Fri 4/13 @ 8PM
Sat 4/14 @ 8PM
Pianist/composer Billy Childs’ music encompasses classical, jazz and pop. A Los Angeles native, he graduated from the University of Southern California and laid down roots in the L.A. jazz scene before launching his recording career in the late 1980s.
Since then he’s released 11 albums under his own name, including last year’s Rebirth, which won him his fifth Grammy, composed classical pieces on commission for orchestras, and collaborated with musicians ranging from Yo-Yo Ma to Wynton Marsalis to Sting to the American Brass Quintet.
Childs will be back at Oberlin as part of a residency there that began last fall that includes master classes and student performances of his works.
“Billy is a perfect example of someone who isn’t inhibited by any musical genre barriers,” says director of the Division of Jazz Studies Bobby Ferrazza. “We want our students to be forward-thinking, and Billy and this collaboration are great models for them.”
On Fri 4/13 Childs and a student jazz chamber group will perform his 2001 Grammy award-winning piece, Into the Light, his Unrequited: String Quarter No. 3, and a group of his shorter works.
The following night, Childs will perform with the Oberlin Chamber Orchestra, Oberlin College Choir and Musical Union. The program include his 2005 Voices of Angels, with faculty vocalist La Tanya Hall and student vocalist Celine Opdycke and Lutoslawski’s Variations on a Theme by Paganini, Op. 35, featuring 2018 Concerto Competition winner Hyeonseo Lee.
Both performances take place at Finney Chapel on campus and are free and open to the public.
guestconcertintothelightwithbillychilds