oberlinconservatory:

Where do you plan to go after graduation?

I’m not 100% sure. I’m going to get my bartending license this summer and get a job in a town near a good conservatory so I can continue lessons during my year off. I’m also planning on spending a month or two in Africa to volunteer at a…

oberlinconservatory:

What is your earliest memory of singing?

I’ve wanted to be a singer since I was tiny, but my first concrete memory of singing is my very first voice recital in 4th grade. I forgot the words to “A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes” and stood like a deer in headlights on stage forever trying…

oberlinconservatory:

What makes your #seniorrecital special?

I’ll be performing two pieces by Tchaikovsky in Russian; they’re rarely done in recital here but they’re so heartfelt and beautiful. Also, the second half of the recital consists of pieces from Aaron Copland’s 12 Poems of Emily Dickinson which…

oberlinconservatory:

I got these six Kinetic Light Drums from Jenn and Matthew Figg.  They are artists based out of Baltimore, MD.  My European Classical Percussion professor at Oberlin, Paul Cox, had the opportunity last year to meet the Figgs and compose a piece for some of their larger drums entitled “Thunderclap” - seen here.  While I was working with Paul last summer at the Sitka Fine Arts camp in Alaska I had the opportunity to perform the piece with him and another percussionist, but not on the drums it was written for.  I really enjoyed the piece, and wanted an opportunity to see these crazy drums Paul was talking about.

When I was thinking about what I wanted to do for my senior recital, I brought up to Paul the idea of getting in contact with Jenn and Matthew and figuring out a way to get these instruments to Oberlin.  So, a few months of emailing and logistics later, here they are!

The six Kinetic Light Drums that I will present at my recital are particularly interesting in that they are, in fact, powered by sound.  There are no external wires or batteries.  They use an inverted speaker cone to capture sonic waves and turn it into power, and then turn that power into light.  Every visual that the audience sees is the literal power of the drummer’s hand hitting the skin of the head.  Bright notes are loud hits, dim notes are soft hits.  They allow an audience to literally see everything a drummer is doing instead of simply having to listen along.  I am very excited to premier them in Oberlin on April 30th.