Oberlin Contemporary Music Ensemble

An “experimental haven” and “hotbed of contemporary-classical players” (The New York Times), the Oberlin Conservatory of Music cultivates innovation in its students. Under the direction of Professor Timothy Weiss, the Oberlin Contemporary Music Ensemble’s (CME) high level of performance has garnered considerable acclaim. In its six annual full-concert cycles, CME performs music of all contemporary styles and genres: from minimalism and serialism to electroacoustic, cross-genre, mixed media, and beyond.

CME has worked with and premiered pieces by many prominent composers from a variety of backgrounds, including Vijay Iyer, Stephen Hartke, George Crumb, Sir Harrison Birtwistle, Helmut Lachenmann, David Lang, Joan Tower, Carlos Simon, Cindy McTee, Courtney Bryan, Alex Paxton, among many others. CME also regularly premieres works by prominent Oberlin faculty, student, and alumni composers.

Many noted contemporary music icons perform as soloists with CME, including Jennifer Koh (’97), Claire Chase (’01), Tony Arnold (’90), Marilyn Nonken, Stephen Drury, Steven Schick, and Ursula Oppens. The ensemble also features outstanding students as soloists each year.

CME routinely performs in Cleveland and tours the United States. In recent years, it has performed at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Roulette, Winter Garden, Miller Theater, Merkin Concert Hall, DiMenna Center, Harvard University, Benaroya Hall, Palace of Fine Arts, Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall, and the Cleveland Museum of Art.

The group is featured on a number of commercial recordings, including John Luther Adams’ In the White Silence (New World Records), Lewis Nielson’s Écritures: St. Francis Preaches to the Birds (Centaur Records), and several releases on the Oberlin Music label.

Scores of powerhouse new music performers and ensembles began their careers as members of CME, including the multiple Grammy Award-winning sextet Eighth Blackbird and the International Contemporary Ensemble.