Poll: Professional, Amateur, or Listener?

[Seabiscuit]

I'm fairly new here (discovered this forum Nov. 30 but haven't revisited it until today - found DU two years ago). I'm strictly an amateur performer (piano and harpsichord) but studied piano (on scholarship), music theory and music history at Oberlin Conservatory while a student at Oberlin College in Ohio.

I've noticed in the few threads I've read that there appear to be some professional classical musicians posting here. I think that's wonderful.

I also built an extensive classical music collection beginning in ninth grade and one of my hobbies is high-end audio (and listening to classical music).

Please feel free to post about your involvement in classical music. This is more than just a poll.

[kwassa]

1. I'm new here, too

and I graduated from ..... Oberlin High School.

The rest of my family went to Oberlin College, I went to art school.

My involvement with classical music was partly through osmosis, as my parents played a lot of it. I took piano lessons as a child, preferred jazz back then.

I love many styles of music, took a course in classical music appreciation in college, got away from it for many years, and got back into it again recently.

My wife sings opera, and we both recently joined a chorale. I had to re-learn how to sightread a few years ago in a church choir. It was quite painful.

We performed the Messiah in this 110+ voice chorale right before Christmas. I love this piece of music, all the wonderful melodies and counterpoint.

[Seabiscuit]

2. Wow. When did you graduate from Oberlin High School?

Glad to hear you got back into classical music.

I have many fond memories of Obie.

[kwassa]

3. Sherman, the Way Back Machine!

1970 was the year.

I recently stopped by there a couple years back, and very little has changed, really, except that the Co-op Bookstore is long gone, and that was a fixture of my childhood. My niece is in Oberlin College now.

I recently heard opera star Rene Fleming speak; she has a book out. She was accepted at the Oberlin Conservatory, but couldn't afford to go, and went to a SUNY branch with a good music program. Really held her back, didn't it?