Archived updates from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (2008-21)
About the Author
Curt Whitacre
A member of the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music's public information staff since 2007, Curt Whitacre currently serves as CCM's Director of Marketing and Communications.
Beginning on Aug. 1, 2021, the CCM Village News WordPress site will be converted to an archive of CCM updates from 2008 through 2021. New CCM stories and announcements can now be found on our official website and on the University of Cincinnati’s e-news portal.
We will continue to maintain this WordPress account and make sporadic updates, but our official website will be our primary digital news platform.
Sign up for our email newsletter by visiting ccm.uc.edu/subscribe, and we’ll send the latest CCM news, performance videos and other campus updates right to your inbox every other Wednesday. Our next newsletter comes out on Aug. 11, and you can view our July 28 installment online.
Receive alerts for new CCM video releases by subscribing to our YouTube channel.
CCM presents three concert streams featuring piano students performing in Robert J. Werner Recital Hall and in other performance spaces throughout the world!
Presented in conjunction with the CCMONSTAGEOnline series of concert streams, the COVID Etude Project showcases three complete sets of etudes by composers Franz Liszt, Claude Debussy and William Bolcom, performed by CCM students and streamed online nightly from Friday, March 26 through Sunday, March 28. Each concert will stream simultaneously on CCM’s website, YouTube channel and Facebook page.
“The COVID Etude Project is a joint-studio project of mine and Professor Ran Dank,” says CCM Associate Professor of Piano Soyeon Kate Lee. “It was conceived to keep our students motivated and create a sense of purpose and community during this unprecedented time.”
“Many of our students are overseas, some whom we have never met in-person, and we have tried to make the most of our time on Zoom together and build a studio community despite the circumstances.”
As explained by arts writer Janelle Gelfand in her preview of CCM’s COVID Etude Project for the Cincinnati Business Courier: “Etudes are difficult studies for mastering a technical challenge, such as runs, leaps, octaves or arpeggios. They are also engaging musical works. Composers such as Chopin, Debussy, Liszt and Rachmaninoff wrote etudes meant for the concert hall.”
The first concert stream at 7:30 p.m. EDT on March 26 features Liszt’s Transcendental Études, a 12-part piece published in 1852. The episode is roughly one hour long.
The second stream at 7:30 p.m. EDT on March 27 showcases Debussy’s Twelve Études, composed in 1915 and regarded as one of the more challenging works in the piano repertoire. The episode is approximately 50 minutes long.
The final stream at 7:30 p.m. EDT on March 28 shares Bolcom’s Twelve New Etudes written between 1977 and 1986. The episode is 45 minutes long.
After each premiere broadcast, all three installments of the COVIDEtudeProject will remain available for on-demand viewing on CCM’s website, YouTube channel and Facebook page.
Students recorded one etude each wherever they were — some students performed in CCM’s Robert J. Werner Recital Hall, while others gave their performances at home or in piano showrooms near their residences.
“Seeing our students take up this challenge with so much energy, professionalism and positive spirit is so gratifying to see, and definitely has been one of the highlights for me at CCM,” said Lee.
CCM’s COVID Etude Project is produced by Joel Crawford Recording and is made possible by generous support from Louis and Susan Meisel.
Learn more about CCM’s upcoming video releases courtesy of Janelle Gelfand and the Cincinnati Business Courier.
Streaming Premiere
Liszt’s Transcendental Études: 7:30 p.m. EDT Friday, March 26, 2021
Debussy’s Twelve Études: 7:30 p.m. EDT Saturday, March 27, 2021
Bolcom’s Twelve New Etudes: 7:30 p.m. EDT Sunday, March 28, 2021
Performance Details
Liszt’s Transcendental ÉtudesPerformers and Repertoire
Liszt: Transcendental Études, No. 1, “Preludio”
Performed by Robert Brooks Carlson, Master of Music student
Liszt: Transcendental Études, No. 2, “Fusées”
Performed by Robert Brooks Carlson, Master of Music student
Liszt: Transcendental Études, No. 3, “Paysage”
Performed by Sooyeon Baik, Doctor of Musical Arts student
Senior Director of Performance Operations Rayburn Dobson
CCMONSTAGEOnlineSeries Concept Developed and Managed by Curt Whitacre
CCM Digital Content Team Kenneth D. Allen Clarence M. Brown Kevin Burke Rebecca Butts Rayburn Dobson Mikki Graff Melissa Neeley-Nicolini Jeanne Rose Simón Sotelo Stephanie Temeles Curt Whitacre
A preeminent institution for the performing and media arts, the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music offers nearly 120 possible majors, along with a wide variety of pre-collegiate and post-graduate programs.
The synergy created by housing CCM within a comprehensive public university gives the college its unique character and defines its objective: to educate and inspire the whole artist and scholar for positions on the world stage.
For more information, please visit us online at ccm.uc.edu.
Please join us this Friday and Saturday for the next two episodes of CCMONSTAGE Online, our new ongoing series of digital concerts and performances.
Tonight’s installment features the CCM Chamber Choir performing an eclectic program of nine musical selections dating from the Renaissance to the 21st century. The program will stream from 7:30-8:30 p.m. EDT.
Tomorrow night’s installment features the CCM Ballet Ensemble performing a mixed repertoire dance concert. The program will stream from 7:30-9 p.m. EDT.
If the video does not start autoplaying on your viewing device, please refresh the web page and then click the play button on the video player. If you have any trouble with CCM’s streams, visit our website for additional viewing options.
Each performance will be available for on-demand viewing shortly after the premiere stream concludes.
Video production by MasseyGreenAVP, LLC. This digital performance series is made possible by support from CCMONSTAGE Online Broadcast Sponsors CCMpower and ArtsWave, and CCMONSTAGE Online Production Sponsors Dr. & Mrs. Carl G. Fischer.
CCM Dance provides a “travelogue” of classical and contemporary works during this installment of CCM’s virtual performance series!
The fourth episode of CCMONSTAGEOnline debuts at 7:30 p.m. EDT on Saturday, March 20, 2021. The premiere will stream simultaneously on CCM’s website, YouTube channel and Facebook page.
Travelogueis a 90-minute long virtual performance featuring the CCM Ballet Ensemble. “Travelogue is a mixed repertory performance featuring a vivid array of classical and contemporary ballet, modern and jazz works,” explains CCM Dance Department Chair Shauna Steele, who directs the performance. “As we sat and planned our potential fall season during the unprecedented coronavirus shutdown in spring 2020, we kept returning to the idea that dance is community, it is catharsis, and it is vitally essential, thus Travelogue … where we as the artists could share through a visual medium places and experiences encountered by a ‘traveler.’ It can let us visit people, communities, myths, legends and monumental moments in our shared history allowing the audience to travel without moving.”
The program opens with Les Sylphides, with choreography by Mikhail Fokine restaged by CCM faculty member Deirdre Carberry. This popular one-act Romantic ballet is set to the music of Frédéric Chopin.
The concert features three premieres choreographed by CCM faculty members: Handel Concerto choreographed by Thomas Bell, The Space Between choreographed by Shauna Steele and Death and the Maiden choreographed by Jiang Qi.
The performance concludes with August Bournonville’s iconic Napoli restaged by CCM faculty member Tricia Sundbeck. Subtitled “The Fisherman and His Bride,” this ballet depicts a love story in a small Italian fishing village and is celebrated for its solos. Steele explains: “In Napoli, we see through the eyes of August Bournonville, who visited a small Italian village in 1841, and was so enchanted that he created a composition that would forever capture that joyous, bright day and coincidentally created an enduring and touching ballet.”
A collaboration with CCM’s Department of Theatre Design and Production, Travelogue also features scenic designs by CCM student KarissaHodge and lighting and projection designs by CCM student IanMacIntosh.
Like other episodes in CCM’s new virtual performance series, Travelogue features commentary from CCM students and faculty. All episodes of CCMONSTAGEOnline can be digitally streamed for free. After the premiere broadcast, each installment in this ongoing series will remain available for on-demand viewing on CCM’s website, YouTube channel and Facebook page.
Travelogue was recorded live in CCM’s Corbett Auditorium on Nov. 14, 2020. Video production by MasseyGreenAVP, LLC. This digital performance series is made possible by support from CCMONSTAGE Online Broadcast Sponsors CCMpower and ArtsWave, and CCMONSTAGE Online Production Sponsors Dr. & Mrs. Carl G. Fischer.
Learn more about CCM’s upcoming video releases courtesy of Janelle Gelfand and the Cincinnati Business Courier.
Streaming Premiere
7:30 p.m. EDT Saturday, March 20, 2021
Performance Details
Les Sylphides
Choreography Mikhail Fokine
Restaged by Deirdre Carberry
Music by Frédéric Chopin Nocturne in A flat Major, Op. 32, No. 2 Valse in G flat Major, Op. 70, No. 1 Mazurka in D Major, Op. 33, No. 2 Mazurka in C Major, Op. 67, No. 3 Valse in C sharp Minor, Op. 64, No. 2 Valse in E flat Major, Op. 18, No. 1
Corps de Ballet Carmen Doll Sydney D’Orso Rae Dougherty Emily Glaccum Meg Green Lily Kozub Jennifer Listerman Grace Mitchell Anna Lee Rohovec Bethany Roup Mandi Weitz Claire Zakrajsek
Understudies Rae Dougherty for Carly Herrmann Anna Lee Rohovec for Lauren Sokol Claire Zakrajsek for Hannah Adamczak
Les Sylphides has been abridged and adapted to honor the restrictions of social distancing and Covid-19.
Handel Concerto
Choreography Thomas Bell
Music by George Frideric Handel Concerto Grosso Op. 6, No. 5 in D Major: Larghetto e staccato, Allegro, Largo, Menuet, Allegro
Dancers Sarah Bartlett Isabelle Cummings Clementine Greely Madeline Montgomery Eva Moore Megan Schroeder Sofia Stitz Madelin Talbot Gracie Zamiska
The Space Between
Choreography Shauna Steele
Music by Emeli Sandé Read All About It, Pt. III Hope River
Dancers Hannah Adamczak Maia Blake Carmen Doll Sydney D’Orso Meg Green Amanda Kenner Jennifer Listerman Ying-Chi Lu Anne McGovern Lauren Sokol
Junichiro Tanizaki believed that to “Find beauty not only in the thing itself but in the pattern of the shadows, the light and dark which that thing provides. The eye is always caught by light, but shadows have more to say. Life is a mixture of light and shadow, calm and storm…” For me, that point where light and dark meet and form endless unique shadows is the trigger for the wonderous and endless possibilities in our world. Neither the light nor the dark are evil or good. It is the purpose we assign to them that will either “illuminate our paths or darken our way. [As Maya Angelou said] It is a matter of choice.”
Death and the Maiden
Choreography Jiang Qi
Music by Franz Schubert String Quartet No. 14 in D Minor
Dancers in Black Elaina Didier Ava Gyurcsik Emma Phillips
Dancers in White Hazel Alexander Rebekah Docea Rose Engel Emerson Lecrone Morgan Montour Alyssa Pankey Keenan Pennington Ellen Pierce Jillian Sadler Sarah Santarsiero Mira Sidhu
“Death is the dropping of the flower, that the fruit may, swell.” – Henry Ward Beecher
Napoli
Choreography August Bournonville
Restaged by Tricia Sundbeck
Music by Niels W. Gade, Edvard Helsted and Holger Simon Paulli Pas De Six
Dancers Maia Blake Amanda Kenner Ying-Chi Lu Anne McGovern Gabby Savka David Lopena Garrett Steagall
Napoli has been abridged and adapted to honor the restrictions of social distancing and Covid-19.
Choreographers
August Bournonville (1805-1879)
Born in Copenhagen, August Bournonville was a dancer and choreographer who directed the Royal Danish Ballet for nearly 50 years and established the Danish style based on bravura dancing and expressive mime. He studied under his father, Antoine Bournonville, one of the major dancers of his day, before going to Paris for further training under Auguste Vestris and Pierre Gardel. After appearances at the Paris Opera and in London, Bournonville returned to Copenhagen as soloist and choreographer for the Royal Danish Ballet. A strong dancer with excellent elevation and an accomplished mime, he emphasized these qualities in his ballets. His choreographic style also reflected the pre-Romantic approach of his teacher Vestris. Many of his ballets have remained in the repertoire of the Royal Danish Ballet for more than a century. Bournonville also directed the Swedish Royal Opera at Stockholm (1861-64) and staged several of his works in Vienna (1855-56). In 1877, after his return to Denmark, he retired and was knighted. He died on November 30, 1879 in Copenhagen.
Mikhail Fokine (1880-1942)
Born in St Petersburg, Russian choreographer Mikhail Fokine trained at the Imperial Ballet Academy before joining the Mariinsky Theatre. In 1904 he became a premier danseur and the following year he created his first choreographic work, Acis and Galatea, for a pupils’ performance, and The Dying Swan, which would become Anna Pavlova’s most famous role. Fokine was engaged by Diaghilev for his 1909 Paris season and created Le Pavillon d’Armide, Polovtsian Dances, Les Sylphides, and Cleopâtre. He worked for some time for both the Imperial Theatre and for Diaghilev; he did not return to Russia after 1918. For Diaghilev his works include Le Carnaval, Sheherazade, Firebird, Le Spectre de la rose, Narcisse, Petrushka, Papillons, and The Golden Cockerel. When he left Diaghilev’s company he worked as a freelance choreographer, creating new works and reviving his successes. He settled in the USA, where he worked with several dance companies, and in musical theatre and film. The Fokine American Ballet Company made its debut in 1924. Fokine, however, spent much of his time in Europe, and in 1936 was engaged as choreographer-in-chief by the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, where he created three successful ballets – L’Épreuve d’amour, Don Juan (both 1936) and Les Éléments (1937). He died in 1942, having created more than sixty works.
Performance Producer Denton Yockey, TAPAA Division Head
Stage Management Advisor Michele Kay
Technical Director Advisor Stirling Shelton
Lighting Design Advisor Sharon Huizinga
Sound Design Advisor Matt Tibbs
Dance Department Faculty Shauna Steele, chair Deirdre Carberry Jiang Qi Michael Tevlin John Thomas Bell Isabele Elefson Stephen Ferre Jeri Gatch Jonnie Lynn Jacobs-Percer Kathleen Johannigman Molly Perez Tricia Sundbeck
Physical Therapists Amber Boyd Heidi Dunning Heather Graden Rose Smith
Dance Program Manager Colleen Condit
Costume Coordinator Jonnie Lynn Jacobs-Percer
Costumes Courtesy of CCM Dance Department
Accompanists Angelika Bonyhati-Kovacs Brian Cashwell Douglas Sutton Yudong Wang
Technical Director Jacob Bober
Assistant Technical Director Jacob Blumberg
Performance Production Manager Amanda Powell
Scenic Shop Foreman Kyle Wichman
Scenic Designer Karissa Hodge
Lighting Designer/Projection Designer Ian MacIntosh
Video Production MasseyGreenAVP, llc Director – John Massey Producer/Editor – Austin Maynard
Camera Operators John Tapogna Glenn Hartong Matt Green
Video Production Assistant Paule Casale
Audio Engineer Simón Sotelo
Senior Director of Performance Operations Ray Dobson
CCMONSTAGE Online Series Concept Developed and Managed by Curt Whitacre
CCM Digital Content Team Kenneth D. Allen Clarence M. Brown Kevin Burke Rebecca Butts Rayburn Dobson Mikki Graff Melissa Neeley-Nicolini Simón Sotelo Curt Whitacre
Special thanks to Amber Boyd, Will Brenner, Dr. Kyuran Ann Choe, Dr. Jon Divine, Dr. Tonya Dixon, Dr. Michael Donaworth, Heidi Dunning, Heather Graden, Dale Pickett, Diana Queen of Diana’s Dancewear, and Rose Smith.
About the Series
CCMONSTAGEOnline is a series of free digital concerts and performing arts presentations showcasing the unparalleled artistry and expertise of CCM’s students, faculty and staff. Enjoy a sneak peek at a few of our upcoming episodes:
A preeminent institution for the performing and media arts, the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music offers nearly 120 possible majors, along with a wide variety of pre-collegiate and post-graduate programs.
The synergy created by housing CCM within a comprehensive public university gives the college its unique character and defines its objective: to educate and inspire the whole artist and scholar for positions on the world stage.
For more information, please visit us online at ccm.uc.edu.
Featured image at top: the CCM Ballet Ensemble performs “Les Sylphides.” Photo/Dale Pickett
The UC College-Conservatory of Music’s virtual concert series continues with a powerful performance by the CCM Chamber Choir.
CCM’s “stars of tomorrow” are back on stage, and you get the best seats in the house! The next episode of CCMONSTAGEOnline debuts at 7:30 p.m. EDT on Friday, March 19, 2021. The premiere will stream simultaneously on CCM’s website, YouTube channel and Facebook page.
“The isolation generated by the pandemic is at the heart of Together/Apart,” says Miller. “Strengthening our world by staying apart is a new concept for many of us and one that we both resist and embrace.”
Comprised of nine musical selections dating from the Renaissance to the 21st century, Together/Apart‘s eclectic program takes viewers on an emotional journey that reflects on the impact of COVID-19. Works by Thomas Morley, Claudio Monteverdi and J.S. Bach are featured alongside contemporary pieces like David Lang’s “I Am Walking” and The Wailin’ Jennys’ “One Voice.” The performance is also a collaborative effort with CCM’s Department of Theatre Design and Production, and also features lighting and projections by student designer Emily Rooks.
“Engaging with music allows us to recognize the significance of this isolation,” says Miller. “Together/Apart seeks to provide a musical landscape, reflecting this shared experience. Sometimes music is the only thing that makes sense.”
Like other episodes in CCM’s new virtual performance series, Together/Apart also features commentary from CCM students. All episodes of CCMONSTAGEOnline can be digitally streamed for free. After the premiere broadcast, each installment in this ongoing series will remain available for on-demand viewing on CCM’s website, YouTube channel and Facebook page.
In addition to the performances recorded in CCM’s Corbett Auditorium, portions of Together/Apart were also recorded at Cincinnati’s Old St. Mary’s Church. Video production by MasseyGreenAVP, LLC. This digital performance series is made possible by support from CCMONSTAGE Online Broadcast Sponsors CCMpower and ArtsWave, and CCMONSTAGE Online Production Sponsors Dr. & Mrs. Carl G. Fischer.
Streaming Premiere
7:30 p.m. EDT Friday, March 19, 2021
Performance Repertoire
David Lang: “I Am Walking” from Death Speaks
Thomas Morley: Nolo mortem peccatoris
Claudio Monteverdi: Ohimè, dov’è il mio ben (from Book VII Madrigals)
Robert White: Domine quis habitabit (III)
Paweł Łukaszewski: Responsoria Tenebrae: V. Ecce quomodo moritur
Johann Sebastian Bach: Komm, Jesu, komm
Ruth Moody, arr. Marcelline Moody: One Voice
Nathan Jones: I Would Live in Your Love
Ola Gjeilo: Ubi Caritas
Performers and Creative Team
CCM Chamber Choir
Joe Miller, music director and conductor Joseph Taff, graduate assistant conductor Shane Thomas, Jr., graduate assistant conductor
Soprano
Tori Adams Jisoo Bae Tanya Harris Jennifer Jun Rachel Kobernick Maya McGuire Melodie Spencer
Matt Coffey Andrew Cunningham Corbin DeSpain Jarrett Hazelton Aaron McKone Greg Miller Shane Thomas, Jr.
Bass
Matt Lee Jay Mobley Andrew Nash Erik Nordstrom Nathan Schludecker Joseph Taff Emilio Vasquez
Instrumentalists and Soloists
“I Am Walking” from Death Speaks
Tanya Harris, soprano Shane Thomas, Jr., tenor Melodie Spencer, violin Jay Mobley, guitar Thomas Heidenreich, piano
Ohimè, dov’è il mio ben (from Book VII Madrigals)
Melodie Spencer, soprano Reed Demangone, countertenor Christopher Wilke, theorbo
Komm, Jesu, komm
Christopher Wilke, baroque guitar Thomas Heidenreich, organ Joshua Bermudez, cello Zachary Reich, bass
One Voice
Tori Adams, soprano Maya McGuire, soprano Kate Gardin, mezzo-soprano Matt Coffey and Joseph Taff, guitar
Ubi Caritas
Shane Thomas, Jr., conductor Joe Miller, piano
Stage Management
Meghan Emanuel, primary stage manager Morgan Piper, assistant stage manager
Lighting Design
Emily Rooks
Additional Theatre Design and Production Support
Sharon Huizinga, Lighting Design and Technology Faculty Member Michele Kay, Theatre Design and Production Chair
Piano Technicians
Rebekah Whitacre Eric Wolfley
Video Production
MasseyGreenAVP, llc Director – Matt Green Producer/Editor – Austin Maynard
Camera Operators
John Tapogna Glenn Hartong Stacy Doose
Audio Engineers
Simón Sotelo Joel Crawford (on Thomas Morley’s Nolo mortem peccatoris and Robert White’s Domine Quis Habitabit III)
Senior Director of Performance Operations
Rayburn Dobson
CCMONSTAGE Online Series Concept Developed and Managed by
Curt Whitacre
CCM Digital Content Team
Kenneth D. Allen Clarence M. Brown Kevin Burke Rebecca Butts Rayburn Dobson Mikki Graff Melissa Neeley-Nicolini Simón Sotelo Curt Whitacre
About the Series
CCMONSTAGEOnline is a series of free digital concerts and performing arts presentations showcasing the unparalleled artistry and expertise of CCM’s students, faculty and staff. Enjoy a sneak peek at a few of our upcoming episodes:
Please join us at 7:30 p.m. EST tonight for the next episode of CCMONSTAGE Online, our new ongoing series of digital concerts and performances.
Our latest installment features CCM string quartet-in-residence the Ariel Quartet collaborating with master’s degree students Cristian Diaz and Denielle Wilson, who are also both second-year participants in CCM’s Diversity Fellowship initiative with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.
If the video does not start autoplaying on your viewing device, please refresh the web page and then click the play button on the video player. Tonight’s performance will be available for on-demand viewing shortly after the premiere stream concludes.
Video production by MasseyGreenAVP, LLC. This digital performance series is made possible by support from CCMONSTAGEOnline Broadcast Sponsors CCMpower and ArtsWave, and CCMONSTAGEOnline Production Sponsors Dr. & Mrs. Carl G. Fischer.
CSO/CCM Diversity Fellowship supported by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and Patricia Kisker Foundation.
Watch the Ariel Quartet collaborate with CSO/CCM Diversity Fellows Cristian Diaz and Denielle Wilson during this upcoming virtual performance.
Arts lovers from around the world are invited to tune in to the next episode of CCMONSTAGEOnline at 7:30 p.m. EST on Friday, Feb. 12, 2021. The premiere will stream simultaneously on CCM’s website, YouTube channel and Facebook page.
Titled Joining Hands, this 30-minute-long virtual concert features CCM string quartet-in-residence the Ariel Quartet collaborating with master’s degree students Cristian Diaz and Denielle Wilson, who are also both second-year participants in CCM’s innovative Diversity Fellowship initiative with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.
To open the concert, Wilson and Diaz – a cellist and a violist respectively – join the Ariel Quartet on the stage of CCM’s Robert J. Werner Recital Hall for a performance of the first movement of Johannes Brahms’ String Sextet in B-flat Major.
The Ariel Quartet – which is comprised of CCM faculty members Alexandra “Sasha” Kazovsky, violin; Amit Even-Tov, cello; Gershon Gerchikov, violin; and Jan Grüning, viola – then perform the third movement of Felix Mendelssohn’s String Quartet in D Major.
For the finale of this digital program, the Ariel Quartet are rejoined by Diaz for a performance of the fourth movement of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s String Quintet in G Minor.
Like other episodes in CCM’s new virtual performance series, Joining Hands also features commentary from CCM students and faculty. All episodes of CCMONSTAGEOnline will be digitally streamed for free. After the premiere broadcast, each installment in this ongoing series will remain available for on-demand viewing on CCM’s website, YouTube channel and Facebook page.
Video production by MasseyGreenAVP, LLC. Additional footage provided by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. This digital performance series is made possible by support from CCMONSTAGE Online Broadcast Sponsors CCMpower and ArtsWave, and CCMONSTAGE Online Production Sponsors Dr. & Mrs. Carl G. Fischer.
The CSO/CCM Diversity Fellowship
Funded by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the CSO/CCM Diversity Fellowship provides an unparalleled learning experience for graduate-level violin, viola, violoncello and double bass players coming from populations that are historically underrepresented in classical music.
Participants get paid to perform with the acclaimed Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra while completing your two-year graduate degree at CCM with full scholarship support plus stipend. Learn more
Streaming Premiere
7:30 p.m. EST Friday, Feb. 12, 2021
Performance Details
Repertoire
Johannes Brahms: String Sextet in B-flat Major No. 1, Op. 18 (1860)
I. Allegro ma non troppo
Felix Mendelssohn: String Quartet in D Major No. 3, Op. 44, No. 1 (1838)
III. Andante espressivo ma con moto
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: String Quintet in G Minor No. 4, K. 516 (1787)
IV. Adagio – Allegro
Performers
The Ariel Quartet
Distinguished by its virtuosity, probing musical insight, and impassioned, fiery performances, the Ariel Quartet has garnered critical praise worldwide over the span of nearly two decades. Formed in Israel as teenagers at the Jerusalem Academy Middle School of Music and Dance and celebrating their 20th anniversary in 2020-21, the Ariel was named recipient of the prestigious Cleveland Quartet Award, granted by Chamber Music America in recognition of artistic achievement and career support. Since 2012 the members of the ensemble have served as the faculty quartet-in-residence at CCM since, where they direct the chamber-music program and present a concert series in addition to maintaining a busy touring schedule in the United States and abroad.
The ensemble has dedicated much of its artistic energy and musical prowess to the groundbreaking Beethoven quartets, and has performed the complete Beethoven cycle on five occasions throughout the United States and Europe. The Quartet has written a powerful and comprehensive series of program notes on the sixteen quartets, open to the public on their website. The Ariel Quartet regularly collaborates with today’s eminent and rising young musicians and ensembles, including pianist Orion Weiss, violist Roger Tapping, cellist Paul Katz, and the American, Pacifica and Jerusalem String Quartets. The Quartet has toured with cellist Alisa Weilerstein and performed frequently with pianists Jeremy Denk and Menahem Pressler. In addition, the Ariel served as quartet-in-residence for the Steans Music Institute at the Ravinia Festival, the Yellow Barn Music Festival and the Perlman Music Program, as well as the Ernst Stiefel String Quartet-in-Residence at the Caramoor Festival.
Formerly the resident ensemble of the Professional String Quartet Training Program at the New England Conservatory, from which the players obtained their undergraduate and graduate degrees, the Ariel was mentored extensively by acclaimed string quartet giants Walter Levin and Paul Katz. It has won numerous international prizes in addition to the Cleveland Quartet Award: Grand Prize at the 2006 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition and the Székely Prize for the performance of Bartók’s String Quartet No. 4, and Third Prize at the Banff International String Quartet Competition. About its performances at the Banff competition, the American Record Guide described the group as “a consummate ensemble gifted with utter musicality and remarkable interpretive power” and noted, in particular, their playing of Beethoven’s monumental Quartet in A minor, Op. 132, as “the pinnacle of the competition.”
The Ariel Quartet has received significant support for its studies in the United States from the American-Israel Cultural Foundation, Dov and Rachel Gottesman, the Legacy Heritage Fund and the A.N. and Pearl G. Barnett Family Foundation. The members of the Ariel Quartet are graduates of the Young Musician’s unit of the Jerusalem Music Centre. Visit the Ariel Quartet’s website to learn more.
Cristian Diaz
Cristian Diaz is a violist from Colombia who holds a bachelor’s degree in violin performance from Colombia’s National University-Conservatory of Music, and a master’s degree in chamber music from Kent State University. His former professors include members of the acclaimed Miami String Quartet, Keith Robinson and Cathy Meng Robinson, and his viola professor Joanna Patterson Zakany, member of the prestigious Cleveland Orchestra.
Diaz has been part of many orchestras across the globe, and was runner up in the Kent State University concerto competition (2017), he was selected to become part of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra Academy 2018 in Dortmund, Germany, winner of the inaugural Diversity Fellowship of the CityMusic Cleveland Chamber Orchestra and is also a member of the Efferus String Quartet.
He has attended the XI Cartagena Music Festival (Colombia, 2017), the first and second International Festival of String Quartets (Colombia, 2015 and 2016), III Bogota’s Viola Festival (Colombia, 2015), Santa Catarina Music Festival FEMUSC (Brazil, 2012) and also the Kent Blossom Music Festival (2019). Diaz began his master’s degree at CCM in the fall of 2019 where he studies with Professor Catharine Lees.
Denielle Wilson
Denielle Wilson is a cellist from Lithonia, Georgia. A former resident of Evanston, Illinois, she has played in the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and maintains a studio of private cello students. She completed an undergraduate degree at Northwestern University in 2017, having majored in cello performance and music education.
Wilson’s musical mentors have included Hans Jørgen Jensen, Joel Dallow and Nan Kimberling. She has spent summers at the Meadowmount School of Music, Bowdoin Music Festival, Aspen Music Festival and School, and the Grant Park Music Festival.
Wilson plays in a piano trio with her siblings, and they enjoy sharing classical and religious music with their local community.
About the Series
CCMONSTAGEOnline is a series of free digital concerts and performing arts presentations showcasing the unparalleled artistry and expertise of CCM’s students, faculty and staff. Enjoy a sneak peek at a few of our upcoming episodes:
We are saddened to share news of the passing of CCM Professor Emeritus Eiji Hashimoto, Professor of Harpsichord and Harpsichordist-in-Residence at CCM from 1968 to 2001. Hashimoto passed away on Jan. 14, 2021, at the age of 89. He is survived by his wife, Ruth Hashimoto; his three children: Christine (Kirk) Merritt, Ken (Allison Dubinski) Hashimoto, and Erica Hashimoto; and five granddaughters: Katherine and Elizabeth Merritt, Scarlette and Sabina Hashimoto, and Naomi Hashimoto. A memorial service will be scheduled at a later date.
An internationally renowned concert artist and scholar of baroque music, Hashimoto performed with critical acclaim throughout the United States and around the world. As a soloist, he dazzled audiences in more than 50 international tours and released numerous CDs. His own editions of 18th-century keyboard music remain highly regarded.
Born in Tokyo in 1931, Hashimoto began musical training as a child and graduated from the Tokyo University of Fine Arts and Music with a major in organ in 1955. He came to the US under a Fulbright study grant to pursue graduate studies in musicology and composition at the University of Chicago (Master of Arts in 1959) and then in harpsichord at the Yale University School of Music (Master of Music in 1962) under Ralph Kirkpatrick.
Upon returning to Japan, Hashimoto taught at the Toho Gakuen School of Music in Tokyo until he was invited by the French government to spend six months in France doing research in 1967. During his subsequent US tour, he performed in Cincinnati, which led to an invitation to teach at CCM beginning in 1968.
Hashimoto maintained an active performance and recording schedule throughout his 33-year long tenure at CCM. During this time he performed with many CCM ensembles, spent several summers conducting for CCM’s Opera Theatre of Lucca program in Italy, and also performed with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and at the May Festival.
Hashimoto also formed CCM’s Ensemble for Eighteenth Century Music, recording with the ensemble and taking it on several tours, including to Japan in 1988, to Mexico in 1993, and to many cities across the US. The El Porvenir newspaper in Monterrey, Mexico, declared “They came, they played and they conquered” following Hashimoto’s November 1993 performance with CCM’s Ensemble for Eighteenth Century Music. In 2001, Hashimoto’s then-colleague (and now emeriti faculty member) Clare Callahan told the Cincinnati Enquirer, “Eiji is our Baroque touchstone … and his dedicated work with the Eighteenth Century Orchestra gave students and faculty alike a sense of the fun people had with music of that time.”
In 1978 and 1981, Hashimoto received the Prize of Excellence from the Japanese government for his recitals in Tokyo. In 1984, he received UC’s coveted Rieveschl Award for Excellence in Scholarly and Creative Works. He was a recipient of the Ohio Arts Council’s solo artist grant, was also selected for the 1988-89 Arts Midwest Performing Arts Touring Program and was awarded the “Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels,” the highest honor awarded by the state of Kentucky for special achievements, by the governor of Kentucky in 1990. He was twice awarded research grants by the Rockefeller Foundation for scholarly residencies in Bellagio, Italy.
Please join us in sending your thoughts, prayers and condolences to Eiji’s family and friends. You can learn more about Eiji’s career by visiting Janelle Gelfand’s “Janelle’s Notes” blog. Tributes can be shared through the Neidhard-Young Funeral Home website. A memorial service will be scheduled at a later date. Eiji influenced and inspired multiple generations of students, colleagues and music lovers during his three decades at CCM. He will be deeply missed.
We invite you to join us at 7:30 p.m. EST tonight (Dec. 11) for the premiere of CCMONSTAGE Online, our new ongoing series of digital concerts and performances.
Our first installment features the CCM Philharmonia student orchestra. Future episodes will feature performances by CCM’s many other ensembles and departments as our series continues.
Tonight’s premiere streams on CCM’s website from 7:30-8:30 p.m. EST. The performance will be available for on-demand viewing shortly after the premiere stream concludes tonight.
The premiere will begin autoplaying on our website at 7:30 p.m. with a brief countdown clock sequence. If the video does not start autoplaying on your device, please refresh the web page and then click the play button on the video player.
If you have any trouble viewing the stream on our website, you can instead access the stream on CCM’s YouTube channel.
Under the direction of CCM Professor Mark Gibson, the CCM Philharmonia performs a program of “Classical Virtuosity” with works by Claude Debussy/Maurice Ravel, Ottorino Respighi, Julia Perry and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
Video production by MasseyGreenAVP, LLC. This digital performance series is made possible by support from CCMONSTAGE Online Broadcast Sponsors CCMpower and ArtsWave, and CCMONSTAGE Online Production Sponsors Dr. & Mrs. Carl G. Fischer.
CCMONSTAGE Online is a dynamic new series of digital concerts and performing arts presentations showcasing the unparalleled artistry and expertise of CCM’s students, faculty and staff. Each episode can be digitally streamed for free. After the premiere broadcast, each installment in this ongoing series will remain available for on-demand viewing on CCM’s website and YouTube channel.
Save the date for our series premiere at 7:30 p.m. EST on Friday, Dec. 11, 2020. Additional episodes will be released throughout 2021!
Video production by MasseyGreenAVP, LLC. This digital performance series is made possible by support from CCMONSTAGE Online Broadcast Sponsors CCMpower and ArtsWave, and CCMONSTAGE Online Production Sponsors Dr. & Mrs. Carl G. Fischer.
About The Premiere Episode
Watch the CCM Philharmonia perform a program of “Classical Virtuosity” with works by Claude Debussy/Maurice Ravel, Ottorino Respighi, Julia Perry and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart during the premiere episode of CCMONSTAGEOnline.
Under the direction of Professor Mark Gibson, the CCM Philharmonia is CCM’s premier orchestral ensemble and is recognized as one of the world’s elite conservatory orchestras. The CCM Philharmonia has risen to world prominence through the quality of its performances, recordings, and its national and international tours.
A preeminent institution for the performing and media arts, the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music offers nearly 120 possible majors, along with a wide variety of pre-collegiate and post-graduate programs.
The synergy created by housing CCM within a comprehensive public university gives the college its unique character and defines its objective: to educate and inspire the whole artist and scholar for positions on the world stage.
For more information, please visit us online at ccm.uc.edu.
Featured image at top: students in the CCM Philharmonia perform in a still image from the first installment of CCMONSTAGE Online. Photo/MasseyGreenAVP
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