Oberlin Guitar Ensemble Fall '25

We had our Fall Ensemble concert this week, in the acoustically perfect Kulas Hall. As usual, it was a delightful assemblage of mixed chamber music settings. We featured violin, piano, voice and several flutists in a concert that also included music for guitar duo and guitar quartet. It was a well-attended success, with musicianship of the highest order the standard of the night, a standard set right off the bat by our “resident” guitar duo, Solis Dornan and Sam Schollenberger. Sam and Solis have played together nearly every semester since they arrived in Oberlin three years ago. And they’ve never sounded better. Their rendition of Mendelssohn’s Variations Sérieuses Op 54 was brilliant. (The full program is reproduced at the end of the post).

Solis Dornan and Sam Schollenberger play music of Mendelssohn

Hat’s off to the arranger of this one, Richard Yates: the two-guitar version was very convincing and appealing, if fiendishly difficult. Next up was Sara Baunoch, whose spirited performance with flutist Yuqi Sheng of the duo version of Merlin’s Suite Del Recuerdo met with enthusiastic audience approval.

Sara Baunoch and flutist Yuqi Sheng perform Merlin

Violinist Olivia Molina contacted me earlier in the semester looking for a guitarist for Paganini’s lovely Cantabile, a short but charismatic stand-alone piece. Sam happily stepped in so we added it to our program. It was divine.

Olivia Molina plays Paganini with Sam Schollenberger

We closed our first half with the remarkable Indian raga penned by the great Ravi Shankar. This work, written for flute and guitar, perfectly captures the customary sections of the raga: alap (the quiet rhythmically free opening), jor (a section in a steady rhythm but a modest tempo), and jala (the furiously virtuoso climax of the long-form piece). The flutist, Jared Ghatt, was well up to the challenge, while the guitarist, Aleksandr Lapshin, proved himself more than equal to the task, landing the complicated passagework with ease.. The audience went crazy.

Aleksandr Lapshin plays Shankar with flutist Jared Ghatt

We opened our second half with the delightful music of Luigi Brambilla. Soprano Molly Chun found the perfect sound and style for the two chosen Italian arias by this nearly-forgotten composer. (The music sounds so much like Mozart, they could be stand-ins for the guitarist yearning to play music of Mozart). Guitarist Caden Basile handled the virtuoso-style accompaniments with confidence, creating a wonderful effect the audience loved.

Caden Basile and soprano Molly Chun take a bow

Oberlin junior, Solis Dornan has been working on the Concierto d’Aranjuez this semester. While we will hear it in its entirety in a few weeks, he took the beloved second movement out for a spin for our Ensemble concert. It went beautifully, with the expressive melodic sections sounding absolutely comfortable, and the famous cadenza landing without a hitch. Kudos to his pianist, Tommy Roddy-Johnson, for his sensitive rendering of the orchestral accompaniment.

Solis Dornan and Tommy Roddy-Johnson play music of Rodrigo

Josefina Stone was next, with a wonderful trio of Cuban-style pieces by José Lezcano. Written for two flutes (Ellison Allen and Iris Sim) and guitar, the piece is an audience favorite with irresistible toe-tapping grooves in the first and last movements and a gorgeous melodic ballad for the central Bolero. The trio played expertly, with beautifully rehearsed and confident nuance throughout. The audience loved it.

Flutists Ellison Allen and Iris Sim with Josefina Stone, playing music of Lezcano

Our concert concluded with a guitar quartet by Paulo Bellinati. This extremely well-crafted work offers blistering ensemble work, laid-back grooves for jazzy solos, quiet, textural contrasting elements and heroic modern-style climactic passages. The quartet was made up of Sam Schollenberger, Aleksandr Lapshin, Solis Dornan and Caden Basile. They played it brilliantly and beautifully, bringing the audience to a deafeningly joyous response.

Sam Schollenberger, Caden Basile, Solis Dornan and Aleksandr Lapshin play music of Bellinati

This was a superb Ensemble concert. Many thanks to all the non-guitarists in the program. We know you play with us for no money and no credit, but instead because you love music and love to perform. We see you!!! And bravo to all, for your hard work preparing and bringing your A-game to the stage. What a great show. Wow!