor in attracting students," he said. "Students are concerned first and foremost with who they're going to study with."

Manderen, on the other hand, pointed out that proportionally, the effect of a handful of students does not change enrollment numbers tremendously. "The fact that Rex was here didn't increase numbers," Manderen said.

"Oberlin attracts students less teacher-centric than most other schools and conservatories," Manderen said.

One of the three French horn teachers in the Conservatory, James Sommerville, recently decided to take a job in Toronto after two years at Oberlin. Sommerville is one of several teachers of French horn that the Conservatory has had in the past four years. Other teachers have come and gone, each leaving for their own reasons.

Conservatory junior Harris Sheldrick said, "The fact that Oberlin can't keep its horn teachers keeps people from wanting to come here."

Manderen said, "We worked very hard to encourage prospective horn players. We had to cultivate their interest." He said there will be six to 10 new horn students coming in the fall. David Brockett, who will teach horn next year, was chosen in late March. His presence probably influenced the decisions of some accepted horn players to chose Oberlin.

"People that have met him like the way he teaches," Sheldrick said, "He's very friendly and intelligent."

The position has been filled by David Brockett, who is an orchestral hornist. Wolff said, "Students are well-satisfied and we are too."

TIMARA has also faced a loss in their department. The future for interdisciplinary and collaborative classes within the TIMARA department became unclear when Burns did not receive the tenure-track position by CFC for which a search committee recommended her last spring. Burns decided to look for teaching positions at other colleges after she was denied the tenure-track position. She accepted a job teaching composition at Dartmouth starting next June.

Burns said, "Depending upon who they hire, there will probably not be collaborative inter-art courses offered such as music and dance or music and visual art classes."

TIMARA major Sofia Klatzker, a conservatory senior, said, "It's evident that [the Conservatory] doesn't have a need to understand what's happening downstairs. It's completely up to the college [to continue interdisciplinary and collaborative scheduling]; it can't be generated in the Conservatory anymore."

First-year Peter Swendsen attended a summer workshop in Oberlin where Burns taught. "She was the main reason I came here in the first place," he said. Swendson said that if Burns had not been teaching here he "definitely would have gone to another school."

"There are so many versions of why she didn't get tenure," Swendsen said, "No matter what version you hear, the Conservatory screwed up. It's shameful and foolish that she wasn't given tenure."

Burns' former position has been filled by Richard Poval. According to Wolff, he specializes in performance art and is technically orientated. Povall will hold a tenure track position.