CCM Musical Theatre Alumnus Nominated For Astaire Award

Left to right: CCM Musical Theatre Alumni Garett Hawe and Ryan Breslin at a Newsies rehearsal.

Musical Theatre alumnus Ryan Breslin is a nominee for the 30th Annual Fred & Adele Astaire Award, which honors excellence in dance on Broadway and film. Breslin is nominated as Outstanding Male Dancer in a Broadway Musical for his work in the Disney production of Newsies. Congratulations!

Watch Breslin discuss his role in Newsies below:

The 2012 Astaire Awards will be held on June 4 at NYU’s Skirball Center for the Performing Arts. Watch footage of Breslin from CCM’s 2011 production of RENT after the jump!

CCM Alumnus Lands Record Deal

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Earlier this month, Albany Records released CCM alumnus Evan Mack’s (DMA, 2008) new American opera Angel of the Amazon for worldwide distribution.

Recorded live at premiere performances held on May 6 – 22, 2011 in New York City after preview performances in Cincinnati, Angel of the Amazon depicts Sister Dorothy Stang’s lifetime of work with the Brazilian peasant farmers in the rainforest.

CCM Students and Alumni Perform At Contemporary Arts Center On April 26

The Cincinnati-based new music project Makr, comprised of current and former CCM students Suzanna Barnes, Brodie Johnson, Eddy Kwon and Josh Ulrich.

Tomorrow evening, Cincinnati’s Contemporary Arts Center will present a unique performance by the Cincinnati-based quartet Makr. Comprised of current and former CCM students  Suzanna Barnes, Brodie Johnson, Eddy Kwon and Josh Ulrich, Makr will take on “In iij. Noct.,” – a demanding piece by the acclaimed Austrian modern composer Georg Friedrich Haas – in complete darkness.

The Quartet will see neither their music nor their fellow performers, seated as far apart from one another as possible in the four corners of the room, surrounding the audience.

CCM Drama Continues Studio Series With UC Alumna Alison Vodnoy Wolf’s Daring Adaptation of James Joyce’s ‘Ulysses’

Shaun Sutton as Leopold Bloom, Mary Malloy as Molly Bloom and Ian Weber as Stephen Dedalus in CCM's 'Ulysses.'

CCM will present the world premiere of CCM alumna Alison Vodnoy Wolf’s (BFA ’09) adaptation of James Joyce’s Ulysses as the next installment of its 2011-12 Studio Series. The drama runs April 26-28 in the Cohen Family Studio Theater on the University of Cincinnati campus. Tickets to Ulysses are free, but reservations are required.

Note: This production features adult themes and situations and is intended for mature audiences.

Former CCM Student Receives Sara Tucker Study Grant

Mark Diamond, baritone.

Congratulations to Mark Diamond on being named the winner of a Sara Tucker Study Grant yesterday morning (April 12), carrying with it a $5,000 cash prize. The award came after two days of auditions by some of America’s finest young opera singers in New York City. Diamond is currently in the Houston Grand Opera‘s young artist program, one of the best programs in the world. Last year, he took first place in the Houston Grand Opera‘s 23rd Annual Eleanor McCollum Competition for Young Singers.

Diamond participated in CCM’s Master of Music program in vocal performance, where he studied with William McGraw.

Five CCM Students Win Awards At The Gerda Lissner Foundation’s Annual International Vocal Competition

The Gerda Lissner Foundation has announced the winners of its 2012 International Vocal Competition and three current and two former CCM students received top prizes at the prestigious event, which took place in late March and early April in New York City.

Artist Diploma candidate Jacqueline Echols and CCM alumna Audrey Luna (MM ’03, AD ’05) both received second prize in the competition, which came with a $5000 cash award and a Carnegie Hall Recital Hall debut.

Artist Diploma candidate Yi Li and CCM alumnus Norman Garrett (MM, ’09) both received third prize, which came with a $3000 cash award.

Artist Diploma candidate Marco Cammarota received the competition’s Encouragement Award, which came with a $2000 award. Congratulations to all of this year’s award recipients!

CCM Alumna Featured in April 2012 Issue of ‘Opera News’

CCM alumna Audrey Luna.

Congratulations to CCM alumna Audrey Luna (MM ’03, AD ’05) on her spotlight in the April 2012 issue of Opera News! Born in Salem, Oregon, the soprano studied with Barbara Honn during her time at CCM. You can read Luna’s Opera News “Sound Bite” spotlight here.

CCM Presents Piano Celebration and Festival This Week

CCM's annual Pianopalooza extravaganza returns April 15, 2012.

CCM will present its annual celebration of the art of the piano with Pianopalooza VII at 7 p.m. on Sunday, April 15, in Corbett Auditorium. This year’s event will be preceded by the third annual Bearcat Piano Festival, which will present master classes and recitals from April 12–14 in CCM’s Robert J. Werner Recital Hall.

This year, Pianopalooza welcomes guest of honor Frank Weinstock back to the CCM stage. A dedicated member of the faculty for 30 years, Weinstock served as Professor of Piano and also held key administrative appointments during his tenure, providing leadership as Interim Dean of CCM from January 2010 through August 2011. Recently retired, Weinstock will be playing Franz Shubert’s Impromptus as part of Pianopalooza VII’s program.

CCM Students and African Refugees Bond Through Theatre

CCM's Will Kiley (right) reaches across cultures to connect with Ojullu Opiew Ochan, an Ethiopian refugee, as part of the Dadaab Theatre Project's performance. Photography by Richard E. Hess.

Last June, CCM sent a contingent from our Drama Program to create theatre with residents of Dadaab, the world’s largest refugee camp. This month, UC Magazine takes a look back at the life-changing project in its “beyond our borders” issue.

Listen to alumnus and project founder Michael Littig along with students Will Kiley and Alyssa Caputo describe the experience and read the complete feature here.

CCM Alumna Kate Tombaugh Wins 2012 Grace Keagy Award

Grace Keagy Award-winner and CCM alumna Kate Tombaugh.

Congratulations to mezzo-soprano Kate Tombaugh (MM Vocal Performance, ’10) on winning the Kurt Weill Foundation’s 2012 Grace Keagy Award for Outstanding Vocal Promise.

The award honors singer-actress Grace Keagy (1921-2009), a past judge for the Kurt Weill Foundation’s Lotte Lenya Competition and a great supporter, who played Mrs. Peachum in The Threepenny Opera on several occasions and the Widow Begbick in the Yale Repertory Theatre’s Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny.