Meet the Conservatory’s Newest Tenure-Track Faculty
October 4, 2023
Communications Staff
Five members of the conservatory faculty have been granted tenure-track positions beginning this academic year. They span the disciplines of music theory, composition, trombone, and TIMARA—each of them standout artist-educators who join a highly revered conservatory faculty.
And while some are entirely new to their roles, many have deep ties to campus as past visiting faculty, guest artists—and even a former student.
Follow the links below to learn more about each of them, from their areas of scholarly and artistic interest to the courses they teach this fall.
Welcome—and welcome back—to Oberlin, one and all!
Christa Cole ’17
- Assistant Professor of Music Theory
Education
- PhD, music theory, Indiana University, 2023
- BMus, violin performance, Oberlin Conservatory of Music, 2017
Michael Frazier
- Assistant Professor of Composition
Education
- BM, acoustic and electronic composition, University of South Florida, 2014
- MA, musical composition, Eastman School of Music, 2016
- PhD, musical composition, Eastman School of Music, 2021
John Gruber
- Assistant Professor of Trombone
Education
- BME, instrumental music education, Bowling Green State University, 2010
- MM, trombone performance, University of Michigan, 2015
- DMA, trombone performance, University of Michigan, 2018
Steven Kemper
- Associate Professor of Technology in Music and Related Arts
Education
- PhD in composition and computer technologies, University of Virginia
- MM in music composition, Bowling Green State University
- BA in music, Bowdoin College
Eron Smith
- Assistant Professor of Music Theory
Education
- BA cum laude, music (concentration in music theory), Pomona College, 2016
- MA, music theory, Eastman School of Music, 2019
- PhD, music theory, Eastman School of Music, 2022
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