Students Self Promote Perfor mances Outside Conservatory

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Second-year Danny Folger Walls, a member of OSteel, traveled to the festival to perform. They described the whole experience as “unexpected.”

“I didn’t imagine there were events like this so close to Oberlin,” Folger Walls said. “It was a different side of Ohio than I’d seen before. There was such a diversity of cultural representation and food and ages and … everything. Plus, the huge burning fish part was so dramatic. I felt like I was in the danger zone right next to it while it was spitting fire. Luckily, I made it back in one piece.”

College third-years Lanie Cheatham and Aidan Sweney heard about FireFish when a fellow student announced OSteel’s scheduled performance during a meal at Third World Co-op, and they were so intrigued by the idea of the fish-burning pageant that they wrangled a group of friends into spending the whole day at the festival.

“A lot of the ‘scales’ had things painted on them like ‘hate,’ ‘racism,’ ‘discrimination,’ ‘police brutality,’ ‘homophobia,’” Cheatham said. “The idea was that, with the burning of the fish, you’re also purging all of those painful things.”

Sweney admitted that, at first, he expected the event to be barbecue-esque.

“Turns out, the fish was made of paper,” Sweney said. “That’s probably for the best, though. I think a real fish would’ve smelled bad.”

According to Cheatham and Sweney, the festival was fun and unusual — in spite of the lack of giant, barbecued seafood — and it was a great opportunity for Oberlin students to make connections with creatively-minded people across the greater Lorain county.

“It was a very exciting moment, watching the puppeteering and listening to the music and seeing it all come together,” Connamacher said. “[OSteel] definitely made some wonderful connections. Daniel [McNamara] and Joan [Perch] were so gracious with their time and so excited for us to be involved. I really do feel more connected to the area now. There’s a lot more creative stuff going on than I was initially aware of. You just have to look closely and make an effort to meet interesting people in order to find out about it. Overall, it was a hectic experience, but it was so fulfilling. I would love to go back again next year.”

College Experience Inspires Student Produced Music

Emma Benardete

Editor-in-Chief

It’s no secret that Oberlin is a very musical place. Between the Conservatory, the Arts and Sciences Orchestra, and various a capella groups, there are always plenty of music performances on campus. However, there is another side of the Oberlin musical scene that doesn’t get nearly as much attention: its extensive arrangement of music producers and engineers.

There are a number of talented students on campus who, in addition to performing onstage, record and edit their own songs and then release them on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Music. College second-year Megan Beehler, who goes by the artist name lavendink, started playing around with producing during her sophomore year of high school. She started taking it seriously during the pandemic, and soon was responsible for mixing the recording of her high school choir’s entire virtual performance.

“I was a choir kid, we had wanted to do some virtual choirs, and I had a lot of film experience, but not a ton of audio experience,” Beehler said. “So I was really confident that I was able to do the video part and was just kind of figuring out the audio. That was kind of my first experience with trying to put together a bunch of voices or putting together a bunch of tracks that were really audio-based.”

Beehler has since released two albums, The Letters I Couldn’t Write in July 2021 and The College Exp this month. She described the genre of her music as “bedroom indie pop,” though she said she was also categorized as alternative folk by the algorithm of streaming platforms.

College second-year Ella Harrington, who is currently taking a semester off, has released five singles under the artist name Ella Faye. She has been passionate about music her entire life, having started Suzuki violin at the age of three. She first started writing songs when she was 12 years old.

“When I was four, my family started singing with an intergenerational folk chorus in the Boston area,” Harrington said. “So that really opened my musical world up to a really wide range of artists.”

She wrote her first two songs when she was 12 years old. One, called “Memories” honored her late grandfather. She wrote the other, titled “I Remember,” with her best friend Charlotte.

“It was about us coming into our friendship together and a platonic love song.”

Both Beehler and Harrington tell personal stories in their songs, and they noted that it can be intimidating, with Harrington’s record “I Can See the Rain” being about a boy she liked when she was 16.

“The songs that are about people ... are not necessarily painting them in the best light,” Beehler said. “It’s ‘this is how I felt at a moment in time’ and it’s not necessarily reflective of how I feel now. And so sometimes I worry that people might feel like I’m exposing them or making them feel like they’re a bad person ... Nothing bad [has happened] yet, but it is a little scary.”

Harrington doesn’t like to categorize her music into a particular genre, as she is inspired by a variety of genres including folk, pop, and soul. Double-degree third-year Brock Bierly shares Harrington’s reluctance to categorize their music into a specific genre.

“I think I’d want to walk into oncoming traffic if I had to give my music genres in front of somebody,” Bierly said.

Bierly, a TIMARA student, first developed an interest in music production at a young age because of their interest in robotics. Bierly has also been drumming since they were three years old — their babysitter became fed up with their banging on pots and pans and suggested they actually get a drum set.

“I liked that Megazords came apart and came back together, and I thought it was cool that they were electronic or something,” Bierly said. “And so I got really into the idea of liking techno. I didn’t really listen to much techno, but I was like, ‘Yeah, my favorite genre is techno music.’”

College second-year Lawrence Wright, who produces music under the artist name Comprehensible, started composing music in high school using MuseScore. During his senior year, he had the opportunity to participate in “Game Jam,” which gave him the chance to connect with video game composers working within the industry.

“He was like, ‘Hey, have you heard of this thing called not using MuseScore and moving on to a bigger digital workstation?’ and he showed me the ropes,” Wright said.

Wright has since produced a few songs which have been released on his YouTube channel, including “Nonna’s Song” and “Breestep.” He described his music as “vaguely video game inspired, somewhat classical but not really because the classical people eat me alive for calling it classical.” While Wright does sing and play some clarinet and piano, most of his music is produced digitally.

While Oberlin’s musicians may seem to focus on more serious projects, they also know the importance of letting loose and having some fun. Beehler has produced songs, such as “Rats on Crack” and “Premarital Handholding,” that exist on her YouTube channel.

The album Cover for The Letters I Couldn’t Write Photo courtesy of Megan Beehler The album cover of The College Exp by lavendink Photo courtesy of Megan Beehler

Ella Harrington poses against wall, holding guitar. Photo courtesy of Ella Harrington

“My roommate and I did basically improv songs, which is where I start playing some chords and we make up a song together,” Beehler said. “We have basically an improv EP, if you will.”

All four artists said that Oberlin had been integral to their music-making process, whether that’s Wrights’ theory and composition classes in the Conservatory, Bierly’s on-campus collaborations, Beehler’s self-produced single titled “I Cried in Tappan Square,’’ or Harrington’s attendance of Oberlin’s music performances on campus. All of these have acted as sources of inspiration, showcasing the various talents at Oberlin College and Conservatory.

CONSERVATORY

September 23, 2022 Established 1874

IN THE PRACTICE ROOM Solomon Leonard: Jazz and Hip-Hop Violist

Gracie McFalls Senior Staff Writer

Hailing from Los Angeles, CA, second-year Viola Performance major Solomon Leonard engages with a variety of musical genres inside and outside of the Conservatory. Leonard studies and performs in both the Classical and Jazz divisions at Oberlin, and participates in one of the Performance and Improvisation Ensembles, which play music genres from around the world in an improvisatory style.

In addition to his college studies, Solomon has also released a hip-hop, viola-centric extended play titled “The Freshman Experience.” His latest EP “The Sophomore Experience,” will be released May 14, 2023.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Could you start by telling me about your decision to do both musical genres? What’s it like to navigate the two musical worlds?

I am not technically a Jazz Performance major, but I act like one. I started by learning jazz jury tunes. Every jazz first- and second-year student is given a PDF of 50-something tunes at the beginning of the year. So I was like, “Okay, I’m gonna do that.” I started to do jazz toward the end of high school, but I wish I had started at the beginning. So, coming into Oberlin, I wanted to do both right from the start.

And then, in addition to that, I just made friends in the department. I was in Kohl Building, just hanging out and seeing the culture and going to jam sessions. As time moved along, I started doing different bands and just growing along with my peers. I learn a lot from them.

It’s not easy. I definitely do a few all-nighters a week to keep up with the workload, but I’m very passionate about this, so it’s all good work.

Do you think that one style influences the way you play the other?

Definitely. In jazz, you always have to be ready to be creative. Nowadays, when I play classical music, I always leave room for creativity. I look at Bach’s harmonic structure differently now. I can look at it more isolated in terms of each moment rather than as a whole phrase.

I think Bach was also a jazz musician in that he used textures, harmonies, and melodies that just keep going and going. There are so many small moments in a piece that get ignored when played in the traditional way. But if you look at that moment and ask, “What can I really do with this moment?” that’s really profound.

It’s because of jazz and because of my experience performing jazz and performing with the PI Ensemble that I get the confidence to be creative in the moment. Now, I have full confidence to try an idea regardless of whether it’ll work out or not. It’s 2022, you know. We have to experiment.

What do you think has been the biggest lesson that you’ve learned from doing that?

I guess that I’m just a musician. This is something I learned from Wheatie Brimer yesterday. He said that musicians are only focused on one thing: music.

I love so many different kinds of music. I don’t like to just say I’m a classical, jazz, or hip-hop musician. I’m just a musician and all of these kinds play into each other naturally.

But it’s not about us, it’s about the listeners. Whether we think a performance is our best or our worst, it’s always about the listener.

Solomon Leonard

Photo by Erin Koo, Photo Editor

I try to have that mindset because college starts you in a million different directions. For instance, you might have an assignment due on Thursday, so you pull an all-nighter, and then you have a concert on Friday, and you have to do it with no sleep. But if there’s a crowd, it doesn’t matter. It’s not about you.

Do you think Oberlin facilitates this kind of fu-sion between different musical genres?

I’ve been thinking about this a lot. I see the Conservatory as being split in three ways: the classical department, the Jazz department, andTIMARA. I don’t think any of them know what the other two are doing at any given point.

I think there are seeds that the Conservato-ry has planted, like the PI Ensemble, but I think there’s a way to come up with more ways to unite more of the departments, which can spark more creativity and give students a better worldview. Right now, each department is really separate. In the classical program, you have juries your first two years, then your junior and senior recitals. Most other solo opportunities happen only in studio class, so that means students may come through here and they may never be exposed to the amazing artistry in PI or the jazz building, or the Conservatory in general. That exposure should be built into the program.

What is it that draws you to music, generally?

I love that even when I think I’ve performed the worst performance of my life, another person in the audience has gotten something out of it. I love how music — and not just music, but art in general — is supposed to enhance life by its ability to inspire and connect people. I can put my best self out there in whatever kind of music I’m playing and can be assured that a listener can walk away feeling something really meaningful.

Is there else that you want to add about your-self, your life, music, or what inspires you?

I guess you could say that I’m trying to be like water — when it’s calm, it’s beautiful; when it’s excited or enraged, it’s a force to be reckoned with. That’s a Bruce Lee reference.

Jazz language is all over classical music. Kurt Rosenwinkel released a Chopin album that arranged Chopin for jazz quartet, and it was incredible. That’s exactly what I mean in terms of the different styles influencing one another.

Volume 152, Number 3

Students Self Promote Performances Outside Conservatory

Nikki Keating News Editor

The Oberlin Conservatory, with over 540 students and 42 private areas of study has trained many notable alumni. With over 500 performances a year, Conservatory students have frequent chances to perform throughout their years here at Oberlin, but many students also perform independently and promote their own music to make connections in the professional world.

Double-degree fifth-year Kamran Curlin, who is majoring in Double Bass Performance, believes a musician’s way of promoting themselves is how they set themselves apart within the industry. Exploring different ways of showcasing and promoting art builds a musician’s resume and matures them as an artist as it gives them the experience they need to set themselves apart from competitors.

“I think those initial years after you graduate music school are the most consequential and foundational for building the other half of being a professional musician, which is the professional part, not the musician part,” Curlin said. “There are tons of great professionals who can’t play but are really successful. And there’s a ton of great, great musicians that are just super unprofessional and don’t know how to do that side of things.”

Conservatory fourth-year Kurton Harrison III echoed Curlin’s thoughts on self promotion.

“I self promote myself through posting my instrumental beats from [Logic Pro X] to my SoundCloud” Harrison said. “I also promote myself through social media, as well. I’m trying to expand my horizon, not just as a jazz composer, but just as a music composer in general. I can learn more about things like recording, mixing, mastering asset sound engineer, you know, … just growing as a musician and music producer and composer.”

Self promotion is an opportunity for musicians to showcase their music publicly and likely increase their success in the long run. Though students have Conservatory-run opportunities to perform throughout the year, self promotion for performances in events or venues not sponsored by the Conservatory allows students to gain access to connections and opportunities outside of Oberlin.

“I have a little gig in front … of Ben Franklin’s every Saturday,” Nash McBride, third-year Conservatory pianist, said. “[It] is a connection in town, an Oberlin alum. So I’m trying to do more work outside of the Conservatory to try and find just a place to start.”

MNGLW, pronounced “moon glow,” is another example of a group of Conservatory students promoting themselves outside of their own programs. MNGLW has promoted itself by performing at spaces in and outside of the College. The group recently performed at the jazz club Nublu in New York City and has an upcoming performance at the Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center in Delaware.

“In terms of promotion, a lot of it is kind of like a double-edged sword, and in some ways it’s hard because you have no idea what you’re doing,” double-degree third-year Nathaniel Coben, a member of MNGLW, said. “I’m just trying random stuff out, but it’s also fun because at this point, you can just experiment and just try stuff out. So it’s all word of mouth and maybe a few things with social media here and there.”

While studying at the Conservatory, students are able to train with alumni and make connections through their professors and other ensembles, but a lot of the work is student driven when it comes to getting the word out about their own music and finding opportunities to pursue it.

“Opportunities exist, but it is really up to the initiative of the individual student to go seek them out,” Curlin said. “And to some extent, the reality of a professional setting is different than that of an institution where you learn music and how to be a musician. I think the Conservatory does a good job of making great musicians, but to be a professional is something that takes a lot of individualized will and drive to seek out.”

Students in the Conservatory are able to train to become musicians and to hone their intellectual and artistic passions. Self promotion helps students develop their careers and use the skills they acquire to become leaders in their field and to express their musicianship during and after their time at Oberlin.