Between 2021 and 2024, the Arts and Sciences Chamber Collective provided the main large ensemble opportunity for student instrumentalists in the College seeking to continue performing classical music. Offered for two credits as APST 826, Arts & Sciences Chamber Music facilitated both orchestral and chamber music, resulting in two concerts at the end of the semester: one of students’ chamber groups and one full orchestral concert in Finney Chapel. Quartet-In-Residence, The Verona Quartet, leads the course and takes an active role in working directly with students in both settings, offering professional-level mentorship and guidance. Last year, however, ASCC has shifted its focus from both forms of group performance to solely chamber music — A&S Chamber Orchestra has been discontinued.
A&S Chamber Orchestra was the only realistic opportunity for many students whose instruments were important aspects of their life and who wished to utilize Oberlin’s world-class musical facilities to continue performing in large ensemble settings while making the most of their College degree. A&S Chamber Orchestra largely followed audition-based entry and in some cases sought instrumentalists from both the College and Conservatory to fill needed roles, resulting in a high caliber ensemble conducted by upperclassmen Conducting students in the Conservatory. For instruments like violin and cello, it allowed easier access to this type of performance due to the high concentration of string players in the Conservatory. The appeal of such an ensemble for non-Conservatory students had been an exciting opportunity many prospective students looked forward to.
“I really love playing in large ensembles,” College third-year Olivia Pickens, who played violin with ASCC in her first year, said. “I had also done some chamber music while I was in high school, so I was really looking forward to doing that at Oberlin. I thought the Arts and Sciences Orchestra sounded like the perfect opportunity.”
Pickens described having to audition for placement into ASCC and ended up auditing the course due to an existing course overload. A&S Chamber Orchestra rehearsals included weekly two-hour sessions in Central 25, a lower workload than the Conservatory’s four large ensembles, which meet three times per week for two-hour sessions. This aspect seemed cognizant of College students’ heavier academic workload in terms of musical expectations compared to Conservatory students, yet students described the experience as being unusually stressful.
“I had a very rigorous youth orchestra experience in high school,” College third-year Claire Heary, who played bassoon with ASCC in her first year, said. “They went on tour to Carnegie Hall, and it was very involved. It was my entire life. I went to an arts high school, so I was excited to come to Oberlin. Part of the draw for me was the Conservatory — that I could still be involved in music.”
Upon arriving at Oberlin, she auditioned for the Arts and Sciences Chamber Orchestra.
“I audited it, and I’m guessing the only reason they let me do that is because they needed bassoons,” she said. “But I showed up, and they were so abrasive. I was a little disheartened because I thought that I would have a community. I missed one rehearsal for a severe medical issue; I emailed saying that, and the student conductor came up to me after I’d missed that singular rehearsal, and was like, ‘Why’d you miss rehearsal?’”
College third-year Eve Anderson played trombone with ASCC in their first year.
“I found it pretty stressful,” they said. “They asked me to be in it because they didn’t have enough trombone players. I had to miss a couple rehearsals, which I thought was okay because I wasn’t doing it for credit; I got a really mean email about my commitment to it.”
Pickens, Heary, and Anderson all stated that the large ensemble aspect is what primarily drew them to participating with ASCC, yet felt that their commitment as College students fell short of the organizers’ expectations. All three did not continue with ASCC. Now, a decision has been made to completely forego orchestral music, essentially removing any classical music large ensemble opportunities for most College students. While the chamber aspect still offers a valuable learning and collaboration opportunity for College students in a Conservatory setting, students remarked that it is much easier to form and perform with a chamber group rather than a full orchestra.
“I loved my chamber group, I’m not going to lie,” Heary said. “I would have quit so fast if I wasn’t there with my chamber group. But also, if I wanted to do cham-
ber, I would have signed up for something chamber.”
Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Aurie Hsu, OC ’96, confirmed that after experimenting with the dual format for three years, the choice to discontinue the ensemble rested primarily on the types of instrumentalists auditioning for and enrolling into ASCC.
“The main obstacles that we ran into were how to make a valuable, meaningful music-making experience with a random collection of instruments,” Hsu said. “When it was orchestra, often we would need to bring in ringers just to fill out the seats. That also has other issues in terms of pedagogical and curricular planning. After the three years of trying both, The Verona Quartet suggested it seems like the students will get a better experience in chamber group. So, that would be faculty coachings with groups with more contact time. So, we’ve tried this new chamber music-only model.”
Currently, there are no plans for the Conservatory administration to organize a new large ensemble group for College students, but many on-campus student groups provide large ensemble experiences, such as the Video Game Cover Collective and Oberlin Camerata. Hsu also noted that College students are able to audition for and participate in the Conservatory’s main large ensembles if a student has a strong interest in continuing on with high school experiences, though this is a less common route.