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

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

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

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

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.

Renowned Pianist and Conductor Leon Fleisher to be Honored by the University of Cincinnati

Renowned pianist and conductor Leon Fleisher will receive an honorary doctorate at UC’s Commencement Ceremony on April 27.

Legendary pianist and conductor Leon Fleisher will be awarded an Honorary Doctor of Music at the University of Cincinnati Commencement Ceremony at 9 a.m., Saturday, April 27, in Fifth Third Arena.

Fleisher is widely recognized as one of the world’s truly great artists. The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Chair of Piano served as Great Master Instructor for a residency at UC’s College-Conservatory of Music last October.

Fleisher recently discussed his CCM residency with Suzanne Bona on WVXU’s Around Cincinnati. You can listen to the full interview here.

Tchaikovsky Competition Winners Itamar Zorman and David Geringas Join James Tocco in Concert on April 11

CCM Eminent Scholar in Chamber Music and Artist-in-Residence James Tocco.

CCM’s 2012-13 Eminent Scholars Concert Series comes to a close at 8 p.m. on Thursday, April 11, in UC’s Robert J. Werner Recital Hall with a performance by Eminent Scholar in Chamber Music James Tocco, piano, and distinguished guest artists and Tchaikovsky Competition Award Winners Itamar Zorman, violin, and David Geringas, cello.

Admission to this performance is free. Reservations are not required.

The centerpiece of this concert will be Tchaikovsky’s Piano Trio in A Minor, Op. 50. The program will also include Mieczyslaw Weinberg’s Sonata No. 2 in G Minor for Cello and Piano, Op. 63; and Paul Hindemith’s Sonata for Solo Violin No. 1, Op. 31.

Two Free ‘Music in the Gorno Library’ Concerts Showcase CCM Talent This April

Join UC Libraries at two upcoming concerts to be held in the Albino Gorno Memorial Music (CCM) Library Reading Room.

• 8 p.m. Wednesday, April 3: The CCM Philharmonia will perform Haydn’s Symphonies 6, 7 and 8 (“Morning, Noon and Night”) conducted by CCM graduate student Aik Khai Pung.
• 2 p.m. Sunday, April 14: The inaugural concert on the CCM Library’s 1888 Steinway Parlor Grand piano will feature music arranged by Clara Schumann, edited by CCM faculty member Jonathan Kregor, associate professor of composition, musicology and theory. The music will be performed by students of CCM’s Michael Chertock, associate professor of keyboard studies, and Awadagin Pratt, associate professor of keyboard studies. Dr. Kregor will give remarks about the music.

In Memoriam: Van Cliburn

Janelle Gelfand looked back on the life and career of pianist Van Cliburn in yesterday’s issue of the Cincinnati Enquirer. The internationally acclaimed pianist had a number of Cincinnati ties, starting with his mother, Rildia Bee O’Bryan Cliburn, who graduated from CCM with a Bachelor of Music in 1915.

Van Cliburn was a generous supporter of CCM, establishing the Rildia Bee O’Bryan Cliburn Student Lounge in the old Mary Emery Hall in honor of his mother and funding an undergraduate piano scholarship at CCM for many years. He will be missed but never forgotten.

Learn more about Cliburn’s indelible legacy here.

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.

CCM Presents ‘Prism XVI: From Fanfares to Festivities’ on Feb. 27

CCM hosts a musical celebration during the annual Prism Concert!

CCM presents its 16th annual Prism Concert at 4 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 24 in UC’s Corbett Auditorium. This perennially popular concert features performances by CCM’s jazz, vocal, brass choir, percussion and wind ensembles.

The Bearcat Bands Drumline, a horn and harp duo, a piano soloist and the CCM Preparatory Department’s Cincinnati Youth Wind Ensemble will also be featured during this concert’s 60 minutes of nonstop music. Glenn D. Price and Terence Milligan conduct.

Keep the chill away by surrounding yourself with warm sounds from various locations in Corbett Auditorium! This year’s theme, “From Fanfares to Festivities,” promises to be exciting from start to finish with iconic music honoring events and celebrations.

CCM Presents Bearcat Piano Festival This Weekend

CCM Associate Professor of Piano and Artist-in-Residence Awadagin Pratt.

CCM proudly presents the fourth annual Bearcat Piano Festival this week. Master classes and recitals run Thursday, Feb. 7, through Saturday, Feb. 9, in UC’s Robert J. Werner Recital Hall. Special guests include Daniel Shapiro, Arnaldo Cohen and Dror Biran.

View a schedule of festival events after the jump. All master classes and recitals are FREE and open to the general public. Reservations are not required. The Bearcat Piano Festival is coordinated by Awadagin Pratt, Associate Professor of Piano and Artist-in-Residence at CCM.

CCM Video: Students Perform Original Song Live On TV’s ‘Cincinnality’

Last Sunday, the Fox 19 variety show Cincinnality aired a UC-themed episode, shot on location in CCM’s Cohen Family Studio Theater with special co-host UC President Santa Ono! Today, we have a highlight from that episode, featuring CCM students Josh Tolle (piano, vocals), Jacob Yates (cello), Christine Smith (dancer) and Max Clayton (dancer). The performance starts at the 1:31 minute mark below:

“Starcrossed” is an original song written by Tolle with choreography by Smith. Stay tuned for more highlights from Cincinnality!