Oberlin Conservatory

One last standing ovation for the Class of 2026! 🎓🎶 (Part two)

This year’s Conservatory Commencement Recitals brought together an incredible range of music—from Baroque and Romantic masterworks to jazz combos, new electronic sounds, musical theater, and more—performed by members of the class of 2026. These concerts have become a beloved Oberlin tradition, celebrating the artistry, collaboration, and hard work that define students’ time on campus.

Swipe through for highlights from Commencement Recital II, and join us in celebrating our newest Conservatory alums.

PC: Scott Shaw

One last standing ovation for the Class of 2026! 🎓🎶 (Part one)

This year’s Conservatory Commencement Recitals brought together an incredible range of music—from Baroque and Romantic masterworks to jazz combos, new electronic sounds, musical theater, and more—performed by members of the class of 2026. These concerts have become a beloved Oberlin tradition, celebrating the artistry, collaboration, and hard work that define students’ time on campus.

Swipe through for highlights from Commencement Recital I, and join us in celebrating our newest Conservatory alums.

PC: Alvin Smith

We’re thrilled to welcome three-time Grammy-winning violinist and composer Zach Brock to the Oberlin Conservatory faculty as associate professor of multi-genre performance and improvisation, beginning in fall 2026.

Known for his work with Snarky Puppy and hailed by critics as “the preeminent improvising violinist of his generation,” Brock brings a background that spans chamber music, orchestral writing, jazz, electronic music, and pop. He will continue his international performing career while helping Oberlin students deepen their artistry, versatility, and improvisational voice across genres.

Read more about his appointment: https://www.oberlin.edu/news/grammy-winning-artist-zach-brock-joins-oberlin-conservatory

Congratulations to Professor of Jazz Saxophone Gary Bartz on the upcoming release of "Where Rivers Meet," a new studio album with London-based ensemble Your Brother's Keeper, out June 19 on Brownswood Recordings. 🎷

The record brings together Bartz—a 2024 NEA Jazz Master and two-time Grammy winner—with a new collective assembled by drummer Jake Long, drawing on a musical relationship that traces back to a 2019 collaboration in London. The result is music shaped by deep listening and collective improvisation, where Bartz's unmistakable voice meets the exploratory energy of London's contemporary jazz scene.

Bartz has been on the Oberlin Conservatory faculty since 2001.

The lead single "Cauldron" is out now and available to stream at https://bit.ly/49VcYsw.

📸: Karolina Wielocha

🎉 Congratulations to Christine Goerke—world-renowned dramatic soprano and educator—on receiving an Honorary Doctor of Music at the 2026 Oberlin College and Conservatory Commencement! Goerke was honored in recognition of her extraordinary international career and her unwavering commitment to mentoring the next generation of opera singers.

The Conservatory was thrilled to welcome her to campus in March 2026 for a master class with Conservatory voice students.

From 2021–2024, she served as Associate Artistic Director of Detroit Opera, and she continues to shape the future of the art form through new artistic initiatives, including Detroit’s Classic Opera Series at Music Hall. This fall, she joins the faculty of the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance.

Bravo, Christine Goerke! 👏🎶
PC 1: Scott Shaw, 2-3: Isabella Moss

The Oberlin community joins the jazz world in mourning the loss of Sonny Rollins, who died on May 25, 2026, at age 95. A towering artist and generous friend to Oberlin, Rollins helped shape the lives of our students through the Sonny Rollins Jazz Ensemble Fund and through his belief that “life is about giving, not taking.” Today, that spirit lives on in the ensemble that bears his name and in the students he hoped would “shed light wherever they go.”

Read more about Sonny Rollins and his connections to Oberlin here: https://www.oberlin.edu/news/rollins-riffs
PC: John Abbott

Congratulations to vocalist Emmy Irvine ’27, named a winner in DownBeat magazine’s 2026 Student Music Awards for Vocal Jazz Soloist in the Undergraduate College division. ✨

A junior in Oberlin’s jazz voice program, Emmy came to Oberlin Conservatory from the United Kingdom on a Dean’s Scholarship and has become an active presence in the program. She studies with Associate Professor of Jazz Voice La Tanya Hall, and on March 13 shared a junior recital with jazz drummer Dempsey Miller, performing music by Betty Carter, Richard Rodgers, Jimmy Dorsey/Paul Madeira, and Fats Waller, along with two original compositions.

Beyond campus, Emmy has appeared with the Will Wi******er Quartet at Tilles Jazz Fest and has toured with the Oberlin-rooted pop formation Slightly Tooned.

Now in their 49th year, the DownBeat Student Music Awards are among the most prestigious honors in jazz education, recognizing outstanding student musicians and ensembles from schools across the U.S. and around the world.

We are so proud of you, Emmy.

📸: Scott Shaw

We are deeply saddened to share that dramatic tenor and Oberlin Conservatory alum Limmie Pulliam ’98 has died at the age of 50. A gifted artist whose late-career rise led to acclaimed appearances at the Metropolitan Opera, Carnegie Hall, and with major orchestras worldwide, Pulliam inspired countless musicians through both his voice and his story of resilience.

Trained at Oberlin with renowned voice professor Richard Miller, he later returned often to campus to perform alongside our students—including a powerful performance of R. Nathaniel Dett’s “The Ordering of Moses” with the Oberlin Orchestra and choirs at Carnegie Hall, and of Rhiannon Giddens’ and Michael Abels’ “Omar” at Oberlin and in Cleveland. Limmie is remembered as an extraordinary musician and a generous, warm presence in the Oberlin community.

We extend our heartfelt condolences to his family, friends, classmates, and all who were moved by his artistry. His Oberlin family will miss him profoundly.

Read more about Limmie Pulliam ’98 and his life in music in this article: https://www.oberlin.edu/news/tenor-limmie-pulliam-98-who-sang-stages-worldwide-dies-50

Each spring, the Dean's Office gathers Conservatory students and faculty for the annual Honors Reception to celebrate the year's student award recipients. Congratulations to this year's honorees!

The Beethoven Prize in Piano:
Gui Kedon

The Howard Karp Class of ’51 Beethoven Prize for 3rd Place:
Jiahao Xu

The Leon Fleisher Beethoven Prize for 2nd Place:
Yian Chao

The Takács Beethoven Prize for 1st Place:
Ryan Schuering

The Arthur Dann Piano Competition:
Hanyuan Zhu

The John Elvin Piano Prize:
Cheng Hsun Yeh

The Rudolf Serkin Scholarship:
Chih-Chun Lu

The Deborah Lipton Hanna ’69 Endowed Collaborative Piano Prize:
Nio Ajero

The Piano Faculty Prize in Accompanying:
Nio Ajero

The Carol Nott Piano Pedagogy Prize:
Nio Ajero

The David S. Boe - C. B. Fisk Prize for Excellence in Organ Performance:
Owen Metz

The Selby Harlan Houston Prize:
Kingsley Prize Wood

The Ruth Cogan Memorial Scholarship in Vocal Performance:
Saige Hoffman

The Louis and Marguerite Bloomberg Greenwood Prize:
Delaney Fox

The Margot Bos Stambler ’84 Professional Development Award:
Molly Chun and Jamie Felix-Toll

The Louis and Annette Kaufman Music Achievement Award in Violin:
Matthildur Traustadottir

The James H. Hall Prize in Musicology:
Molly Davis and Olivia Schwartz

The Earl L. Russell Award in Historical Performance:
Walker Whitehouse

The Walter E. Aschaffenburg Prize:
Matthew Brown and Aaron Nichols

The TIMARA Founders Fund John Clough Prize:
Amanda Hergn

The TIMARA Founders Fund Olly Wilson Prize:
Fae Ordaz

The Wendell and Bettye Logan Prize in Jazz Studies:
George Rogers

The Pi Kappa Lambda Prize for Musicianship:
Matthew Brown, Sophie Leah, and Mia Tran

Dolores and Donald White Prize:
Hannah Stone

The Ohio Federation of Music Clubs Agnes Fowler Collegiate Scholarship:
Ella Vaughn

The Faustina Hurlbutt Prize:
Abby Simpson

The Theodore Presser Undergraduate Scholar Award:
Saige Hoffman

The Ernest Hatch Wilkins Memorial Prize:
Yunshen Tao

The Flint Initiative Grant recipients for 2026:
Zachary Allen, Molly Davis, Bohdan Kinal, and Jay Musasa

📸: Scott Shaw