Ry Russo-Young '03 to screen film "You Won't Miss Me" at Cleveland Museum of Art

Ry Russo-Young '03 will screen her film and host a Q&A at the Cleveland Museum of Art on Friday, February 4 at 7pm and Saturday, February 5 at 1:30pm.

This kaleidoscopic portrait of an emotionally troubled, 23-year-old NYC misfit recently released from a psychiatric hospital won the Gotham Award for Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You. It was co-written and stars Stella Schnabel, daughter of Julian, and directed by Ry Russo-Young, who will answer questions after both shows.

“Powerful, iconoclastic…Could gain a cult following.” –Variety. USA, 2009, color, video, 81 min.

Admission is $9; CMA members, seniors 65 & over, and students $7; or one CMA Film Series voucher. Vouchers, in books of ten, can be purchased at the Ticket Center for $70 (CMA members $60).

Visit http://www.youwontmissme.com/ for more information about the film and to view a trailer.

Lecture Hall
The Cleveland Museum of Art
11150 East Boulevard
Cleveland, OH 44106

Oberlin Opera Theater Winter Term Performances

Oberlin Opera Theater has two fabulous Winter Term productions coming up! In true Oberlin style, it's free admission to both of these fully staged productions.

On February 3rd & 5th The Turn Of The Screw by Benjamin Britten will be performed in Finney Chapel at 8pm.

On February 4th & 6th Exercises de Style by Jose Evangelista will be performed in Warner Concert Hall. Performance times are February 4th at 8pm and 10pm; February 6th at 2pm and 4pm.

Finney Chapel
90 North Professor Street
Oberlin, OH 44074

Warner Concert Hall
Oberlin Conservatory of Music
77 West College Street
Oberlin, OH 44074

Artist Recital Series - Pacifica Quartet

The Pacifica Quartet, recognized internationally for its virtuosity, exuberant performance style, and often-daring repertory choices, will perform on Oberlin College’s Artist Recital Series on Wednesday, February 16, at 8 p.m. The concert will be held in Finney Chapel, with a program of works by Beethoven, Shostakovich, and Schubert. The quartet features Simin Ganatra ’95, violin; Sibbi Bernhardsson ’95, violin; Masumi Per Rostad, viola; and Brandon Vamos, cello. While on campus, the quartet will also fulfill a two-day residency, during which they will lead master classes and coach chamber ensembles.

Since its formation in 1994, the Pacifica Quartet has carved out a compelling and critically lauded musical path. As a young ensemble, the quartet swept top awards in the U.S. and abroad, including the 2002 Cleveland Quartet Award, the Naumburg Chamber Music Award in 1998, and the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant in 2006, making the Pacifica only the second chamber music ensemble ever to be selected. In 2009, the quartet garnered two highly coveted distinctions including being named “Ensemble of the Year” by Musical America and winning a Grammy Award for their recording of Elliott Carter’s String Quartets Nos. 1 and 5 (Naxos).

The quartet has performed to critical acclaim, and has achieved international stature as one of the finest chamber ensembles performing today. The Daily Telegraph of London declared “This was playing of the most sublime kind, utterly absorbing in its subtle expressiveness, polish and ready communication of stylistic character.” In the U.S., the Washington Post lauded the group as possessing “…musical gifts held in ideal balance.”

Since 2004, the quartet has served as the faculty quartet-in-residence at the University of Illinois, and is also a resident performing artist at the University of Chicago and Longy School of Music in Boston. In 2009, the Pacifica Quartet acquired a third residency to become the quartet-in-residence at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, succeeding the Guarneri Quartet.

The Pacifica Quartet tours extensively throughout the United States, Europe, Asia, and Australia. For the 2010-11 season, in addition to performing at Oberlin College, the quartet has prepared the monumental Shostakovich cycle to be performed in Chicago and at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Originating on the west coast, the quartet takes its name from the Pacific Ocean.

For more information about the Pacifica Quartet, please visit www.pacificaquartet.com

For information on Oberlin’s Artist Recital Series, please visit www.oberlin.edu/arseries

Ticket information
Tickets are available for advance purchase by visiting www.oberlin.edu/arseries or calling 800-371-0178. Single tickets are $30; seniors and those with an Oberlin College ID $25; and students $12. Tickets are available at the door, starting one hour before the performance; however, tickets purchased at the door cost $3 more.

Save the Dates - April 2011 Events

Looking ahead a few months, there are two upcoming events in April to put on your calendar.

On Friday, April 15 at 8pm, join Jeannette Sorrell ‘90 and Apollo’s Fire Baroque Orchestra for their concert entitled “Bach, Telemann & The Bohemian Gypsies.” Joining Apollo’s Fire are Matthias Maute on flutes and Kathie Stewart on flauto traverso.

Gypsies and their music were a vibrant part of the local color in Germany and Poland. German recorder virtuoso Matthias Maute boldly juxtaposes reconstructed gypsy pieces with the Bach and Telemann concertos he believes they influenced. This exuberant collaboration features Jeannette as harpsichord soloist.

With one of the strongest subscription audiences of any baroque orchestra in the country, Apollo’s Fire is hailed for the “personality and temperament” of its performances (The New York Times). The ensemble is dedicated to reviving the true spirit of baroque performances – not only with period instruments, but also with the emotional impact that baroque music was intended to convey.

Haled as “one of the nation’s leading baroque orchestras” (The Boston Globe), Apollo’s Fire has toured throughout North America, performing at such venues as the Aspen Music Festival, the Boston Early Music Festival, and the Library of Congress. This season, the ensemble makes its European debut with concerts in Spain, the Netherlands, and London’s Wigmore Hall, where the concert will be broadcast by the BBC.

The orchestra includes a number of Oberlin Alumni and Faculty. More information about the Orchestra can be found at www.apollosfire.org

We will be offered a special ticket price, as well as the opportunity to meet with Jeannette and other Obie members of the Orchestra after the concert.

The concert will take place at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Cleveland Heights. More information to come shortly!


On Saturday, April 16, from 1-4pm, we will have our second annual Oberlin Cares Day – Alumni Day of Service at the George Jones Farm in Oberlin. From 1-4pm, we’ll play in the dirt, move chicken fences, weed, plant and do any number of other activities. For those you that weren’t able to join us last year, we had a great time at the farm, and were joined by Oberlin friends and family, as well as current students. You can see pictures up on the blog from last year. Following the outdoor activities, there will be a potluck at the Strawbale building at the farm.

We will be joined again by current Oberlin students from Immerse Yourself in Service, an Oberlin College Student Organization dedicated to community Service. You are welcome to come for part or all of the event! More details coming soon.

Debra Nagy ‘00/’02 and Les Délices Present "La Guitarre Royalle"

Just in time for Valentine’s Day, Les Délices presents their concert La Guitarre Royalle, on February 12 & 13. This program highlights the astonishingly beautiful playing of Toronto-based lutenist Lucas Harris, whose poetic approach has been called “a revelation” (Le Devoir). Lucas, who serves on the faculty at Oberlin’s summer Baroque Performance Institute, will be joined by Scott Metcalfe (violin), Emily Walhout ’83 (viola da gamba), and Debra Nagy ’00/’02 (baroque oboe).

La Guitarre Royalle is a rare opportunity to hear the baroque guitar up close and personal in both solo and ensemble roles. The sound of the baroque guitar is very different from its modern counterpart owing to the instrument’s small size, construction, stringing, and tuning. The result is a versatile and colorful instrument whose clear sound is rich with overtones. In solo music, the baroque guitar’s palette ranges from sensitive and introspective to extroverted and uplifting. When playing continuo in an ensemble (the baroque practice of improvising chordal accompaniment above the bass line), the guitar can bring a similar intimacy to the group, or act as a percussive, energizing force.

Les Délices’ program features solos and trios by Jean-Féry Rebel and Louis-Nicholas Clérambault, plus a mesmerizing chaconne by Louis XIV’s own guitar master Francesco Corbetta that will tug at listeners’ heart-strings. In a special nod to Valentine’s day, Les Délices will also present François Couperin’s rarely-performed “Portrait of Love” (Ritratto dell’amore). Each movement of the work carries a title paying tribute to love’s many facets - from pure joy to vivacity and sweetness – even its inimitable “je ne sais quoi”! Finally, Joseph Bodin de Boismortier’s rustic Ballets de village will set audience members in the mood to go dancing into the night.

Les Délices performs La Guitarre Royalle inside the galleries of Tregoning & Company on Saturday, February 12, 2011 at 8:00pm, and at Herr Chapel at Plymouth Church on Sunday, February 13, 2011 at 4:00pm. Visit www.lesdelices.org for tickets and more information.

The final concerts in Les Délices' 2010-11 series will be “Myths & Allegories” on May 14 & 15, 2011.

Tregoning & Company
1300 West 78th Street
Cleveland, OH 44102

Herr Chapel
Plymouth Church
2860 Coventry Road
Shaker Heights, OH 44120