Oberlin Conservatory

08/20/2026

The Verona Quartet, Oberlin's Quartet-in-Residence since 2020, has released Felix Mendelssohn: String Quartets, Op. 12 & 13 on Oberlin Music. Available now on all major streaming platforms, the recording brings together Mendelssohn's first two string quartets, composed around the same time as his iconic Overture to A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Featuring violinists Jonathan Ong and Dorothy Ro, violist Abigail Rojansky '11, and cellist Jonathan Dorman, the Verona Quartet is also a vital part of the Oberlin community, mentoring Conservatory students through lessons and coachings.

Experience the quartet live on September 30, when they join Oberlin Associate Professor of Cello Dmitry Kouzov for a recital in Kulas Recital Hall. Learn more about them and the recording in our New Center article: https://www.oberlin.edu/news/telling-stories-through-sound-verona-quartet-and-mendelssohns-string-quartets

08/20/2026

Tune in for an evening of extraordinary music.

Award-winning, Oberlin-founded ensemble The Poiesis Quartet returns to Finney Chapel in a performance of John Adams’ "Absolute Jest" with the Oberlin Orchestra.

Watch their performance on Applause tomorrow at 8:30 p.m. on WVIZ, or stream it anytime on the PBS app.
https://us.list-manage.com/hSqql3aMLxg?e=047a22186e&c2id=da4f65ca78dc78cdbe69b50f75a5b1de&m=L4LKevzMhrYs7bnBHCfa9IR7t1hSjtpFSMeZcXhSS9MJqQ3WmeIWicErOG0C

08/16/2026

Congratulations to Oberlin Conservatory Artist Diploma alum Kip Zimmerman ’26, newly named associate principal oboe of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. We’re proud to celebrate this exciting next chapter in his career. Read more below:

Just announced! Join us in welcoming Kip Zimmerman as the BSO's new associate principal oboe. Learn more about him before he joins us beginning in the 2026–27 season → bit.ly/4q8Fpdo

08/14/2026

Oberlin Jazz Studies Alumni and Friends,

This fall, Oberlin Conservatory of Music will honor the late Dan Wall, internationally renowned jazz pianist and beloved Oberlin professor from 2001 until 2025, whose extraordinary artistry and teaching touched the lives of countless students and colleagues alike.

On Sunday, September 27, 2026 at 2:00 pm, Oberlin Conservatory of Music will host a memorial tribute concert for Dan Wall in Warner Concert Hall featuring performances and remarks from former students and colleagues. A reception will immediately follow the concert in the Warner Concert Hall lobby. This concert will be livestreamed. The link will be available on the Oberlin website soon.

If you are interested in contributing a recorded video tribute to Dan Wall for this event - brief remarks or performance (one minute max) - please submit your video file using https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeM2loR1KZXAA2BPoAQDJw6bbTjsmeULr9AxLWT4xN8-aUioQ/viewform?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Post&utm_campaign=GPE2026 by September 1, 2026. These videos will be compiled and shown at the September 27 memorial concert at Oberlin. Thank you!

08/08/2026

Dont miss today's performances, in-person or streamed live https://www.oberlin.edu/cooper-competition/violin-2026/livestream

Big news from the Cooper International Competition! 🎻 After two days of amazing performances, six incredible violinists are moving on to Round 2! ✨

Catch them today starting at 3:00 p.m. in Warner Concert Hall:

Hyunsuk Ryu 3:00 p.m.
Elizabeth Poppy Song 3:45 p.m.
Jiye Kang 4:45 p.m.
Mingzhe Ye 5:30 p.m.
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Emrik Revermann 8:00 p.m.
Minji Choi 8:45 p.m.

Join us in person or watch the global stream live at oberlin.edu and The Violin Channel. 🎥🌎

08/07/2026

Dont miss this Cooper Competition Update!
Competition Director Sibbi Bernhardsson has welcomed our 18 incredible violinists to Oberlin, participant order has been chosen, and the first round of performances is currently lighting up Warner Concert Hall. 🎻✨

Tonight’s final performances wrap up at 8:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Immediately following this evening’s session, we will announce the six violinists advancing to Round 2!

Thursday, August 6
2:30 p.m. Ein Na
3:00 p.m. Gaeun Kim
3:30 p.m. Hyunsuk Ryu
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4:15 p.m. Sebastian Manning
4:45 p.m. Katelyn Yujoo Kwon
5:15 p.m. Elizabeth (Poppy) Song
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7:30 p.m. Jiye Kang
8:00 p.m. Carine Suparman
8:30 p.m. Mingzhe Ye

Friday, August 7
2:30 p.m. Minsong Moon
3:00 p.m. Yiting Liu
3;30 p.m. Kazuki Kyo
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4:15 p.m. Patricija Avšič
4:45 p.m. Emrik Revermann
5:15 p.m. Soojin Choi
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7:30 p.m. Christie Cheung, 16 - Toronto, Canada
8:00 p.m. Minji Choi, 16 - Irvine, CA, U.S.A

The six violinists that will continue to the 2nd round tomorrow will be announced after this evening’s performances.

Don’t miss a note—watch every round live at https://www.oberlin.edu/cooper-competition/violin-2026/livestream/the-grand-piano-extravaganza?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Post&utm_campaign=GPE2026 oberlin.edu or on The Violin Channel.

07/22/2026

From dreaming 💭 to doing 🎭 — here's how Bebe Moss ’26 turned a childhood fantasy into reality.
Moss was 10 years old when she fell head over heels for The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall, a 2011 concert film capturing the lavish 25th-anniversary production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s smash hit musical. At age 13, Moss asked for one birthday gift: to go to New York City to see Phantom on Broadway. She decided then and there that starring in Phantom would be the pinnacle of her future career. “I was like, ‘When I play Christine in Phantom of the Opera, I'll die a happy person.’”
Now, just about a decade later, that dream has been realized. Moss was a member of the first graduating class of Oberlin's newly launched Music Theater program, and her success has left us speechless. As a result of her drive, training, and professional connections, Moss is currently in Shanghai to begin rehearsals as Christine in the international tour of this global phenomenon. This is one of the most coveted roles in musical theater, and we could not be more proud.
Her journey to this moment is well worth a read, find the story here: https://www.oberlin.edu/news/bebe-moss-26-play-christine-international-tour-phantom-opera

07/09/2026

Congratulations to Cendan Dillon '25, newly appointed Principal Timpanist of the Lincoln's Symphony Orchestra! From a Carnegie Hall debut at 19 on the Oberlin Orchestra's NYC tour to this exciting new role in Nebraska, Cendan continues to make Oberlin proud.

Lincoln's Symphony Orchestra is excited to weclome Cendan Dillon as our new Principal Timpanist.

Cendan Dillon is the Principal Timpanist in the Lincoln Symphony Orchestra in Lincoln, Nebraska, and Associate Timpanist in the Taneycomo Festival Orchestra in Branson, Missouri. Having earned a Bachelor's of Music degree in Percussion Performance, a minor in German, and Integrative Concentrations in Music Pedagogy and Arts Administration from Oberlin College and Conservatory, Cendan is now pursuing a Master's of Music degree in Percussion Performance at the Jacobs School of Music and a Master's of Arts in Arts Administration at the O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University.

Born in Holladay, Utah, and now living in Bloomington, Indiana, Cendan has performed with many orchestras in Utah and throughout the Midwest, including the Salt Lake Symphony, Bloomington Symphony Orchestra, Northern Ohio Youth Orchestra, Firelands Symphony Orchestra, and numerous collegiate orchestras and ensembles. While traveling with the Battalion Drum and Bugle Corps and the Blue Knights Drum and Bugle Corps, Cendan performed in venues across the United States. Cendan made their Carnegie Hall debut at age 19 as the Principal Timpanist for the 2022-2023 Oberlin Orchestra in NYC tour, which featured a performance of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony for the United Nations and a performance of Nathaniel Dett’s The Ordering of Moses.

In addition to music, Cendan is an experienced dialogue facilitator, has had the honor of being a Dialogue Fellow in the Multifaith Chaplaincy at Oberlin College, and facilitated dialogues of chaplains from across the country in the 2025 Association for Chaplains and Spiritual Leaders in Higher Education Annual Conference at American, Brown, and Georgetown Universities.

07/06/2026

Congratulations to Oberlin Conservatory alum violist Ben Ullery ’04 on his appointment as principal viola of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and holder of the John Connell Chair. We are proud to see his artistry recognized in one of the world’s leading orchestras. Read more about this exciting news from The Violin Channel:

Ben Ullery, who was already a member of the orchestra, has steadily risen through the ranks to his new role.

06/23/2026

We are beyond proud to share that music composed by Vijay Iyer, performed by violinist Jennifer Koh ’97 with the Oberlin Contemporary Music Ensemble conducted by Timothy Weiss, is featured in the permanent art collection of the Obama Presidential Center.

This past Winter Term, students in the Oberlin Contemporary Music Ensemble had the opportunity to collaborate with Jennifer Koh ’97 to rehearse, perform, and record these newly commissioned works, with performances on campus and at the Cleveland Museum of Art in addition to recording sessions for Koh’s upcoming album “The American Concerto, Volume One.” The album features Iyer’s “Trouble” and the world premiere recording of “Syzygy” by Courtney Bryan ’04, both performed by Koh and the Oberlin Contemporary Music Ensemble.

The movement “Assembly,” from Vijay Iyer’s “Trouble,” is included on the soundtrack for Carrie Mae Weems’s “The Cool Blue Wind” (2026), now permanently installed at the newly opened Obama Presidential Center. We are honored to have this work represented in such a historic collection.

“The American Concerto, Volume One” is out August 14 via Cedille Records. Listen to “Assembly” at the link below: https://youtu.be/X9FPoLeyZqo?si=NaYF8U79_eouj19o