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Your Generosity Fuels a New Cedille Recording
The morning after dazzling the audience at Soirée Cedille, oboist Oliver Talukder was back at work — this time in the first of three recording session days with pianist Moriah Trenk, capturing the artistry that earned him the top prize in Cedille’s Emerging Artist Competition. Their upcoming album — Oliver’s prize for winning — marks the beginning of his journey as a Cedille recording artist and represents the next exciting step in his growing career.
A product of Chicago’s vibrant music scene, Oliver’s musical foundation was laid during his time in the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras, People’s Music School, and Chicago Musical Pathways Initiative. With his ability to perform fluently on multiple woodwind instruments, Oliver brings both technical versatility and expressive depth to his music. His engaging stage presence and warmth have quickly made him a favorite among audiences and collaborators alike.
At Soirée Cedille, Oliver’s electrifying performance captivated donors and fellow musicians, earning him a standing ovation and enthusiastic praise. Thanks to the incredible generosity shown that evening, Cedille didn’t just raise enough to cover the costs of Oliver’s recording: we actually exceeded our goal, ensuring continued opportunities for Chicago’s most promising emerging artists.
Oliver’s recording will introduce his artistry to a global audience, providing a professional launchpad that few young musicians experience so early in their careers. It’s a powerful reminder of how Cedille’s mission — and the community that supports it — translates directly into life-changing opportunities for artists at the start of their professional journeys.
Only one recording session remains for the 2026 release. The album will feature a new work, commissioned by Cedille Records, from Oliver’s fellow Curtis student, Delfin Demiray, to be recorded early next year. Oliver’s album draws its intriguing title, “Briefly Gorgeous,” from this new piece, inspired by Ocean Vuong’s On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, an epistolary novel addressed to Vuong’s immigrant mother.
We look forward to sharing this special album with you — one that marks a career defining moment with, in Oliver’s words, “themes of love, identity, and home.”
Recommended
Pacifica Quartet’s final album in the American Collections trilogy – American Portraits. Bringing together touchstones of the American repertoire, American Portraits features some of the most canonical American chamber works alongside world premiere recordings of two newly commissioned works.
Winner of Cedille Records’ 2025 Emerging Artist Competition, Chicago-born oboist Oliver Talukder makes his solo recording debut with Briefly Gorgeous. Joined by pianist Moriah Trenk, Talukder presents an album inspired by themes of identity, love, family, and belonging. Drawing on his Mexican and Bengali heritage and his Chicago upbringing, the program explores where classical music intersects with Latino and South Asian traditions, creating a musical portrait shaped by Talukder’s unique story.
To celebrate the Oct. 9 release of American Portraits, the Pacifica Quartet‘s 18th album for Cedille, a playlist with a track from each of its Cedille albums, in chronological order, starting with its very first CD in 1999.