NEWS
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Feb 16, 2012
A Reflection on Recording "Conversations with Nijinsky"
by Marina Kifferstein '12
"Quite a few established institutions have taken Winger seriously as a composer"
In January, the Oberlin Orchestra recorded "Conversations with Nijinksy," a ballet suite by a very special guest composer. Although most of us in the orchestra had never heard of hair metal icon Kip Winger (among classical music majors in the con, '80's metal enthusiasts are something of a rarity), the multi-platinum recording artist, who is best known for his band Winger and his youthful days as a bass player with Alice Cooper, has had an extremely successful career both as a band member and a solo artist. He also turns out to be a really nice guy.
Oberlin isn't the only classically oriented community that embraced Winger's non-traditional background. In fact, quite a few established institutions have taken Winger seriously as a composer, including the Tuscon Symphony Orchestra and the San Francisco ballet, which performed his first ballet, "Ghosts," in its 2010-2011 season. "Ghosts" had a very strong reception, earning Winger much critical praise and a nomination for Outstanding Achievement in Music/Sound/Text from the Isadora Duncan Dance Award Committee. Described as "Sibelius-meets-Stravinsky" by the San Francisco Examiner, "Ghosts" is by all definitions neo-romantic, which is rare coming from a contemporary composer outside of Hollywood.
