Robert Shannon, Artistic Director
Robert Shannon has built a distinguished career performing solo recitals, ensemble concerts, and delivering master classes across the United States, Europe, South America, and Asia. His vast repertoire spans from the works of Bach to those of Adams. Shannon is particularly lauded for his insightful interpretations of contemporary American compositions.
He has commissioned and premiered compositions by notable composers such as John Harbison, Charles Wuorinen, Carla Bley, and Steven Dembski. Shannon’s recordings of Charles Ives’ sonatas under Bridge Records have received international acclaim. Additionally, his recordings include Ives’ complete violin and piano works as well as pieces by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer George Crumb.
Throughout his career, Shannon has performed at renowned events including the Grand Teton Music Festival, Festival Tibor Varga in Switzerland, and the Sacramento Festival of American Music. He has also appeared as a guest artist with the Chicago Contemporary Chamber Players. Recent appearances have taken him to cities such as London, Paris, Glasgow, Rome, Stuttgart, New York, San Francisco, Colombia, and Taiwan.
Shannon is a professor of piano at Oberlin Conservatory of Music, where he serves as director of the Division of Keyboard Studies and is founder and director of the Cooper International Competition for Piano. He has been a faculty member at Oberlin since 1976.
Ernest Barretta
Recognized early on for his mastery of the piano, Ernest Barretta is praised for his technical skill, stage presence, and musical sensitivity, all of which are remarkable for such a young pianist (McKeesport Daily News). He has an extensive career as both a soloist and chamber musician, performing widely across the United States and internationally.
Barretta has appeared as a soloist with numerous orchestras including the St. Petersburg Symphony in Russia, the National Gallery Orchestra in Washington, D.C., and the Mid-Atlantic Symphony Orchestra. He has been featured in interviews and live sessions on XM Radio, WBJC in Baltimore, and WFLN in Philadelphia. His recordings encompass contemporary, chamber, and solo repertoires and have earned critical acclaim, notably his solo album featuring works by Bach, Beethoven, and Mussorgsky released on the MRC label.
As a collaborator, Barretta has worked with internationally acclaimed musicians and is part of ensembles like the Allegheny Ensemble and Musa Amici trio. He has performed twice as a soloist at the Seoul Summer Music Festival and Academy in South Korea, where he also served on the piano faculty. He has taught and performed at various music festivals in China and Taiwan, and has been a juror in international piano competitions held in New York, China, and Taiwan.
In addition to performing, Barretta dedicates significant effort to teaching emerging talents. He is currently on the piano faculty at the Juilliard School’s pre-college division and has previously taught at The Peabody Conservatory and Towson University. Moreover, he is active as a conductor and composer, serving as Music Director of multiple ensembles at St. Joseph, Fullerton in Baltimore, MD.
Barretta’s early studies in piano and organ took place in the Pittsburgh area, where he won top prizes in numerous local competitions. He holds a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from Oberlin Conservatory, a Master’s from the University of the Arts, and a Doctorate from the Peabody Conservatory, studying under noted instructors including Sanford Margolis and Yoheved Kaplinsky. His accolades include the Rudolph Serkin Prize, Strine Award, and Zierler Award. He currently resides near Baltimore with his wife Cynthia and their daughter.
Carl Cranmer
Making his debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra at just nine years old, Carl Cranmer has since developed a vibrant career encompassing solo recitals throughout Europe, Asia, and North America. He has performed with eminent orchestras such as the Royal Philharmonic in England, the Gulbenkian Orquestra of Portugal, and the Juilliard Orchestra.
Cranmer’s education includes studies in the U.S. and at the prestigious Sommerakademie at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria, where he trained with Karlheinz Kammerling, Jacob Lateiner, and Hans Graf. He is a familiar presence on major concert stages including Avery Fisher Hall, Carnegie-Weill Hall, Alice Tully Hall, and Merkin Hall in New York City, as well as the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and the Academy of Music and Kimmel Center’s Perelman Theater in Philadelphia.
His performances have been broadcast in cities such as Madrid, Tokyo, Missouri, and Philadelphia, and heard on NPR and various major radio stations across the U.S. He has toured in Austria, France, England, Japan, and twice in Spain. In 2002, Cranmer performed a solo recital in Panama City sponsored by the American and Spanish Embassies.
In chamber music, Cranmer has collaborated with artists including Naumburg Competition winner Axel Strauss and the Grammy-winning Takács Quartet, as well as vocalists Randall Scarlata and Robert White and violinist Akiko Suwanai. He has participated in prestigious summer festivals including Tanglewood, Pianofest in the Hamptons, and the Bowdoin Summer Music Festival.
Cranmer’s recordings include Samuel Barber’s Piano Concerto with the Russian Philharmonia orchestra, a solo album entitled “Soirée” featuring works by Poulenc, Chopin, Fauré, Granados, Liszt, and Barber, and a chamber music album called “Crossroads” with violinist Sylvia Ahramjian.
He serves on the faculty at West Chester University, is a member of the Music Teachers National Association, offers master classes in Philadelphia, and maintains a private piano studio.
Haewon Song
Haewon Song is the pianist of the acclaimed Oberlin Trio and an internationally respected performer and educator. She has appeared at major venues across the United States, Europe, and Asia, regularly performing concertos with orchestras such as the KBS Orchestra in Seoul, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the Cleveland Chamber Symphony, and various ensembles from Oberlin Conservatory.
Song’s participation in international festivals is extensive, including Mexico’s Cervantino Festival, Stuttgart’s All-American Music Festival, the Grand Teton Music Festival, the Aria Festival, Canada’s Institute of Musical Arts, France’s Festival de Nice, the Oberlin Summer Piano Festival, and the Tonghai Music Festival in Taiwan. In 2005, she toured Korea with the Oberlin Piano Quartet, delivering noted performances in Daejun and at Seoul’s Kumho Concert Hall.
Originating from South Korea, Song studied at the Toho School in Tokyo, the Peabody Preparatory School, and the Juilliard School, where she trained with Julian Martin, Martin Canin, and Shuku Iwasaki. She has taught at Tunghai University in Taiwan and Kyung Won University in Seoul, joining the Oberlin piano faculty in 1991. Her students have garnered prestigious national and international awards and regularly perform with prominent orchestras across the U.S. and Asia.
Source: oberlin.edu
— The Violin Post Editorial Staff
