Refreshed Oberlin Artist Recital Series Returns This September

Oberlin’s Artist Recital Series has presented celebrated musical artists for more than 140 years. That legacy continues with this season’s lineup of brilliant performers and ensembles whose music ranges from classical to gospel to jazz to world music.

The series kicks off on September 22 with the Emerson String Quartet as they give one of their “Farewell Concerts”—and their only performance in Ohio this season—after nearly five decades of performing together. The following programs through April will showcase artists and ensembles presenting an expanded range of music and musicmakers for this historic series, concluding with a performance of folk and ancestral music by Silkroad.

All programs on the six-concert series will be held at 7:30 p.m. in Finney Chapel at 90 N. Professor Street in Oberlin.

A bonus concert at 7:30 p.m. on March 7, featuring Imani Winds, will be held in the Conservatory’s Warner Concert Hall.

The complete schedule includes:

Friday, September 22 | Emerson String Quartet
After 47 years of touring, dozens of recordings, and the highest accolades for their definitive performances of the string quartet literature, the Emerson visits Oberlin to give one of their final “Farewell Season” concerts. Their thoughtful program includes one of Ludwig van Beethoven’s last quartets, the first mature quartet by Felix Mendelssohn, and the final work that the Emerson commissioned—Drink the Wild Ayre by Sarah Kirkland Snider.

Friday, October 13 | Seraph Brass
The all-female quintet, Seraph Brass, winner of the American Prize in Chamber Music, will perform original transcriptions, core classics, and a newly commissioned work by Oberlin faculty member Jeff Scott, giving audiences performances of rich, soaring sound.

Thursday, November 30 | Jeremy Denk, piano
Acclaimed pianist, author, and Oberlin alumnus Jeremy Denk ’90 curates a program that unites female composers from the 19th to 21st centuries with pieces by Robert Schumann and Johannes Brahms. Works by Louise Farrenc and Clara Schumann, French Romantic holdout Cécile Chaminade, American pianist and composer Amy Beach, and modernist-turned-folk-revivalist Ruth Crawford Seeger sit alongside works by acclaimed contemporary composers Tania León, Meredith Monk, Phyllis Chen, and Missy Mazzoli. Denk pulls these works and composers together to tell a story of women’s genius—both recognized and neglected in their times and remembered and forgotten in ours—and lends his insight to this era-spanning program.

Saturday, February 10 | Trey McLaughlin & The Sounds of Zamar
This gospel choir brings the sound of uniquely unified voices that transcend boundaries. With original songs and fresh adaptations of gospel, spirituals, pop, R&B, and musical theater hits, you’ll hear why their videos have gone viral and they have millions of loyal YouTube followers.

Wednesday, March 13 | Artemis
Hear the sophisticated, soulful, and powerful music making of Artemis, the all-star collective of visionary modern jazz bandleaders and composers. Pianist and musical director Renee Rosnes is joined by trumpet player Ingrid Jensen, tenor saxophonist Nicole Glover, bassist Noriko Ueda, and drummer Allison Miller.

Friday, April 26 | Silkroad Ensemble: Uplifted Voices
Silkroad’s new program, titled Uplifted Voices, shines a light on previously under-recognized voices to change our perspectives on the history and migration of music. Audiences will be led on a musical journey that connects the music of indigenous North America to the world, drawing inspiration from music of Japan, China, Armenia, Ireland and the Hebrides, and native populations across North America. The ensemble is percussionist Haruka Fujii, Celtic harpist and vocalist Maeve Gilchrist, cellist Karen Ouzounian, and violinist and vocalist Mazz Swift. They will perform with special guests Pura Fé, a Tuscarora/Taíno lap-steel slide guitarist and vocalist, and pipa player Wu Man.

Bonus Concert: Thursday, March 7 | Imani Winds
The Oberlin-alumni founded woodwind quintet Imani Winds collaborates with cellist Seth Parker Woods, pianist Cory Smythe, and actor Justin Emeka in a performance of Jeff Scott’s Fallen Petals of Nameless Flowers, which tells the stories of four Michiganders who were sentenced to life without parole as juveniles. This concert will take place at 7:30 p.m. in Warner Concert Hall. Admission for this concert is free.

Subscriptions and Single Tickets
Subscriptions to the 2023-24 Artist Recital Series are available to the general public beginning July 15, with full-season and Pick 3 packages both offering significant savings over individual ticket prices.

Get tickets for the full season—all six Artist Recital Series concerts—for just $180, a savings of $5 per ticket. Seniors age 55 and older, members of the military, and Oberlin staff and alumni pay just $150, and students pay only $48.

Pick 3 packages allow you to select any three concerts on the Artist Recital Series (pending availability) and save $5 off the regular price of each ticket.

Single tickets for individual concerts will be on sale August 15.

New this season—and only for Oberlin College and Conservatory students with valid OCID—Artist Recital Series single tickets will be free and distributed as long as supplies last on a first-come, first-served basis. These tickets are made possible through the generosity of Oberlin alumni donors Richard ’62 and Linda ’62 Clark.

Subscription packages are available now online.

Oberlin’s Central Ticket Service will open for business on August 1. Patrons may reserve tickets by calling 800-371-0178 or visiting at the Eric Baker Nord Performing Arts Annex (67 N. Main Street) from noon to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.