Kickstart Kip Winger

The $33,000 donation goal will be used to pay the Conservatory orchestra, conductor, and engineer to rehearse and record Conversations With Nijinsky, Winger's follow-up to his composition Ghosts for Christopher Wheeldon at the San Francisco Ballet. Taking place over a two-day period in January 2012, the rehearsals and recording will also be shot for a future documentary film.

The work was inspired by the life and diary of famed Russian ballet dancer and choreographer Vaslav Nijinsky. Winger says: "I conceived the piece as the accompaniment to the unseen dances of Nijinsky, whose career was cut short by schizophrenia."

Scott Yoo, one of the most buzzed about figures working in classical music today, will conduct the student orchestra. "I'm extremely excited to work with Scott Yoo, he is one of the best musicians in the world," said Winger.
Rewards for supporters include thanks on the project's website, Co-producer credit and the opportunity to visit Oberlin, meet the principals, and sit in on rehearsals and recording.

The Oberlin Conservatory of Music, located on the campus of Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio, was founded in 1865 and is the oldest continuously operating conservatory in the United States. The Conservatory is the only professional music school to be honored by President Obama with the National Medal of Arts, the highest award given by the United States.