Congratulations to the University of Cincinnati’s Class of 2013!

Photography by Dottie Stover.

Congratulations to the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music Class of 2013! You can view a live video stream of UC’s Commencement Ceremonies here. UC will host ceremonies in the Fifth-Third Arena Shoemaker Center at 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 27, 2013.

9 a.m. ceremony will include the following colleges:

• Allied Health Sciences
• Business
• College-Conservatory of Music (CCM)
• Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning (DAAP)
• Nursing
• UC Blue Ash

2 p.m. ceremony will include the following colleges:

• Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services (CECH)
• Engineering & Applied Science
• McMicken College of Arts & Sciences (A&S)
• UC Clermont

Photography by Dottie Stover.

Following the University’s 9 a.m. commencement ceremony, CCM will host a cookout in room 300 of the Dieterle Vocal Arts Center. The luncheon is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. and graduates, parents and friends are welcome to attend.

CCM will then celebrate the Class of 2013 with a Graduation Convocation Ceremony at 1:30 p.m. in Corbett Auditorium. Students receiving baccalaureate, masters, doctoral and artist diploma degrees in April 2013 will be recognized at the Convocation.

The ceremony will be in full academic regalia, and will feature a faculty and student procession. The ceremony will also include recognition of this year’s Distinguished Alumnus Award Recipient: Deron Hall (MM, Music Education) and this year’s Distinguished Service Award Recipient: Dianne M. Rosenberg (BSED, Special Education and MED, Special Education). Tickets are required.

Learn more about CCM’s Graduation Convocation Ceremony here.

Photography by Dottie Stover.

CCM Drama, Dance, Choral, Piano, Musical Theatre And More On Display This Weekend!

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CCM’s stars of tomorrow will be shining bright in a wide variety of concerts and productions running this weekend!

CCM’s 2012-13 Studio Series concludes with a production of Emily Mann’s powerful docu-drama Execution of Justice, running through April 20 in UC’s Cohen Family Studio Theater. Admission is free, but reservations are required. This production contains mature subject matter. Learn more about this production here.

CCM’s Ballet Ensemble also presents its annual Spring Dance Concert this weekend, with performances running through April 20 in Patricia Corbett Theater. This year’s program features unique collaborations with CCM’s Chamber Choir and Chamber Players. Learn more about this production here.

At 8 p.m. this Saturday, April 20, the CCM’s Chorale and Concert Orchestra join forces with a variety of special guests to present Benjamin Britten’s Spring Symphony and other works in Corbett Auditorium! Learn more about this performance here.

CCM’s annual celebration of the art of the piano returns at 7 p.m. this Sunday, April 21, as Pianopalooza VIII showcases our most spectacular student pianists! Learn more about this performance here.

CCM Presents ‘Pianopalooza VIII: A New Perspective’ on Sunday, April 21

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CCM will present its annual celebration of the art of the piano with “Pianopalooza VIII: A New Perspective” at 7 p.m. on Sunday, April 21, in UC’s Corbett Auditorium.

Tickets are on sale now.

In a format different from previous years, which focused on CCM’s distinguished piano faculty, “Pianopalooza VIII” is student driven, both in performance and planning. The concert will feature outstanding student performers in a stunning variety of repertoire – every style from Beethoven to Earl Wild and Astor Piazzolla. The performance will feature student artists from each of CCM piano studios.

CCM Ensembles Join with Xavier University Concert Choir and Cincinnati Children’s Choir to Perform Britten’s ‘Spring Symphony’

‘Spring Symphony’ composer Benjamin Britten, circa 1949. Photography by Roland Haupt; courtesy of http://www.britten100.org.

CCM’s Chorale and Concert Orchestra join forces with the Xavier University Concert Choir and Bel Canto Choir of the Cincinnati Children’s Choir for a performance of Benjamin Britten’s Spring Symphony and other works at 8 p.m. on Saturday, April 20, in UC’s Corbett Auditorium. The program will also include Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis for string orchestra and Edward Elgar’s concert overture In the South. Tickets are on sale now.

Britten’s Spring Symphony, Op. 44, was commissioned and dedicated to Serge Koussevitsky and the Boston Symphony Orchestra, which shared the 1949 premiere with the Concertgebouw Orchestra in July (in Amsterdam) and August (with the BSO at Tanglewood). This choral symphony was written just four years after Britten’s widely acclaimed Peter Grimes opera when the composer was 35.

CCM Winds, Jazz, Musical Theatre, Guitar And More On Display This Weekend!

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You will find something for everyone on the CCM stage this weekend!

At 8 p.m. this evening (Friday, April 12), the CCM Wind Orchestra closes out its successful 2012-13 season with a survey of contemporary American composers. The eclectic program will include works by Samuel Barber, Warren Benson and more! Learn more about this performance here.

CCM welcomes acclaimed tenor Lawrence Brownlee to the stage at 8 p.m. this Saturday, April 13, for an encore performance of the program from his recent Carnegie Hall debut. Brownlee will be accompanied by composer, conductor and pianist Damien Sneed for this special performance. Learn more about this performance here.

CCM’s Jazz Ensemble and Jazz Lab Band will celebrate the impact of adjunct instructor of jazz drums and “living guru of big band drumming” John Von Ohlen with a swinging tribute concert at 4 p.m. on Sunday, April 14. Learn more about this performance here.

CCM Jazz Ensembles Jam with John Von Ohlen on April 14

Cincinnati jazz icon John Von Ohlen and the CCM Jazz Ensemble. Photography by Dottie Stover.

Cincinnati jazz legend John Von Ohlen joins the CCM Jazz Ensemble and Jazz Lab Band for a swinging afternoon of big band bombast at 4 p.m. on Sunday, April 14, in UC’s Corbett Auditorium. Scott Belck and Dominic Marino conduct. Tickets are on sale now.

The concert will feature original compositions by Von Ohlen, as well as all-time classics from the great American big bands.

An Ohio native and CCM faculty member since 1985, Von Ohlen is revered for his work with Stan Kenton, Woody Herman, Rosemary Clooney, Mel Tormé, Carmen McRae and countless others. Featured in a recent profile in Modern Drummer magazine, Von Ohlen is a serious cat, and you will dig him!

Read Modern Drummer‘s profile of Von Ohlen here.

CCM Slideshows: The Magic Flute

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CCM’s acclaimed 2012-13 Mainstage Series comes to a close this week with a colorful new production of Mozart’s beloved comedic singspiel The Magic Flute. This production runs April 4–7 in UC’s Corbett Auditorium.

The Cincinnati Enquirer‘s Janelle Gelfand recently visited CCM to take a behind-the-scenes look at The Magic Flute‘s costumes, wigs and make-up designs. Watch her exclusive video preview here.

CCM’s 2012-13 Mainstage Series Concludes With ‘The Magic Flute’

Jacqueline Echols as Pamina and Yi Li as Tamino in CCM’s ‘The Magic Flute.’ Photography by Mark Lyons.

CCM proudly presents Mozart’s beloved comedic singspiel The Magic Flute (Die Zauberflöte, 1791) from April 4–7 in UC’s Corbett Auditorium. The fourth most frequently performed opera worldwide, this production will be sung in German with English dialogue (with supertitles displayed). Mark Gibson conducts with stage direction by Steven Goldstein.

Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart with a libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder, this beloved opera offers something for everyone: a hero and heroine questing for true love, evil villains, a comical sidekick and a whole range of beastly creatures. According to Goldstein, The Magic Flute is a sort of vaudeville variety show of the 18th century. However, this iteration isn’t all about the slapstick comedy. “My charge to the performers,” Goldstein explains, “is for the comedy to come from somewhere genuine. There is a real play back and forth between light-heartedness and deep morality in Flute and our goal is to find the truth inside of it.”

CCM Jazz Welcomes Special Guest Steven Bernstein For Evening of James Bond Film Music on March 10

CCM’s Jazz Ensemble and Jazz Lab Band welcome guest artist and guest composer Steven Bernstein for a concert that is guaranteed to be “Shaken, Not Stirred” at 007 p.m. on Sunday, March 10, in UC’s Corbett Auditorium.

“Special agents” from CCM’s award-winning Lighting Design program will help present this evening of James Bond film music with a dynamic and colorful twist. Scott Belck and Dominic Marino conduct.

“Shaken, Not Stirred” features Bernstein’s adaptations of composer John Barry’s iconic and legendary James Bond film scores. Barry, who died in January 2011 at the age of 77, scored 11 James Bond films between 1963 and ’87. He composed a number of other highly acclaimed film scores, including those for Dances with Wolves and Out of Africa, both Grammy Award winners.

CCM Announces Partnership with Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and World Piano Competition

2012 World Piano Competition Gold Medal Winner Alexander Yakovlev.

Cincinnati’s World Piano Competition, an annual classical piano competition featuring top performers from across the globe since 1956, is undergoing an expansion with two exciting new collaborations and instituting a variety of changes aimed at enhancing the quality of the event and making Cincinnati a truly world-class destination for classical piano performance.

Primary among the changes at the re-imagined competition, already a highly respected event, are partnerships with two of the city’s cultural cornerstones – the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (CSO). Beginning with the July 2013 competition, finalists in the Artist Division will have the distinct honor of performing with the world-renowned CSO, made up of some of the world’s finest musicians and an ensemble that regularly collaborates with classical music’s premier performing artists. The performances featuring the finalists  will be led by CSO Associate Conductor Robert Treviño. The event will also move to CCM, one of the nation’s top performing and media arts conservatories, where the acclaimed faculty will oversee upgrades to the competition’s jury system.

Learn more about this exciting new partnership in today’s issue of the Cincinnati Enquirer.