Students of Professor of Singing Gerald Crawford will present a concert on Friday, May 16, 2008, at 8 p.m. in Finney Chapel in honor of his contributions over the course of his 28-year tenure at Oberlin. Crawford is retiring from the Conservatory faculty at the end of this semester.

Several of Crawford’s former students will travel from cities across the country to perform in the celebratory concert, and they represent the span of his Conservatory career, from his first students (Martha Warren ’81 and Steven Stull ’83) to more recent alumnas (Rebecca Ringle ’02 and Jocelyn Thomas ’07). The program will offer a variety of music, includingGerman Romantic lieder by Schubert and Strauss, French chansons and arias by Fauré and Massenet, and 20th-century American songs by Barber and Rorem.

The concert will be performed entirely by Crawford’s students: Stephen Gracey ’88, Marie McCarville ’01, Dodie Morris ’90, Rebecca Ringle ’02, Caleb Stokes ’01, Steven Stull ’83, Jocelyn Thomas ’07, Marthan Warren ’81, and Daryl Yoder ’96. Oberlin Conservatory vocal coaches Daniel Michalak andHoward Lubin and Oberlin Opera Theater Assistant Music Director Alan Montgomery will accompany the singers.

Crawford established his studio at the Conservatory in 1979, after teaching at Southeastern Louisiana and Western Illinois universities. Highlights of his professional singing career include five seasons with New York City Opera and a solo engagement with the Philadelphia Orchestra. Over the past several decades he has been an integral part of the vocal faculty at Oberlin, serving as Director of the Division of Vocal Studies and as co-director of the Oberlin Vocal Academy for High School Students. In 1988, he cofounded the Oberlin in Italy program with Professor of Singing Daune Mahy.

“Gerald Crawford has a voice of world-class quality, an innate sense of musicality, and an inspired poetic sense that made him a vulnerable and compelling performer,” says Mahy, Crawford’s longtime colleague. “His keen ear for sound has made him a brilliant and most effective teacher and coach.”

Former student Rebecca Ringle ’02, who made her debut at New York City Opera last season, will present the closing selections of the program, which includes a duet from Massenet’s Werther with Caleb Stokes ’01. At the end of the evening, all the singers will gather on stage to perform Schubert’s famous ode to the power of music, An die Musik, concluding the concert with these words:

“You sacred art, in how many grey hours … you have reignited my heart with the warmth of love … I thank you for this.”

Gerald Crawford’s retirement concert is free and open to the public. The Conservatory particularly encourages students and friends of Mr. Crawford to attend. Click here to view the complete program.