Resident Named Winner of Rubin Prize for Music Criticism

The following was submitted by the Oberlin Conservatory of Music:

At the culminating ceremony held on campus, Oberlin Conservatory of Music announced the recipients of the two Prizes of its new biennial Stephen and Cynthia Rubin Institute for Music Criticism, the first- ever program of its kind focusing on performance and performance review.

Oberlin Conservatory of Music Dean David H. Stull ’89, and Stephen Rubin, President and Publisher of Henry Holt & Co. and benefactor of The Rubin Institute, of North Reading, Massachusetts, the $10,000 Rubin Prize in Music Criticism. Mr. Street will use the Prize to support further study or internships in the field of music criticism over the next two years. He was selected by Mr. Rubin and a panel of prominent national critics following a week-long series of public events, including performances, keynote addresses by journalists, critical review and discussion panels.

One of 10 students chosen to participate in The Rubin Institute from Oberlin Conservatory’s new course, Introduction to Music Criticism, Jacob benefited from intensive workshops in music criticism, working with some of today’s most respected writers in the field (Alex Ross, New Yorker Magazine critic and author; Anne Midgette, Washington Post critic and author; Heidi Waleson, Wall St. Journal critic; John Rockwell, writer and arts critic; and Tim Page, professor, journalism and music, USC, and author), in both public and private panel discussions. He also reviewed performances by The Cleveland Orchestra, pianist Jeremy Denk ’90, the baroque orchestra Apollo’s Fire, and the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), which included the world premiere of Pulitzer Prize-winning composer David Lang’s new work, my international.

In making the announcement, Dean Stull ’89 stated, “This has been an enormously successful project and I have been inspired by the work of our students, the response of our wonderful audience, and the phenomenal investment of energy and time by our distinguished guests; this panel of critics has been superb. I extend my abiding gratitude to Steve Rubin for his generous investment in this endeavor. He has provided us with an unsurpassed opportunity to enhance the public discourse on classical music and I look forward with enthusiasm to the future of this program.”

Mr. Rubin added, “I never imagined anything on the visionary level of this extraordinary program. For that I thank David Stull, for his audacious ambition and muscular execution, the splendid, insightful and constructive critics, but most importantly, the 10 enormously talented and receptive young critics, and, of course, the winner.”

Reflecting on the announcement, Mr. Street said, “It’s an honor to have won the Rubin Prize for Music Criticism, and to have been a part of this week. It was exhausting, but a fantastic opportunity to learn about criticism with great friends and teachers.”

In a surprise turn of events, the Panel also chose to award an Honorable Mention of $2,500 to Megan Emberton of Chelsea, Michigan, for her work during the Institute. “I’m happy to have won an Honorable Mention.” stated Ms. Emberton. “The Institute was an intense but very rewarding experience.”

The Institute, as part of its goal to be a positive force in the art of writing and talking about music, as well as a catalyst in sparking dialogue on the topic, offered members of the public the opportunity to try their hand at critiquing.

The Rubin Institute for Music Criticism, the $10,000 Rubin Prize in Music Criticism and the $1,000 Public Review Prize are made possible at Oberlin Conservatory of Music by the generosity of Stephen Rubin, President and Publisher of Henry Holt & Co.