Student Profile: Oliver Stark, Concerto Competition Winner
A 2025 winner of Northwestern's Concerto Competition, Oliver Stark recently sat down for an interview about his upcoming concert with the Symphonic Band. Oliver will be the featured euphonium soloist on James Curnow's Symphonic Variants on Friday, February 13 at 7:30 p.m. in Pick-Staiger Concert Hall.
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How would you describe your experience at the Bienen School of Music so far?
I have truly loved my time at Bienen. As an Australian international student, it still strikes me that less than three years ago this city, school, and community were entirely "foreign." The people, faculty, and mentors here have been so welcoming and supportive, and for someone who values being deeply involved in performing and teaching, Bienen has been an ideal place to grow. Beyond the school, I’ve felt equally fortunate to be so closely connected to Chicago as a musical and cultural hub. Now in my third year here, even if my accent still occasionally draws a smile, I feel genuinely integrated into, and invested in, the musical community at Bienen!
What did your rehearsal process look like for this concerto, and how did you approach this piece?
This work by James Curnow is perhaps one of the most popular works for the euphonium within our repertoire. It was composed in 1978 following a decade of rapid expansion of the concert literature for euphonium, and revised in 1998; all that is to say, this is always a work on our radar as players. I started working on this piece four years ago, used it extensively throughout my graduate auditions in 2023, and then used it in my 2025 graduation recital. However, this is my first time rehearsing and preparing to play it with full band. It is a very taxing concerto both for endurance and with its abundance of notes, so a lot of preparations can be completed by returning to fundamentals away from the piece. With the ensemble, it requires a meeting with the conductor, in this case Dr. Vondran, and then with the ensemble!
Is there anything in particular that the audience should listen for in this piece, or anything that makes this piece unique?
Interestingly, this piece by definition, is not a concerto! It is actually a large scale, theme and variations. So, there is a very discernible theme played throughout the work, both by myself and the ensemble. This theme is then played in five variations, each highly contrasting and programmatic! One of my favourite parts of getting to perform this with the band is that many of the ensemble members will have a solo with the new variation.
What is something you’re looking forward to in the rest of your time at Bienen or after graduation?
Now as a conducting student in the department of bands, I am really looking forward to continuing my work with the academic bands, and of course our work with the "Wildcat" marching band in football season is highly enjoyable. I also love my work with the Chicago Wind Collective and the Chicago Brass Choir, and post-graduation, I very much look forward to developing these ensembles!
What's a fun fact about yourself?
I am Australian; that’s not the fun fact, however, it does mean that growing up and into my early adult life, I was a very keen open water swimmer, and yes there are many sharks! The highlight of this hobby is having completed an open water ultra-marathon, of 25km or around 15.5 miles, from an event in Perth, swimming from the mainland to a small island called Rottnest.