Lecture Recital
This performance presentation will feature Aldo Faldi’s 12 Brevi Studi Seriali per Oboe (Ricordi, 1970), investigating Faldi’s use of serialist and atonal principles within pedagogical writing and explores how these concise studies anticipate the technical and expressive demands of solo oboe repertoire composed in the 20th century.
The lecture recital will compare Faldi’s compositional language with four representative solo works:
• Ruth Crawford’s Diaphonic Suite for Solo Oboe
• Heinz Holliger’s Sonate for Oboe Solo
• Elliott Carter’s Figment VI for Oboe Solo
• Mahir Cetiz’s 8 Epigrams for Solo Oboe
Through analytical and performance-based comparison, the project situates Faldi’s Studi as both a teaching tool and an aesthetic bridge between mid-century serialism and the individualized idioms of contemporary composers.
with abundance we breathe
Inspired by Suchitra Mattai’s with abundance we meet, this singular musical performance offers a vibrant tribute to the voices and visions of South Asian composers within the classical tradition. Drawing on the themes of migration, domesticity, and fertility that permeate Mattai’s visual work, the concert presents a sonic landscape that is equally expansive and boundary-defying.
The Art of Joy, Soloist, Cleveland Repertory Orchestra
Program:
Zhou Tian: Joy
Jennifer Higdon: Oboe Concerto
M. Isaac Ripple, oboe
Christopher Theofanidis: Chamber Symphony No. 1 (After P.I. Tchaikovsky’s String Quartet Op. 11)
IDRS 2026 Conference Recital: The Contemporary Oboe: Cross-Genre Explorations
Elegia Duo
Meng Yuan, piano
M. Isaac Ripple, oboe
This recital presents three recent contributions (two world premieres) to the oboe repertoire that engage directly with jazz, blues, and electronic sound worlds. Jane Kozhevnikova’s Celestial Steps for Oboe and Piano explores lyricism and rhythmic elasticity within a jazz-inflected harmonic language, foregrounding the oboe’s expressive capacity in dialogue with the piano, and encouraging improvisation in a natural, organic dialogue. Dawson Hull’s Poplar Avenue: A Blues for Oboe and Piano serves as a stylistic and structural bridge, situating the oboe within an idiom more commonly associated with voice or brass and highlighting its adaptability in a distinctly American tradition, rooted in the culture of the composer's city of Memphis, TN. Nathan Hall’s Twilight and You for oboe, piano, and electronics extends this exploration into new sonic terrain, using pre-recorded electronics to merge acoustic and digital timbres in an immersive, genre-defying soundscape, also encouraging and utilizing improvisation alongside traditional notation.
Together, these works illuminate the oboe’s evolving role in contemporary music, demonstrating its capacity to transcend traditional boundaries and thrive at the intersections of style, technology, and cultural expression.
IDRS 2026 Conference Recital: En Garde!
Rachel Messing, oboe + English Horn
M. Isaac Ripple, oboe
En Garde! presents an exploration of the innovative capabilities and expressive range within duo repertoire for the oboe. These works showcase the interplay between oboe and English horn, highlighting the evolving identity of these instruments beyond the orchestral sphere, and the dialogue which composers of varying backgrounds explore in their additions to the duo canon.
Bang on a Can
Oboe/English Horn Fellow + Performer
https://bangonacan.org/summer_festival/
GMEA All-State Conference
Faculty Representative, Mercer University Townsend School of Music
College Music Society, Southern Chapter Conference
Featured Performer for Debut Performance
Pastorale, by Ivan Elezovic
https://www.music.org/regional-conference-so.html
Mercer University Double Reed Day
Mercer University Double Reed Day
Hosts: Jazmyn Barajas-Trujillo and M. Isaac Ripple
When: Saturday, January 17, 2026; 8:30 a.m. – 6:30 p.m.
Where: Mercer University – Macon, GA
Cost: $15 per student
Join us for the first-ever Mercer University Double Reed Day, a full day of music-making, learning, and community for oboists and bassoonists from 6th grade through college and beyond! All Double Reed enthusiasts are invited! Participants will take part in masterclasses, reed-making sessions, warm-up clinics, and ensemble rehearsals led by our distinguished guest artists and Mercer faculty, Professor Jazmyn Barajas-Trujillo and Professor M. Isaac Ripple.
Faculty Recital
Faculty Recital
M. Isaac Ripple, oboe
Kyung-A Yoo, collaborative piano
Friday, Jan. 16 at 7:30 p.m.
https://events.mercer.edu/event/faculty-recital-m-isaac-ripple-oboe/
Savannah Philharmonic Orchestra: The Best of John Williams
The music of John Williams has transported us beyond our imagination. To new worlds. Through heart-pounding adventures. Be there as Savannah Philharmonic performs all your John Williams favorites: Superman, Jurassic Park, Schindler’s List, Raiders of the Lost Ark, E.T., and of course, Star Wars. Plus, a 50th anniversary salute to Jaws. The force is with you for this celebration of cinema’s symphonic master.
Savannah Philharmonic Orchestra: The Best of John Williams
The music of John Williams has transported us beyond our imagination. To new worlds. Through heart-pounding adventures. Be there as Savannah Philharmonic performs all your John Williams favorites: Superman, Jurassic Park, Schindler’s List, Raiders of the Lost Ark, E.T., and of course, Star Wars. Plus, a 50th anniversary salute to Jaws. The force is with you for this celebration of cinema’s symphonic master.
Guest Artist Recital
Join us for a Guest Artist Recital featuring:
Isaac Ripple, oboe
Meng Yuan, piano
In the Farrell Recital Hall on Friday, November 21, at 6 p.m.
Program:
Pranayam for Oboe and Piano, Reena Esmail (1983 - )
Meng Yuan, Piano
Threnody for English Horn and Piano Op. 74, Ruth Gipps (1921 –
1999)
Meng Yuan, Piano
Threnody for Oboe and Piano, Jeffrey Rathbun (1959 - )
Meng Yuan, Piano
Memoriam for Oboe and Piano, M. Isaac Ripple (1998 - )
Meng Yuan, Piano
American Resonance
From Samuel Barber's luminous art songs that capture the soul of American poetry, to Aaron Copland's expansive harmonies and melodies that echo vast landscapes, this program traces the evolution of American classical music across generations. Harry Burleigh, the father of the art song spiritual, preserves and uplifts the African American musical heritage, juxtaposed by Joan Tower's bold contemporary voice which brings us into the present moment, while Florence Price's groundbreaking compositions honor the African American musical traditions that form the bedrock of our cultural identity.
This program will feature musicians Horizon Chamber Collective Artists in a reflection on the voices that have created our American musical landscape - composers who found their inspiration in everything from Shaker hymns to urban rhythms, from prairie winds to spiritual traditions. Each piece resonates with the stories of who we are and where we come from.
University of Memphis Wind Ensemble: Raise the Roof
The University of Memphis Wind Ensemble is excited to welcome Dr. Bill Shaltis as the soloist for Michael Daugherty's concerto "Raise the Roof." Join us for an evening of high-impact, high-energy music.
University of Idaho Guest Artist Masterclass
Guest Artist Masterclass and Reedmaking class
College Music Society 2025 National Conference
The 2025 CMS National Conference aims to explore the interplay between music, research, practice, and their collective impact in the 21st century. In the spirit of the 2024-2025 Common Topic–Grow. Create. Lead.
Recital 4.0
Recital 4.0
Join me for an extraordinary evening of compelling works for oboe, featuring a program that spans centuries and continents while showcasing the remarkable versatility of the instrument, in collaboration with Shannon Burr, soprano, and Meng Yuan, piano.
Program
The recital opens with Ralph Vaughan Williams' Ten Blake Songs, performed alongside soprano Shannon Burr. This collaboration sets William Blake's mystical poetry to Vaughan Williams' distinctively English musical language, creating an intimate dialogue between voice and oboe that explores themes of innocence, experience, and spiritual transcendence.
Reena Esmail's Pranayam for Oboe and Piano explores the Sanskrit concept of breath control, finding natural expression through the oboe's breath-centered technique. The work fuses Western classical tradition with Indian musical elements in a meditation on breathing as both musical and spiritual practice.
The program's emotional core features two contrasting threnodies: Jeffrey Rathbun's Threnody for Oboe and Piano and Ruth Gipps' Threnody for English Horn and Piano. These emotionally charged works offer strikingly different approaches to musical lamentation, with Rathbun's contemporary language confronting modern grief, while Gipps employs the English horn's darker timbre to explore more introspective mourning. Together, they create a powerful juxtaposition that moves from the life-giving breath of Pranayam into profound explorations of loss.
The solo spotlight falls on Dirk-Michael Kirsch's Ganymed for Solo Oboe, which strips away accompaniment to reveal the oboe's pure voice while exploring mythological themes of transformation.
The recital concludes with the premiere of my new work, Memoriam for Oboe and Piano. This is an efficient and poignant work which I composed during a time of recent change, partially in sorrow, but mostly in tenderness and love.
This program demonstrates the oboe's range across musical traditions and emotional landscapes in pieces which are simultaneously introspective and gazing forward.
7:00 PM, CST
Harris Hall, University of Memphis, Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music.
Livestream link will be available closer to date and will be posted here.
Guest Artist Recital: Baldwin Wallace University
Sonate pour Hautbois et Piano - Henri Dutilleux
Dr. Christopher Petit, piano
Canzonetta - Samuel Barber
Dr. Christopher Petit, piano
Ancient Portals - M. Isaac Ripple
Threnody - Jeffrey Rathbun
Dr. Christopher Petit, piano
Virtual Reedmaking Masterclass
Join the very first Virtual Reedmaking Masterclass! Signup my homepage and RSVP today!
MYSP Summer Camp, Chamber Music Coordinator/Oboe Faculty
MYSP Summer Music Camp
June 23-28, 2025
Tuition: $300
Meal plan: $50
Students are not required to audition, however to participate in this camp students must have at least one full year of playing experience (more than one year is ideal)
Age limits: Rising 7th grader or older
Summer at the Scheidt, Oboe Faculty
Join me and other fabulous faculty for high school band and orchestra camp at the Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center in Memphis, TN!
Vibrant Sounds of Latin Islands and Cultures, Apothix Trio
Vibrant Sounds of Latin Islands and Cultures
This recital will feature new works by Margaret Griebling-Haigh and Johanny Navarro. Each piece will be an aural color palette of features of the composers’ hometown.
Trocadillos
II. Silvacanción (9:00)
III. Burlesco (6:49)
Margaret Griebling-Haigh (b. 1960)
Arboles y sombras
Johanny Navarro (b. 1992)
PRIZM Ensemble Summer Camp, Teaching Artist
Teaching Artist for the 2025 Summer Chamber Music Camp and Festival
University of Memphis Wind Ensemble: Fun and Games
University of Memphis Wind Ensemble presents "Fun and Games"
Conducted under the baton of Dr. Albert Nguyen, director of Bands, and Graduate Conducting Assistants Erin Duke and JP Mora.
The concert is complimentary; however, you can support the School of Music by choosing your seat for this performance for just $5. A ticket is required for entry.
Recital 3.0
Please join me for my first doctoral recital here at the University of Memphis on April 25, 2025 at 7:30 PM CST in Harris Concert Hall. A livestream link is available here.
Each program I present is special and carries some sort of extramusical emphasis, and this one is no different. This performance aims to span eras and generations with music of Eleanor Alberga, J.S. Bach (arr. Heyder), Benjamin Britten, Bozza, and yours truly. While each composer utilizes aspects of the oboe in a way that is not entirely different from another, the language employed is diverse.
I hope to see you there!
Soli Deo Gloria
Celebrate J.S. Bach’s 340th birthday at "Soli Deo Gloria," a concert honoring his musical genius and enduring legacy! Experience the beauty of his works performed by students, Conservatory faculty, and area professionals. Join us for an evening of music, history, and reflection on Bach’s faith-driven artistry. This free community concert takes place on April 24 at 7 p.m. in the Music Hall of Germantown Baptist Church—don’t miss it!