Spotlight on Alumni: Malcolm Karlan

Malcolm is the only guitar student I’ve had at Oberlin who got his degree in Music Education, and is one of only a handful who later became professional conductors. This is a path I find particularly fascinating—expanding the quiet, solitary world of a solo guitar to the grand world of orchestral music. I invited Malcolm to share his story with us. These are his words:

I came to Oberlin in 2002 as a College student, not ready for the Conservatory.  I came thinking I knew a thing or two about jazz guitar, but quickly realized I had no clue. Although I didn't consider it my primary instrument, I had taken classical guitar lessons for a few years in high school.

Malcolm, senior year of high school, performing with the jazz band.

Performing at a Memorial Day food fair, high school years

One of the current classical guitar majors, Justin Riberio, was an incredible and influential teacher for me in my freshman year at Oberlin, and he whipped me into shape to audition for the Conservatory.

Malcolm Karlan practicing guitar while in high school

I spent five years at Oberlin in the Double Degree program. I majored in Music Ed and Psychology. (I am so disappointed to hear that the Music Ed undergrad program has been disbanded - I thought it was absolutely fantastic.) In addition to the academics, I pursued guitar as if it were another major. While I was not actually a guitar performance major (although I wonder how many credits short I was?…), I did play full-length junior and senior recitals. I spent a lot of time with fellow-guitar students, Derek Tuttle, Doug Pace, Chris Mallett, Justin Riberio and others. I also taught lessons to Sarah Boyson when she was in high school, before she became a Conservatory guitar performance major. I’ll never forget the GFA Festival in Oberlin, in 2005. So many concerts: I especially remember Paul Galbraith’s crazy endpin setup, David Tannenbaum playing Steve Reich, Bill Kanengiser’s comedy routine, and Dominic Frasca sitting barefoot on an egg crate, in leather pants playing wild, loudly amplified original music.

Teaching guitar on an Oberlin-sponsored trip to Ecuador

My conducting professors at Oberlin were amazing - Joanne Erwin, Jody Kerchner, and John Knight. I remember the hardest thing was developing left and right hand independence. But music is music - all the ideas we talked about in our guitar lessons about shaping a phrase applied to conducting, it just had to be shown with the hands instead of played on the instrument. I remember talking in guitar lessons with you a great deal about tension and release, and I focus on that a lot with my orchestra. I really love conducting, and the feeling of leading a large group. Making music while you remain silent: trusting the musicians to follow you, engenders a tremendous feeling of connection with the group.

Both the guitar studio and the music education program felt small, personal, and supportive. I grew immensely and felt like a different person and a different musician when I graduated in 2007.

Immediately after graduation I got a phone call from my high school music teacher asking me if I'd like to interview for an opening at my old middle school (in Darien, CT). This has been one of my most important life lessons - work on your relationships because you never know who might offer you an opportunity down the road!  They would never have interviewed me, a fresh graduate, had I not already established a good reputation with them years before; they offered me the position. My old jazz band teacher was now my boss, and all my old teachers were suddenly my colleagues. It was a very supportive environment in which to start a career. 

Halloween concert, Wilton High School Orchestra, Malcolm Karlan on the podium

There was definitely a lot to learn - I had to work really hard to get up to speed on violin so I could demonstrate for the class, and I remember my very first day of teaching it took me nearly the entire class just to tune up the kids’ instruments. Managing a large group had a learning curve, and running the orchestra program requires a ton of organization and planning. I thought Dr. Erwin was exaggerating when she said most of the job is moving chairs and music stands...she wasn't.

Malcolm playing for his brother’s wedding

After ten years teaching middle school orchestra in Darien, I took a job nearby, in Wilton, teaching orchestra at the middle and high schools, and a few years later became one of the two Instructional Leaders (department heads) for music in the district.

Malcolm leads a performance at Disney World

Although I teach bowed instruments, my guitar training at Oberlin had a huge impact on the course of my life. I am not the most advanced violinist, but the musicality and performance skills I learned in the guitar studio have translated well to all the instruments, and certainly to the conductor's baton, which is now my primary instrument.

My guitar experience also impacted my teaching philosophy and approach - I started violin in 3rd grade, but got bored and quit in 7th grade. My dad bought me an electric guitar shortly after, and it helped me fall in love with music. Rock guitar soon led to jazz, which led to classical guitar, which led me back to the orchestra, which I re-joined my senior year of high school as a bass player. As a teacher I try to remember that classical music didn't draw me in right away, so I incorporate different styles of music in my classroom to try and meet kids where they are. I know that if they ENJOY playing and feel motivated to practice, they'll grow into many other genres in time. I started a before-school ensemble called the ROCKestra, where we played arrangements of rock tunes on string instruments with rhythm section. After a few years I got the kids writing their own arrangements, and the group grew from just a few to over 40 musicians. In total I now work with about 160 string students in Wilton.

There are an increasing number of arrangements available for young orchestras that include drums, bass, guitar, and keyboard, but I also used to write a lot of the arrangements myself. We've played Zeppelin, Ozzy Ozbourne, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Aerosmith... the Mario Brothers Theme... Funny because the students don't always know these tunes, but they are instantly attracted to them once we listen together. We also do more modern pop songs, often at the kids’ request. This was all in Darien - in Wilton I don't have a specific ROCKestra ensemble, but every Winter we learn a bunch of rock tunes and put on a concert at the elementary school for their “Reading Rocks” assembly. Kids dress up like rock stars and we have a blast.

Malcolm today with his wife, Liz, and children, Isabel, Sam, and Abigail

I still love to play classical guitar, and I also played in rock bands for a while, but I've taken a break from that for now - having three very young kids makes those late nights a little trickier!  I hope to return to guitar in a more serious way soon, and of course to share it with my kids.

—Thank you, Malcolm, for that colorful account of your path in music. It is wonderful to see you in your current success, with your beautiful family: a leader in the musical life of Wilton and southwestern Connecticut, coincidentally, the area where I myself grew up.