TIMARA was lucky enough to host two guests on campus this semester.

Composer Stephen Montague was the first visitor of the year, spending a busy few days in Oberlin in late September. Montague’s schedule included a master class and a presentation on his life, career, and insights on some of his compositions. During his master class, Montague listened to and gave feedback on compositions from second-year Maddie Ward, third-year Liam Fissell, fourth-year Sarai Juarez Osorio, and fifth-year Bram Belonsky-Stern.

Montague is no stranger to the TIMARA department, having first met Tom Lopez ‘89, Professor of Computer Music and Digital Arts and chair of the TIMARA Department during Lopez’s time as a doctoral student at the University of Texas at Austin. Montague has visited Oberlin twice in the past and worked with a group of TIMARA students during the Oberlin in London program last fall.

Visiting composer Stephen Montague presenting for combined studio classes in the TIMARA Gallery.

The second visitor of the semester was John Schwartz, an Oberlin alum and co-developer of the digital audio workstation REAPER who returned to town during alumni weekend in early October. Schwartz began his time at Oberlin as a jazz piano major, but left with a math degree and four years of experience playing in rock bands. Living in Seattle and New York in the ‘90s, Schwartz continued playing and recording with bands. In 2008, after a particularly frustrating experience with ProTools customer support, Schwartz got connected with Justin Frankel, the initial creator of REAPER. The two quickly bonded over hopes for a better tool for audio recording and continued developing the program together. Frankel and Schwartz remain the lead developers of REAPER.

Similar to Montague, Schwartz gave a master class and presentation on his life and career trajectory. In his master class, Schwartz watched and listened to works from second-year Oscar Bohnenkamp, third-year Lydian Domina, and third-year Kyra Lopez. Bohenkamp and Domina both presented work made in REAPER, giving Schwartz the unique opportunity to comment on and observe how students are engaging with the tools he has developed.

An interview with John Schwartz, Oberlin alum and co-developer of REAPER.

Though Montague and Schwartz are the only visitors the department will bring this semester, more guests are on the horizon for the spring.