CCM Welcomes the Academy of Ancient Music for a Performance of JS Bach’s Orchestral Suites on Nov. 9

The Academy of Ancient Music. Photography by Patrick Harrison.

CCM welcomes the Cambridge-based Academy of Ancient Music (AAM) for a rare stateside performance at 5 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 9, in Corbett Auditorium.

Under the direction of Richard Egarr, the acclaimed period-instrument orchestra will present JS Bach’s Orchestral Suites, showcasing the musical sophistication and expressive subtleties of the Baroque era composer.

The Orchestral Suites are a series of grand and graceful dances, paying homage to the French baroque style as championed by the ballet-obsessed King Louis XIV.

Written during Bach’s years in Leipzig, where he had a wider range of instruments at his disposal than ever before, the Suites revel in new sonorous possibilities and employ varied combinations of wind, brass, stringed instruments and timpani.

Watch the Academy of Ancient Music perform an excerpt from the Orchestral Suites below.

Hailed as the “finest period-instrument orchestra in the world” by Classic FM, the AAM’s residency at CCM is supported by the Joseph and Frances Jones Poetker Fund of the Cambridge Charitable Foundation, Ritter & Randolph, LLC, Corporate Counsel.

Learn more about the Academy of Ancient Music’s upcoming visit to CCM courtesy of Catacoustic News here.

About the Academy of Ancient Music
For more than 40 years the Academy of Ancient Music has enriched the lives of thousands the world over with historically informed performances of baroque and classical music of the highest calibre. Founded in 1973 by Christopher Hogwood, the orchestra has since performed on all six inhabited continents and recorded an unrivalled catalogue of over 300 CDs.

In 2006 Richard Egarr succeeded Hogwood as Music Director, and has since led the orchestra on tours of Europe, Australia, the USA and the Far East. His notable recordings with AAM include JS Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos, Handel’s complete instrumental works Opp.1-7, music by the 17th century English composer Christopher Gibbons, and Birth of the symphony: Handel to Haydn, the first release on the orchestra’s in-house record label AAM Records.

The AAM’s artistic excellence has long been fostered by a range of guest artists. Pianist Robert Levin and singers Dame Emma Kirkby, Dame Joan Sutherland and Cecilia Bartoli were among those performing regularly with the AAM in the early days, and ongoing relationships with mezzo-soprano Sarah Connolly, counter-tenor Iestyn Davies and violinist Richard Tognetti lie at the heart of the AAM’s present-day artistic success.

The AAM’s 2014-15 season will take listeners on a musical Grand Tour, from Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione  di Poppea to Mozart’s magisterial piano concertos via Venice and the North African coast. International plans include a major tour of the United States and Canada, with performances at Washington DC’s Strathmore Center, Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles and Carnegie Hall in New York. Planned releases on AAM Records in 2014-15 include recordings of JS Bach’s Orchestral Suites and the 1727 version of the St. Matthew Passion.

The AAM is Associate Ensemble at London’s Barbican Centre and Orchestra-in-Residence at the University of Cambridge. Visit www.aam.co.uk to find out more. 

Repertoire
All works by JS BACH:

• Orchestral Suite No. 4, BWV 1069 (c. 1725)
• Orchestral Suite No. 2, BWV 1067 (c. 1738-9)
• Orchestral Suite No. 1, BWV 1066 (c. 1725)
• Orchestral Suite No. 3, BWV 1068 (1731)

Performance Time
5 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 9

Location
Corbett Auditorium, CCM Village,
University of Cincinnati

Purchasing Tickets
Tickets to the Academy of Ancient Music’s performance at CCM are $20 for general admission, $15 for non-UC students and free for UC students with valid ID.

Tickets can be purchased in person at the CCM Box Office, over the telephone at 513-556-4183 or online at ccm.uc.edu/boxoffice/academy-of-ancient-music. Visit ccm.uc.edu/boxoffice for CCM Box Office hours and location.

Parking and Directions
Parking is available in the CCM Garage (located at the base of Corry Boulevard off Jefferson Avenue) and additional garages throughout the campus of the University of Cincinnati. Please visit uc.edu/parking for more information on parking rates.

For detailed maps and directions, please visit uc.edu/visitors. Additional parking is available off-campus at the new U Square complex on Calhoun Street and other neighboring lots.

For directions to CCM Village, visit ccm.uc.edu/about/directions.

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The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation: Season Presenting Sponsor and Musical Theatre Program Sponsor

ArtsWave: Community Partner

The Joseph and Frances Jones Poetker Fund of the Cambridge Charitable Foundation, Ritter & Randolph, LLC, Corporate Counsel: Visiting Artists Sponsor

The Ariel Quartet’s Acclaimed CCM Concert Series Continues Tomorrow

From left to right: Amit Even-Tov, Jan Grüning, Alexandra Kazovsky and Gershon Gerchikov are the Ariel Quartet. Photography by Saverio Truglia.

The Ariel Quartet‘s CCM Concert Series continues at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 21, with a program featuring the works of Menachem Wiesenberg, Robert Schumann and Maurice Ravel.

Grand Prize winners at the 2006 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition and 2014 recipients of the prestigious Cleveland Quartet Award, the Ariel Quartet thrilled audiences with its first complete cycle of Beethoven’s String Quartets at CCM last season.

During the CINCYinNYC showcase week this May, the New York Times proclaimed that the Quartet has “a gift for filling the pristine structures of Classicism with fire.”

Janelle Gelfand called the Quartet’s season-opening performance with Menahem Pressler last month “inspiring” in her review for the Cincinnati Enquirer. You can read her full review of that performance here.

Repertoire

• WIESENBERG: Between the Sacred and the Profane
• SCHUMANN: String Quartet No. 2 in F Major, Op. 41, No. 2
• RAVEL: String Quartet in F Major, M. 35

CCM Opera Presents Two One-Acts by Kurt Weill and Paul Hindemith in Free Production Oct. 24 – 26

CCM’s Department of Opera will present a mini recreation of the legendary Baden-Baden Contemporary Music Festival of 1927 with a cabaret lab production running Friday, Oct. 24, through Sunday, Oct. 26 in the Cohen Family Studio Theater.

Like all Studio Series productions, admission to Baden-Baden 1927 is free, but reservations are required. Tickets become available at noon on Monday, Oct. 20.

During the original composer-organized summer festival, which occurred in Baden-Baden, Germany, in 1927, four one-act operas were presented in one evening. CCM’s recreation will present two of these mini-operas: Kurt Weill’s Mahagonny Songspiel and Paul Hindemith’s Hin und Zurük (There and Back). Despite being nearly 100 years old, each of these pieces will resonate with audiences today.

According to graduate student Frances Rabalais (AD Opera, Stage Directing) who is directing Baden-Baden 1927 under the guidance of CCM Assistant Professor of Opera/Directing Emma Griffin, post-Word War I Germany was a time and place of great artistic exploration as artists rejected past understanding and searched for new ways to ask, “How can we use art to better society? How can we find new ways [to involve] the audience in a fulfilling opera experience?”

“The intimacy of a smaller venue like the Cohen Family Studio Theater is thrilling and special,” says Rabalais. “The audience can experience the art in a way that’s very personal.” A single piano accompanist will compliment the talented singers in both performances. Baden-Baden 1927 features musical preparation by graduate student Levi Hammer (DMA, Orchestral Conducting), under the guidance of Junghyun Cho. Hammer and Kihwa Kim provide accompaniment.

This up-close performance is an especially unique experience because the pieces by Hindemith and Weill contrast both stylistically and narratively. Hin und Zurük is a kind of dramatic palindrome, a tragedy unfolds involving jealousy, murder and suicide. It is then replayed with the lines sung in reverse order to produce a happy ending. “Mahagonny Songspiel takes a dark approach to tackling questions about society and authority,” says Rabalais. Visually, the pieces will be styled similarly and use the same scenic elements. “I think the unified look will heighten the contrasting strengths and emphasize the stylistic impact of each opera,” explains Rabalais.

UC Celebrates the Broadcast Premiere of the Student-Produced ‘Gold Rush Expedition Race’ Film Series with a MainStreet Cinema Viewing Party on Oct. 16

Photography by Kaori Funahashi.

The University of Cincinnati‘s student-produced Gold Rush Expedition Race documentary film series will be coming to television sets nationwide this fall courtesy of a new broadcast agreement with Universal Sports Network. This week, the cable network will air the first of three installments of the action-packed documentary series with the premiere of the 2012 Gold Rush Expedition Race film.

To celebrate the occasion, UC will host a viewing party from 5:30 to 8 p.m. this Thursday, Oct. 16, in the MainStreet Cinema of the Tangeman University Center. This screening is free and open to the general public.

The Gold Rush Expedition Race documentary films chronicle one of the foremost expedition races in the world. Each 90-minute documentary features an international field of 50 elite athletes tackling a grueling 275-mile course through the California wilderness as they test their mental and physical limits in the toughest competition in North America. Over the course of four days, teams face merciless heat and sleepless nights while trekking, mountain biking, climbing and kayaking amidst the beauty of the Sierra Nevada mountains. The race is part of the Adventure Racing World Series (ARWS) and the winning team receives an entry into the ARWS World Championship.

Each film has been produced by a team of UC students hailing from the College-Conservatory of Music (CCM), the College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning (DAAP), and the McMicken College of Arts and Sciences.

Working under the guidance of professional television director/producer and CCM Electronic Media (E-Media) alumnus Brian J. Leitten (BFA, 2001) and E-Media Professor Kevin Burke, these students shot, edited, scripted and produced the film on location in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California. Both Leitten and Burke advise the project and provide professional guidance and feedback to the students during all phases of the documentary’s development.

Earlier this month, GearJunkie.com hailed the Gold Rush Expedition Race project as “undoubtedly one of the most amazing educational initiatives we’ve seen.”

Learn more about the Gold Rush Expedition Race project by visiting ccm.uc.edu/about/villagenews/notations-ovations/student-produced-film-series-airs-on-universal-sports-network.

All broadcast times Eastern and subject to change. Learn more about the Universal Sports Network by visiting http://universalsports.com.

CCM’s Studio Production of ‘Blood Brothers’ Receives a 4.5 Star Rating from the League of Cincinnati Theatres

From left to right: Karl Amundson, Hannah Kornfeld and Thomas Knapp in CCM’s Studio Series production of BLOOD BROTHERS, running Oct. 9 – 11 in the Cohen Family Studio Theater. Photography by Adam Zeek.

We are thrilled to report that panelists for the League of Cincinnati Theatres (LCT) have recognized CCM’s Studio Series production of Blood Brothers with a 4.5 star rating.

Blood Brothers is the haunting story of the Johnson twins, separated at birth and brought together by the power of friendship. A tale of superstition, class distinction and adolescent love loosely based on The Corsican Brothers by Alexandre Dumas, Blood Brothers was the winner of the Olivier Award for Best New Musical in 1983.

Panelists praised faculty director Vince DeGeorge “for his tight direction and bare-bones concept – he showed that one needs not have a big set and scenery to put together a powerful production.”

Faculty member Steve Goers received strong kudos for his rearrangement of the score for voices: “the vocal ensemble provided the full harmonic textures of the score that Goers’ lone piano could not. His overture had the ensemble sing the string, brass and wind parts to create a very evocative opening.”

The entire cast was commended: “a bonded ensemble that was used expressively and expertly… every performer was beautifully cast and resonated with me.” In particular, leads Thomas Knapp as Mickey, Karl Amundson as Eddie, and Hannah Kornfeld as Mrs. Johnstone were singled out for touching and believable performances.

Overall panelists found Blood Brothers “an outstanding production of a weird and wonderful show… smashing!”

League of Cincinnati Theatre panelists evaluate productions on a 5 star scale and recommend shows at either a 4 star or 5 star level. Nominations for LCT awards will be determined and announced at the end of the season and winners awarded at the annual LCT gala in the spring.

CCM Welcomes Classical Guitarist Oscar Ghiglia for 40th Anniversary Residency This Weekend

Guitar virtuoso Oscar Ghiglia.

CCM’s Guest Artist Series welcomes legendary classical guitarist Oscar Ghiglia for a very special performance at 4 p.m. this Sunday, Oct. 12. This concert celebrates Ghiglia’s 40th residency at CCM! The performance is free and open to the general public.

CCM guitarists have been the enthusiastic beneficiaries of Ghiglia’s concerts and master classes since 1974. He is the major and, perhaps, most persuasive exponent of Andrés Segovia-inspired European guitar playing.

About Oscar Ghiglia
Oscar Ghiglia was born in Livorno, Italy, to a pianist mother and a painter father. While attending Rome’s Santa Cecilia Conservatory, he participated in Segovia’s summer master classes in Siena and Santiago de Compostela. His graduation from the Conservatory in 1962 was followed by several important awards: first prize in the Orense Guitar Competition, first prize in the Santiago de Compostela Guitar Competition and first prize in the Radio France International Guitar Competition.

In 1964, Andres Segovia invited Ghiglia to be his assistant in master classes in California. Since then, Ghiglia has given concerts and master classes throughout the world. In addition to appearing extensively in all parts of North and South America and Europe, he is a frequent performer in the Far East, Israel, Argentina, New Zealand and the South Pacific, and has recorded for Angel, Nonesuch and Stradivarius Records. While being active as a concert artist, Ghiglia has always favored teaching as a sister-profession. Very few well-known guitarists today have not at one time or another been in his classes and profited from his lessons.

Ghiglia is currently professor emeritus of guitar at the Basel Music-Akademie, and gives summer courses in Europe, America and the Middle East. He established the classical guitar summer program at Aspen, Colorado, and taught there for twenty years. He now regularly gives summer classes at the Festival d’Arc in southern France, at the Chigi Academy in Siena, Italy and at the Festival Gargnano, Italy. The Hartt School of Music awarded him an honorary doctorate in 2004 for his outstanding contributions to classical guitar teaching and performance. In 2009, the Guitar Foundation of America presented him with their prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award.

Repertoire

• J.S. BACH: Prelude, Fugue and Allegro, BWV 998
• FERNANDO SOR: Caprice “La Calme,” Op. 50
• MANUEL DE FALLA: Homenaje “Le Tombeau de Debussy” (1920)
• FRANK MARTIN: Quatre Pièces Brèves (1933)
• MANUEL PONCE: Sonata Romantica (1928)

CCM Dance Invited to Perform at the Beijing Dance Academy’s 60th Anniversary International Gala Celebration This Month

Choreography by guest artist Michael Bearden. Photo copyright Luke Isley.

We are delighted to report that CCM’s Department of Dance has been invited to perform at the Beijing Dance Academy‘s 60th anniversary international gala celebration later on this month.

Twenty schools from around the world have been invited to participate in this event, including just two other representatives from the United States: SUNY Purchase College’s Conservatory of Dance and Brigham Young University’s Department of Dance.

This celebration runs Oct. 10 – 16 and includes performances, lectures and exchange classes in Beijing. Five dance majors will be participating in this celebration: Luca De-Poli, Regina DuPont, Gabrielle Gulan, Dominic Barrett and Claire Bergman. They will be performing Simpatico, choreographed by guest artist Michael Bearden. This piece will also be presented locally in CCM’s Fall Dance Concert later on this semester (Dec. 5 – 7).

These students will gain international performance and study abroad experience during this trip, while also strengthening  CCM’s relationship with the world-renowned Beijing Dance Academy, paving the way for future exchange programs and job opportunities. CCM Dance Chair Jiang Qi and CCM Dean Peter Landgren will also be traveling to China for this celebration.

This invitation is just the latest example of CCM Dance’s ever-rising profile. Earlier this year, Dance Magazine named CCM one of “three top programs to consider.” Read the full report here.

The Dance Department gratefully acknowledges the support of the Corbett Endowment at CCM.

World-Renowned Concert Pianist and Psychiatrist Richard Kogan Explores the Mind and Music of Chopin on Oct. 10

Guest artist Richard Kogan.

World-renowned concert pianist and psychiatrist Richard Kogan takes the stage at CCM at 7:30 p.m. this Friday, Oct. 10, for a celebration of the mind and music of Polish composer and virtuoso pianist Frédéric François Chopin.

Presented by the Friends of CCM and the Cincinnati Psychoanalytic Institute, this unique concert program combines the cherished works of Chopin with observations about the relationship between the composer’s mind, his creative motivations and his music. A frequent performer with cellist Yo-Yo Ma, Kogan is a Juilliard-trained pianist and an alumnus of Harvard Medical School.

About Richard Kogan
Richard Kogan has a distinguished career both as a concert pianist and as a psychiatrist. He has been praised for his “eloquent, compelling, and exquisite playing” by the New York Times, and the Boston Globe wrote that “Kogan has somehow managed to excel at the world’s two most demanding professions.” He has gained renown for his lectures and recitals that explore the role of music in healing and the influence of psychological factors on the creative output of composers such as Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Schumann, Tchaikovsky, George Gershwin and Leonard Bernstein.

He performed Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” and gave an address entitled “The Power of Music in Healing Mind and Body” at the 2009 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. He has recorded a DVD for Yamaha/Touchstar Productions entitled Music and the Mind. Yo Yo Ma wrote of this DVD, “I came away from this extraordinary lecture and performance deeply moved by a fascinating presentation that only Dr. Kogan, psychiatrist and concert pianist, can deliver.” Kogan has won the Concert Artists Guild Award and the Chopin Competition of the Kosciuszko Foundation and received the 2005 Artsgenesis Creative Achievement Award.

Dr. Kogan’s presentations are extraordinary, one-of-a-kind performances. He tells vivid stories about famous composers who suffered mental problems—frequent among highly creative people—while illustrating the composer’s work by exquisitely playing excerpts from their compositions. From composers such as Tchaikovsky, Gershwin, Schumann, Beethoven, Mozart, Chopin, Rachmaninoff and Leonard Bernstein, Dr. Kogan shares an insight and journey into some of the most creative minds, while humanizing medicine and bringing more of the person into medical practice. Dr. Kogan will open your ears and eyes to the symphony that is humanity, music and medicine.

Kogan is a graduate of the Juilliard School of Music Pre-College, Harvard College and Harvard Medical School. He completed a psychiatry residency and an academic fellowship at NYU. He has a private practice of psychiatry in New York City and is affiliated with Weill Cornell Medical College as co-director of its Human Sexuality Program. He is also co-chairman of the recently established Weill Cornell Music/Medicine Initiative.

Performance Time
7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 10

Location
Patrica Corbett Theater, CCM Village
University of Cincinnati

Purchasing Tickets
Tickets for this Prestige Event Series concert are $50 for general admission, $40 for Friends of CCM members. Event proceeds raised by the Friends of CCM support student Scholarships and travel for CCM’s “stars of tomorrow.” Cincinnati Psychoanalytic Institute’s sponsorships will benefit their core programs.

Tickets can be purchased over the telephone at 513-556-2100 or online at ccm.weshareonline.org/ws/opportunities/TheMindandMusicofChopin. A dessert reception will follow the program.

Parking and Directions
Parking is available in the CCM Garage (located at the base of Corry Boulevard off Jefferson Avenue) and additional garages throughout the UC campus. Please visit uc.edu/parking for more information on parking rates.

For detailed maps and directions, please visit uc.edu/visitors. Additional parking is available off-campus at the new U Square complex on Calhoun Street and other neighboring lots.

For directions to CCM Village, visit ccm.uc.edu/about/directions.
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CCM Season Presenting Sponsor: The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation

Community Partner: ArtsWave

This performance is presented by the Friends of CCM and the Cincinnati Psychoanalytic Institute.

CCM Presents a Joint Recital by Faculty Artists and Naumburg Gold Medalists Soyeon Kate Lee and Awadagin Pratt on Oct. 11

CCM faculty artists Soyeon Kate Lee and Awadagin Pratt. Photo by Andrew Higley.

CCM proudly presents a one-of-a-kind joint piano recital featuring faculty artists and Naumburg International Piano Competition Gold Medalists Soyeon Kate Lee and Awadagin Pratt at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 11. The performance will also serve as the CCM debut for Lee, who joined the faculty in August as an Assistant Professor of Music in Piano.

In existence since 1926, the Naumburg Competition is one of the most distinguished competitions in the world. Lee took first prize in 2010. Pratt, an Artist-in-Residence, Professor of Piano and Chair of the Department of Piano at CCM, took the first prize in 1992.

CCM’s Naumburg Gold Medalists Piano Recital will provide a rare chance for piano lovers to hear two Naumburg Gold Medalists perform together in the stunning Robert J. Werner Recital Hall. Lee and Pratt will present a program featuring works of Albéniz, Ravel, Schubert, Bach-Busoni and Brahms.

Each artist will perform individual repertoire – including the pieces by Ravel and Bach-Busoni that they played during the Naumburg finals – followed by a special program for two pianos.

Lee’s appointment to the Department of Piano this fall now gives CCM the rare distinction of having two Naumburg Gold Medalists on faculty. Learn more by visiting ccm.uc.edu/about/villagenews/faculty/soyeun-kate-lee-joins-piano-faculty.

Repertoire
Soyeon Kate Lee

• ALBENIZ: Iberia, Book 1
• RAVEL: La Valse

Awadagin Pratt

• SCHUBERT: Impromptu, Op. 90, No. 1 in C minor
• J.S. BACH: Chaconne in D Minor, BWV 1004 (arr. BUSONI)

Plus surprises for two pianos!

Performance Time
8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 11

Location
Robert J. Werner Recital Hall, CCM Village
University of Cincinnati

Purchasing Tickets
Tickets for this concert are $15 for general admission, $10 for non-UC students and free for UC students with valid ID.

Tickets can be purchased in person at the CCM Box Office, over the telephone at 513-556-4183 or online at ccm.uc.edu/boxoffice/naumburg-gold-medalists-concert.
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About Soyeon Kate Lee
Korean-American pianist Soyeon Kate Lee has been hailed by the New York Times as a pianist with “a huge, richly varied sound, a lively imagination and a firm sense of style,” while the Washington Post has lauded her for her “stunning command of the keyboard.” Her recent recital appearances include New York City programs at Carnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall and Weill Recital Hall, Merkin Concert Hall, Lincoln Center for the Performing Art’s Alice Tully Hall, Washington’s John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Cleveland’s Severance Hall, the Ravinia Festival’s “Rising Stars” series, Auditorio de Musica de Nacional in Madrid – part of a 13-city tour of Spain, tour of the Hawaiian Islands, Krannert Center and Finland’s Maanta Music Festival.

Lee earned her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees, and the Artist Diploma from the Juilliard School. While at Juilliard, she won every award granted to a pianist including the Rachmaninoff Concerto Competition, two consecutive Gina Bachauer Scholarship Competitions, Arthur Rubinstein Prize, Susan Rose Career Grant and the William Petschek Piano Debut Award. Learn more about Lee here.

About Awadagin Pratt
Born in Pittsburgh, Awadagin Pratt began studying piano at the age of 6. Three years later, having moved to Normal, Illinois, with his family, he also began studying violin. At the age of 16 he entered the University of Illinois where he studied piano, violin and conducting. He subsequently enrolled at the Peabody Conservatory of Music where he became the first student in the school’s history to receive diplomas in three performance areas – piano, violin and conducting. In recognition of this achievement and for his work in the field of classical music, Pratt recently received the Distinguished Alumni Award from Johns Hopkins.

In 1994 Pratt was awarded an Avery Fisher Career Grant. Since then, he has played numerous recitals throughout the US including performances at Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles and Chicago’s Orchestra Hall. His many orchestral performances include appearances with the New York Philharmonic, Minnesota Orchestra and the Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Baltimore, St. Louis, National, Detroit and New Jersey symphonies among many others. Summer festival engagements include Ravinia, Blossom, Wolftrap, Caramoor and Aspen, the Hollywood Bowl and the Mostly Mozart Festival in Tokyo.

In November 2009, Pratt was one of four artists selected to perform at a White House classical music event that included student workshops hosted by First Lady Michelle Obama and performed in concert for guests including President Obama. He has performed two other times at the White House, both at the invitation of President and Mrs. Clinton. Learn more about Pratt here.

About the Naumburg Competition
Established in 1926, the Naumburg international competitions have been described by the New York Times as “in its quiet way, the most prestigious of them all.” The Walter W. Naumburg Foundation continues in the pursuit of ideals set out by Walter Naumburg. His desire to assist the young gifted musician in America has made possible a long-standing program of competitions and awards in solo and chamber music performance, composer recordings, conducting and commissions. It was Mr. Naumburg’s firm belief that such competitions were not only for the benefit of new stars, but also very much for those talented young artists who would become prime movers in the development of the highest standards of musical excellence throughout America. The solo competition disciplines rotate from year to year, encompassing piano, violin and voice.
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CCM Season Presenting Sponsor and Musical Theatre Program Sponsor: The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation

Community Partner: ArtsWave

CCM’s Studio Series Opens Next Week With Award-Winning Musical ‘Blood Brothers’

Karl Amundson as Eddie and Thomas Knapp as Mickey in CCM’s Studio Series production of BLOOD BROTHERS, playing Oct. 9 – 11 in the Cohen Family Studio Theater.

CCM kicks off its 2014-15 Studio Series with Willy Russell’s Blood Brothers. Opening Thursday, Oct. 9 and running through Saturday, Oct. 11 in CCM’s Cohen Family Studio Theater, Blood Brothers will enthrall audiences with four performances.

Like all Studio Series productions, admission to Blood Brothers is free, but reservations are required. Tickets become available at noon on Monday, Oct. 6.

Visiting Professor Vince DeGeorge returns to the Studio Series stage as both choreographer and director of this much-anticipated musical. Last season, DeGeorge’s studio production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee received numerous accolades, including nominations for three League of Cincinnati Theatre Awards: Best Musical, Best Director of a Musical and Best Ensemble in a Musical.

Blood Brothers, winner of the 1983 Olivier Award for Best New Musical, is loosely based on the 1844 novella The Corsican Brothers by famed author Alexandre Dumas. DeGeorge describes it as “an epic story of nature versus nurture and class distinction.” It tells the tale of twin brothers separated at birth, but DeGeorge explains that it is also “the personal narrative of two women and the extremes that they’ll go to in order to keep their children safe.”

It was the emotional strength of this story that initially drew DeGeorge to the title. “This is an incredibly well crafted musical with book, music and lyrics by Willy Russell. Every character, scene and song in this piece pushes the narrative forward to its inevitable, tragic conclusion,” he says.

Brianna Barnes, a junior in the musical theatre program at CCM, will play the role of Mrs. Lyons, a major character in Blood Brothers. Barnes talks about developing her character: “playing a character that is significantly older than your actual age is always a challenge, [especially] grasping that level of maturity and wisdom. Love, however, is a universal feeling everyone can relate to. And that’s what is at the core of these two women, their unconditional and relentless love for their children.”

Barnes has immensely enjoyed working with DeGeorge. “Vince undoubtedly has an incredible vision for the production, and really collaborates that vision with our specific abilities.”

The CCM production of Blood Brothers is elegant in its simplicity. The staging serves to emphasize the musical’s raw emotion and the choreography plays a part in setting the stage. Audiences will enjoy movement inspired by the swing era of the mid 40s and 50s. Musical director Steve Goers supports the purity of the performance with his effortless arrangements and graceful piano accompaniment. Blood Brothers is a performance that will deeply affect audiences through its emotional delivery and masterful artistry.

With free admission and limited seating, CCM’s Studio Series productions remain one of the hottest tickets in town. Learn more about how secure your tickets by visiting ccm.uc.edu/about/villagenews/did-you-know/how-to-studio-series.

Cast List
Mrs. Johnstone……………………………………………………………. Hannah Kornfeld
Mrs. Lyons………………………………………………………………….. Brianna Barnes
Mr. Lyons……………………………………………………………………. John Battaliegse
Mickey Johnstone………………………………………………………… Thomas Knapp
Edward Lyons……………………………………………………………..  Karl Amundson
Sammy……………………………………………………………………….. Zach Erhardt
Linda………………………………………………………………………….. Kaela O’Conner
Narrator………………………………………………………………………. Tyler Huckstep
Ensemble……………………………………………………………………. Alec Cohen, Emily Fink, Louis Griffin, Jackson Mattek, Emily Royer, Keaton Whittaker, Hannah Zazzaro

Performance Times

• 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 9
• 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 10
• 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 11

Location
Cohen Family Studio Theater, CCM Village
University of Cincinnati

Reserving Tickets
Admission is free, but reservations are required. Tickets become available at noon on Monday, Oct. 6. Visit the CCM Box Office or call 513-556-4183 to reserve. Limit two tickets per order.

Parking and Directions
Parking is available in the CCM Garage (located at the base of Corry Boulevard off Jefferson Avenue) and additional garages throughout the UC campus. Please visit uc.edu/parking for more information on parking rates.

For detailed maps and directions, please visit uc.edu/visitors. Additional parking is available off-campus at the new U Square complex on Calhoun Street and other neighboring lots.

For directions to CCM Village, visit ccm.uc.edu/about/directions.
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CCM Season Presenting Sponsor and Musical Theatre Program Sponsor: The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation

Community Partner: ArtsWave