Photo gallery: Stars flock to Oberlin for Kohl building opening

OBERLIN — It’s going to be a star-studded weekend at Oberlin College when the Bertram and Judith Kohl Building has its grand opening.

Stevie Wonder, Bill Cosby and his wife, Camille, actor and Oberlin alum Avery Brooks (“Star Trek: Deep Space Nine,” “Spenser for Hire”) and author/musician and Oberlin alum James McBride (“The Color of Water,” “The Miracle at St. Anna”) will be on hand to celebrate the grand opening of the building, which will be the new home for Oberlin Conservatory of Music’s jazz studies, music theory and music history programs.

The Cosbys and Wonder will receive honorary degrees 4 p.m. Friday at Tappan Square.

More photos below.

Two jazz-themed movies — Spike Lee’s “Mo’ Better Blues” at 7 p.m. Friday and Bertrand Tavernier’s “’Round Midnight” at 1 p.m. Saturday — will be shown at the Apollo Theatre. Tickets are $5.

Cosby will host “An Evening With Bill Cosby” at 8:30 p.m. Friday at Finney Chapel. The show is sold out. Wonder will perform at a sold-out concert 8 p.m. Saturday at Finney Chapel with members of Oberlin’s jazz faculty, students and graduates.

The dedication of the Kohl Building, formerly named the Litoff Building, will be 11 a.m. Saturday at Warner Concert Hall followed by a reception and self-guided tours.

The Kohl Building is in line to become the first building exclusively dedicated to music to receive a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Gold certification. A panel discussion on green building and architectural design, featuring architects from Westlake Reed Leskosky, the firm that designed the building, will be 4 p.m. Saturday at Warner Concert Hall.

Brooks, a 1970 Oberlin graduate, will discuss the arts with Caroline Jackson Smith, chairman of African-American studies at Oberlin, at 2 p.m. Saturday at Warner Concert Hall.

Contact Melissa Hebert at 329-7129 or mhebert@chroniclet.com.



Print this story
Report an inappropriate comment


In order to comment, you must agree to our user agreement and discussion guidelines.

Need help? Email Us.