CCM Student Olivier Ochanine Takes First Prize at Inaugural Antal Doráti International Conducting Competition

We are thrilled to announce that CCM student Olivier Ochanine has returned home from Budapest with first prize in hand from the inaugural Antal Doráti International Conducting Competition. Ochanine is currently pursuing his doctoral degree in orchestral conducting under the tutelage of CCM Professor Mark Gibson.

In addition to a cash prize of €1.500, Ochanine has been offered a career-advancing contract proposal with Contempoars International Artists Agency.

This exciting new competition for conductors is open to all ages and nationalities. Over the course of six days competitors advanced through five rounds in total. While the eliminatory round welcomed an unlimited number of applicants, jurors only advanced 30 people to the first round. By the end of the competition, jurors eliminated all but three outstanding contestants who advanced to the final round.

In the final round, contestants rehearsed for 60 minutes with the Budapest Symphony Orchestra MÁV. Each rehearsed two pieces, Béla Bartók’s Hungarian Peasant Songs Sz.100, and either Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6 movement I, Johannes Brahms’ Symphony No. 1 movement IV or Claude Debussy’s Prélude à l’après midi d’un faune. Directly following the rehearsal each contestant performed a work from their assigned repertoire in concert for a public audience.

The competition was judged by some of Europe’s finest conductors:

• Tamás Vásáry (Hungary), president of the jury
• György Lendvai, managing director of Budapest Symphony Orchestra MÁV
• Pietro Borgonovo (Italy), artistic director of Giovine Orchestra Genovese and chief conductor of Orchestra Sinfonica di Savona
• Vittorio Parisi, teacher of orchestra conducting at the Conservatorio G. Verdi in Milan
• Márton Rácz (Hungary), conductor, music director, Eszterháza Centre of Culture, Research and Festivals, Esterházy Castle; Szigligeti Theatre, Szolnok

CCM doctoral student Olivier Ochanine.

About Olivier Ochanine
Regularly praised for his charisma on and off the podium as well as for his breadth of orchestral repertoire, Olivier Ochanine is the youngest music director of the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra in the orchestra’s history.

A native of Paris, Ochanine began music studies in France. He continued his studies in the US, and expanded his focus to orchestral conducting, taking up graduate studies and attending master classes with some of the best conducting mentors, including Mark Gibson, Gustav Meier, Marin Alsop, Larry Livingston, Robert Baldwin, John Barnett, John Farrer and Achim Holub. He obtained his Master of Music degree in Conducting from the University of Southern California (USC), where he was given the Conducting Department Award in 2003. In 2009, he began his doctoral studies in orchestral conducting at CCM.

A flutist and bassist, Ochanine earned his Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Kentucky. He has also played as bassist for the Lexington Philharmonic Orchestra.

Ochanine has been invited to the California Conductors Institute several times. In 2009, Ochanine was among a handful of conductors nationally to be invited by Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Music Director Marin Alsop to conduct in the Cabrillo Music Festival in Santa Cruz, California and to participate in a conducting workshop. He has also been a participant in CCM’s prestigious conducting workshops.

Ochanine’s term with the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra, the nation’s leading orchestra, started with the 2010-11 performance season. Under his leadership, the orchestra has performed numerous Philippine premieres. In the Philippines, Ochanine is an active clinician, leading chamber music master classes at schools; he has also led conducting master classes for the Cultural Center of the Philippines. As part of his outreach mission, Ochanine serves as head visiting conductor for the Orchestra of the Filipino Youth, a program geared toward talented youth that stem from severely unfortunate financial backgrounds. Ochanine is a strong believer in advocacy and heritage, and recently won a campaign he spearheaded to save the best performance hall in Manila – the Philamlife Theater – from demolishment by a large commercial developer.

Olivier is second prizewinner in the 2015 London Classical Soloists International Conducting Competition, where he conducted the orchestra in various Beethoven symphonies. He was also selected as semi-finalist for the American Prize (2015) in the Professional Orchestra Conducting division. Finalists are announced later in the year.

Guest conducting appearances have led him to the Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra, CCM orchestras and regular engagements with the Sichuan Philharmonic Orchestra. Upcoming engagements include a return to the Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra and a Russian debut with the Moscow State Symphony Orchestra.

Learn more about Olivier Ochanine by visiting www.olivierochanine.com.

Learn more about CCM’s Department of Orchestral Studies by visiting ccm.uc.edu/music/orchestra.

 

‘The Washington Post’ Spotlights the Innovative Teaching Methods of CCM Alumna Angela Ammerman

CCM alumna Angela Ammerman, née Hamester (BM Music Education, 2006), is gaining a great deal of attention thanks to her engaging approach to music education. In a recent Washington Post profile, reporter Moriah Balingit suggested, “If there was ever a music teacher prodigy, Angela Ammerman might be it.”

A teacher at Annandale High School in Fairfax County, Virginia, Ammerman was recently named the Virginia Orchestra Director of the Year by the American String Teachers Association. The Washington Post describes the honor as follows:

“It’s an award she earned for her one-of-a-kind method of teaching music, engaging students who range from the experienced elite to recent immigrants who are picking up an instrument for the first time.”

CCM alumna Angela Ammerman.

In describing her approach to the classroom to the Washington Post, Ammerman explained, “The kids don’t realize they’re learning. I just try to make the class environment really fun.”

A native of Cincinnati, Ammerman earned her Bachelor of Music Education degree from CCM and then pursued her masters degree at Boston University. She is currently working on her PhD in Music Education at George Mason University.

In the course of her studies, Ammerman has performed under the direction of distinguished conductors James Levine, Erich Kunzel, Xian Zhang, Steven Coker and Mark Gibson. She studied piano with Michael Chertock and Richard Morris. Additionally, Ammerman studied music education theory and practice with authorities Lizbeth Wing, and McGraw Hill’s Multi-Cultural Specialist Rene Boyer.

Upon graduation from CCM, Ammerman taught general music classes for Miamisburg City Schools in Miamisburg, Ohio. In 2007, she and her husband relocated to Jacksonville, North Carolina, where she was appointed Orchestra Director of Swansboro Middle and High School. While in North Carolina, Ammerman drastically increased orchestra membership, consistently received superior ratings at festival, and was selected Beginning Teacher of the Year.

In 2010, Ammerman was awarded the position of Orchestra Director at Robinson Middle School and Bonnie Brae Elementary School.  While living in Stafford, Ammerman also conducted the Rappahannock Youth Symphony’s Primo Orchestra from 2011-14

Ammerman currently maintains an orchestra program of nearly 150 students at Annandale High School in Fairfax County Public Schools.

Ammerman’s research has been featured in the American String Teacher Association’s 2014 Fall Issue and the National Association for Music Educators’ 2014 National Research Conference in St. Louis. Ammerman has presented research and practical sessions at International, National and State Music Education Conferences.

Ammerman’s studies and experiences have laid the groundwork for her philosophy of music education: that Critical Pedagogy provides students with a transformative and synergetic learning environment. Ammerman looks forward to helping students realize that music is a culturally valuable activity for everyone’s enjoyment; that music is historically relevant, provides a lab for students to apply the scientific method, and is a universal form of self and group expression.

Ammerman lives with her husband, Allen Ammerman, and three dogs in Alexandria, Virginia. She is a member of the Music Educators National Conference, American String Teachers Association and has been a guest conductor in All County and All City Orchestras. In her free time, she enjoys reading, writing, watching The Office, shoe shopping and practicing!

You can read her profile in the Washington Post at www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/fairfax-music-teacher-lauded-for-her-electrifying-methods/2015/12/06/d587163c-9ace-11e5-8917-653b65c809eb_story.

CCM Alumnus Brad Myers Releases New Album To 4-Star Review From Famed Jazz Magazine

We are thrilled to report that the new album from guitarist and CCM alumnus Brad Myers (MM Jazz Studies, 2015) has been recognized by the famed jazz magazine DownBeat as one of the best albums of the year!

Myers’ album Prime Numbers will be among the new releases honored in the magazine’s January 2016 edition. This is the first album on which Meyers serves as lead member. The album also features the talents of fellow CCM Jazz Studies alums Tom Buckley, Peter Gemus, Ben Walkenhauer, Dominic Marino, Michael Mavridoglou and Brian Schwab!

‘Prime Numbers,’ a new album by CCM alumnus Brad Myers.

Myers and Prime Numbers receive this honor after writer Bill Milkowski gave the album four out of five stars in a DownBeat review earlier this year. Milowski lauds Myers for his “old-school soulfulness, a highly syncopated sense of comping and a relaxed sense of swing on his long-overdue debut as a leader;” he furthermore compliments Myers and his group for “[marrying] modernist ideas with a straightahead [sic] sound.”

The adulation afforded Myers is appropriate considering his lengthy career. A musician since he was six years old, the guitarist spent the previous 20 years working as a sideman and co-director with various jazz groups and ensembles around his hometown of Washington, D.C. and Cincinnati. He made a name for himself performing with local acts such as Ray’s Music Exchange, Aja (a Steely Dan tribute ensemble), Jeremy Pinnell & the 55s, and Savoy Truffle among others. He has also had the fortune to share the stage with many internationally known performers including Bela Fleck, John Scofield, Stanley Jordan, Victor Wooten and Matt Wilson.

You can learn more about Brad Myers by visiting www.musicbybrad.com.

CCM, Cincinnati Opera and Opera Theatre of Saint Louis Stream Excerpts from ‘Shalimar the Clown’ on Dec. 8

CCM and Cincinnati Opera awarded the fall 2015 Opera Fusion: New Works residency to the new American opera Shalimar the Clown, which will have its world premiere at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis on June 11, 2016. Composed by Jack Perla to a libretto by Rajiv Joseph, and adapted from the Salman Rushdie novel, the opera was workshopped from Oct. 7 -17, with a free public performance of excerpts on Oct. 17 at the Transept in Over-the-Rhine. The workshop was directed by James Robinson, artistic director at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, who will also direct the mainstage premiere, and conducted by Roberto Kalb, the resident assistant conductor at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis.

On Tuesday, December 8, a recording of that live performance will stream online, one time only, at 3 p.m. Eastern/2 p.m. Central. To watch, visit livestream.com/cincinnatiopera/ShalimartheClown.

Artists featured in the workshop performance include instrumentalists Javad Butah (tabla) and Hans Utter (sitar), and singers Brandon Scott Russell, Andrea Wells, Tyler Alessi, Christian Pursell, Chelsea Melamed, Ann Toomey, Kayleigh Decker, Blake Lampton, Vernon Hartman, Robert Stahley and Ben Lee.

About Shalimar the Clown
Shalimar the Clown tells the story of Shalimar and his beloved Boonyi, who have grown up together in a pastoral Kashmiri village, making people laugh as acrobats and dancers in a traditional folk theater. Though one is Muslim and one is Hindu, they fall in love—and despite all odds, their village embraces their marriage. But when a new American ambassador sees Boonyi dance, dark clouds gather. The promise of a new life tears their love apart and sends Shalimar down a path of revenge.

About Opera Fusion: New Works
Opera Fusion: New Works, a unique collaboration between Cincinnati Opera and CCM’s Department of Opera, was created in 2011 to foster the development of new American operas. The program offers composers or composer/librettist teams the opportunity to workshop an opera during a 10-day residency in Cincinnati, utilizing the talent, personnel, and facilities of both organizations. The workshops are cast with a combination of CCM students and professional artists, and each workshop concludes with a public performance. The program is led by co-artistic directors Marcus Küchle, Director of Artistic Operations of Cincinnati Opera, and Robin Guarino, the J. Ralph Corbett Distinguished Chair of Opera at CCM. Opera Fusion: New Works is generously funded by a grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

In 2011, Opera Fusion: New Works awarded its first workshop to composer Douglas J. Cuomo and librettist John Patrick Shanley in support of their new opera Doubt, which premiered at Minnesota Opera in January 2013. In 2012, Opera Fusion: New Works provided workshops for Champion, by composer Terence Blanchard and librettist Michael Cristofer, which premiered at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis in June 2013; and Morning Star, by composer Ricky Ian Gordon and librettist William M. Hoffman, which premiered at Cincinnati Opera in June 2015. In 2013, the residency went to Fellow Travelers, by composer Gregory Spears and librettist Greg Pierce, which will have its world premiere at Cincinnati Opera on June 17, 2016. In 2014, the program invited composer Jake Heggie and librettist Terrence McNally to workshop Great Scott, which premiered at The Dallas Opera on October 30, 2015. For the final workshop of the original six-workshop grant, the residency was awarded to Meet John Doe, with music and libretto by the late Daniel Catán. The first workshop of the second six-opera grant cycle was given in October 2015 to Shalimar the Clown.

About composer Jack Perla
Composer and pianist Jack Perla is active in opera, jazz, chamber, and symphonic music. His operas and instrumental compositions have been widely performed, and he has performed in the U.S., Europe, and Japan, forging a reputation for his unique cross-fertilization of jazz and classical music. Perla has been commissioned by Seattle Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Houston Grand Opera, and the Barlow Endowment for Music Composition. He is also a recipient of the Thelonious Monk Institute Jazz Composers Award, as well as awards, support, and recognition from the Argosy Fund for New Music, the MacDowell Colony, Yaddo, and numerous other organizations. Called “a gripping piece of musical theater,” An American Dream, Perla’s fifth work for a major U.S. company, received its premiere with Seattle Opera in August 2015. Enormous Changes, Perla’s third jazz recording, was recently released on Origin Records, and Pretty Boy, a new disc of chamber and vocal music, is slated for release this winter. Perla grew up in Brooklyn and lived in New York City while attending NYU and the Manhattan School of Music. He earned his D.M.A. in composition from the Yale School of Music, and lives and works in San Francisco.

About librettist Rajiv Joseph
Rajiv Joseph is the author of the Broadway play Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, which was a 2010 Pulitzer Prize finalist for Drama and was also awarded a grant for Outstanding New American Play by the National Endowment for the Arts. Joseph’s other plays include Guards at the Taj, The North Pool, Gruesome Playground Injuries, Animals Out of Paper, Mr. Wolf, and The Lake Effect. Joseph has written for television, including seasons 3 and 4 of the award-winning Showtime series Nurse Jackie. He also has written for film, and is the co-writer of the 2014 Lionsgate feature Draft Day and the upcoming release, Army of One. He received his B.A. in Creative Writing from Miami University and his M.F.A. in Dramatic Writing from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. He served for three years in the Peace Corps in Senegal and now lives in Brooklyn.

About stage director James Robinson
James Robinson is the artistic director at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, where he has directed the world premieres of Terence Blanchard’s Champion and Ricky Ian Gordon’s 27 in addition to John Adams’s Nixon in China and The Death of Klinghoffer, the American premiere of Unsuk Chin’s Alice in Wonderland and Tobias Picker’s Emmeline. His work has been seen throughout the world at such companies as the Wexford Festival, the Royal Swedish Opera, Opera Australia, Canadian Opera Company, the London Symphony, Welsh National Opera, San Francisco Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Seattle Opera, New York City Opera, Dallas Opera, Washington National Opera, Los Angeles Opera, the Hollywood Bowl, and the Aspen Music Festival. He has directed several productions for the Santa Fe Opera, including the American premiere of Huang Ruo’s Dr. Sun Yat-Sen and will return in 2016 for Vanessa. Other future projects include Nixon in China for Houston Grand Opera, The Elixir of Love for the Canadian Opera Company, and the world premiere of Shalimar the Clown for Opera Theatre of Saint Louis.

Opera Fusion: New Works is sponsored by a generous grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

 

CCM Celebrates the Sounds of the Season With Feast of Carols and Cincinnati Children’s Choir Holiday Concerts This Month

Hundreds of voices will fill the stage of Corbett Auditorium this month as CCM celebrates the season with two separate holiday-themed concert programs.

The annual Feast of Carols returns with 2 and 5 p.m. performances on both Saturday, Dec. 5, and Sunday, Dec. 6.

The following Saturday, Dec. 12, CCM ensemble-in-residence the Cincinnati Children’s Choir presents its Holiday Concert with performances at 2 and 5 p.m.

The annual Feast of Carols – a tradition that dates back decades – will embrace a variety of holiday songs ranging from the classic and traditional to the contemporary. CCM’s Chamber Choir, Chorale and Concert Orchestra will be joined by the UC Men’s and Women’s Choruses, Cincinnati Children’s Choir and guest choirs from Elder, Sycamore and Walnut Hills High Schools for four performances of holiday favorites.

Conductors Earl Rivers, Brett Scott, Robyn Lana, Christopher Albanese, Alexander Sutton, David F. Allen, Kenneth Holdt and Anthony Nims invite audiences to sing along to cherished holiday carols during the spectacular “Fa-La-La” finale with audience, combined choirs and CCM’s Concert Orchestra.

The Cincinnati Children’s Choir’s Holiday Concert will feature all 450 members of the Choir, including CCM resident choirs and satellite choirs from across the tri-state area, performing holiday songs from around the globe. Robyn Lana conducts.

Only a limited number of seats remain for each of these performances! Please see individual listings below for ticket prices and additional information.
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Event Information

 2 & 5 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 5
2 & 5 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 6
FEAST OF CAROLS
CCM’s Chamber Choir, Chorale and Concert Orchestra, UC Men’s and Women’s Choruses; Cincinnati Children’s Choir and guest choirs from Elder, Sycamore and Walnut High Schools
Earl Rivers, Brett Scott, Robyn Lana, Christopher Albanese, Alexander Sutton, David F. Allen, Kenneth Holdt and Anthony Nims, conductors

Location: Corbett Auditorium
Tickets: $15 adult, $10 non-UC students, UC students FREE.

2 & 5 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 12
HOLIDAY CONCERT
Cincinnati Children’s Choir
Robyn Lana, music director

Location: Corbett Auditorium
Tickets: $15 general admission, $10 non-UC students, UC students FREE.

Purchasing Tickets
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.

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

The Application Deadline is Approaching for the CSO/CCM Diversity Fellowship!

Time is running out to apply for the CSO/CCM Diversity Fellowship! The University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra are accepting applications for the inaugural class of CSO/CCM Diversity Fellows through Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2015!

Funded by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, this one-of-a-kind program provides an unparalleled learning experience for violin, viola, violoncello and double bass players coming from populations that are historically underrepresented in classical music.

Fellows receive full tuition scholarship support while earning a Master of Music or Artist Diploma degree at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.

Fellows perform the equivalent of five weeks per season with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.

Each fellow receives compensation of $8,000 per season while performing with the CSO.

Fellows receive a $10,000 per year graduate stipend and one-time Graduate School Dean’s Excellence Award of $3,000 from CCM.

The deadline to apply is Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2015. For application and audition requirements, visit us at ccm.uc.edu/chance2perform.

Apply online now at ccm.uc.edu/admissions/application/gradapplication.

Questions? Email us at ccmadmis@uc.edu.

CCM Flute Students and Alumni Achieve Clean Sweep at North Carolina Flute Competition

We are thrilled to report that current and former CCM students took all three top prizes at the inaugural Artist Competition held by the Raleigh Area Flute Association (RAFA)! The competition took place on Nov. 14, 2015, during the organization’s annual Flute Fair in Raleigh, North Carolina.

All three winners are current or former students of famed performer and CCM faculty member Randolph Bowman:

• First Place: Matthew Ross. Ross is a current master of music student at CCM. For winning the competition, he received a $1,000 cash prize and will be invited to perform a full recital during RAFA’s 2016–17 season.
• Second Place: Lindsay Leach-Sparks. Sparks, who currently resides in Chapel Hill, N.C., is a 2012 graduate of CCM, earning her Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) degree. She was awarded a $500 prize for finishing second.
• Third Place: Jennifer Gosack. Gosack is currently pursuing her DMA at CCM; she also previously earned a 2011 Artist Diploma (AD) and 2010 MM from the college. For her third-place finish, she won a $250 cash prize.

From left to right, RAFA President Rosene Rohrer, Jennifer M. Gosack (3rd place winner), Matthew Ross (1st place winner), Lindsay Leach-Sparks (2nd place winner), and Artistic Competition Coordinator Catherine LeGrand. Photo by Darryl Kessler/Riverview Photography.

About the RAFA
RAFA, formerly the Raleigh Area Flute Association, is a nonprofit corporation founded in 1985. In addition to our extensive family of teachers and students, we have several flute choirs that perform throughout the Raleigh and Greater Triangle Areas. Our parent organization, the Raleigh Flute Choir, is home to some of the best flutists in Raleigh and beyond, but RAFA with its membership roster of over 300 flutists encourages everyone to strive for their best flute playing.

RAFA presents workshops, masterclasses, and competitions all year, but our favorite event is our annual Flute Fair, held in mid-fall, where all our members gather together for presentations, guest artists, recitals, and flute-related vendors all in one! We support activities through membership dues and contributions from both individuals and businesses throughout the area as well as nationwide.

The mission of the Raleigh Area Flute Association is to:

• promote flute playing in the Raleigh area,
• promote the enjoyment and appreciation of the flute,
• assist members in achieving musical excellence, and
• provide scholarships for worthy students.

Join us in congratulating these current and former students on their achievements!

CCM Slideshows: Franz Lehár’s The Merry Widow

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CCM’s Mainstage Series resumes this evening through this Sunday, Nov. 22, with a delightful new production of Franz Lehár’s witty operetta The Merry Widow. Conducted by Aik Khai Pung with stage direction by Emma Griffin, this production of The Merry Widow will be sung in English with a translation by renowned American lyricist Sheldon Harnick. Tickets are still available for select performances.

Featuring a score that Stage and Cinema describes as “a rich musical mix of Viennese waltzes, Hungarian folk dances and French insouciance,” The Merry Widow is a sparking romp in which farce, romance and jealousy abound. Join us for a fantastical Parisian bar crawl, as the fate of an entire nation hangs in the balance!

Learn more about the creation of The Merry Widow‘s costumes by clicking here.

Performance Times

• 8 p.m. Thursday, Nov.19
• 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 20
• 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 21
• 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 23

Location
Patricia Corbett Theater, CCM Village
University of Cincinnati

Purchasing Tickets
Tickets to Franz Lehár’s The Merry Widow are $31-35 for adults, $20-24 for non-UC students and $18-22 UC students with a valid ID.

$12-$15 student rush tickets will become available one hour prior to each performance; limit two student rush tickets per 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/mainstage/merry-widow.

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

Mainstage Season Production Sponsor: Macy’s

Community Partner: ArtsWave

CSO Director Louis Langrée Presents Free Lecture at CCM on Nov. 24

The UC Fellows of the Graduate School Distinguished Speaker Series welcomes acclaimed conductor Louis Langrée for a special guest lecture at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 24.

Langrée serves as Music Director of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Chief Conductor of the Camerata Salzburg and Music Director of the Mostly Mozart Festival at Lincoln Center in New York.

During the 2015-16 season, his concerts with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra will include a Brahms Festival and three world premiere Concertos for Orchestra by Sebastian Currier, Thierry Escaich and Zhou Tian. They will also perform in New York as part of the 50th anniversary season of Lincoln Center’s Great Performers series. With the Camerata Salzburg, Langrée will tour Germany and other guest engagements include the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra (opening their annual Mendelssohn Festival) and performances of Così fan tutte with the Freiburger Barockorchester at the Aix-en-Provence Festival.

Langrée has worked with many other orchestras around the world including the London Symphony, London Philharmonic, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Santa Cecilia in Rome, Sao Paulo, Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen and Budapest Festival orchestras. His festival appearances have included Wiener Festwochen, Salzburg Mozartwoche and Whitsun, BBC Proms and Glyndebourne Festival Opera. He has held positions as Music Director of the Orchestre de Picardie (1993-98) and Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège (2001-06).

Langrée was Music Director of Opéra National de Lyon (1998-2000) and Glyndebourne Touring Opera (1998-2003). He has also conducted at La Scala, the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Opéra Comique, Opéra-Bastille and Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Dresden Staatsoper, Grand Théâtre in Geneva and the Netherlands Opera in Amsterdam.

Langrée’s first commercial recording with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra features Copland’s A Lincoln Portrait (narrated by Dr Maya Angelou) and world premieres by Nico Muhly and David Lang. Louis Langrée’s recordings have received several awards from Gramophone and Midem Classical. He was appointed Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres in 2006 and Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur in 2014.

His talk will address the challenges and rewards of a conductor in the 21st century.

Event Time
4 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 24

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

Admission
Admission to this lecture is free and open to the general public. Reservations are not required.

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.

The Robert J. Werner Recital Hall is located on the 2000 level of CCM’s Mary Emery Hall. The recital hall’s lobby is directly accessible from level P3 of the CCM Garage. Enter CCM’s facilities through the garage entrances marked “Werner Recital Hall” (as opposed to “Corbett Center for the Performing Arts”) for easiest access to the hall’s lobby.

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 & Musical Theatre Program Sponsor: The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation

Community Partner: ArtsWave

CCM’s Department of Dance Presents Diverse, Collaborative Concert of Mixed Repertoire Dec. 4-6

CCM’s Department of Dance presents an impressive array of diverse and collaborative selections in this year’s Fall Dance Concert, running Dec. 4-6 in the Patricia Corbett Theater. The concert features works choreographed by guest artists Diego Salterini and David Hochoy, along with contributions by CCM faculty members Andre Megerdichian and Deirdre Carberry.

The concert begins with the classic staging of the famous pas de deux from Le Corsaire, staged by CCM Associate Professor of Dance Deirdre Carberry. Set to music by Adolphe Adam, who also wrote the popular ballet Giselle and the Christmas song “O Holy Night,” the pas de deux is one of the most beloved selections in the entire ballet cannon. “This dance is so grand and virtuosic. It really starts off the concert by showing the audience who we are as a program,” explains Andre Megerdichian, an Assistant Professor of Dance at CCM and the director of this year’s Fall Dance Concert.

On the heels of this classic start comes the largest and most collaborative performance of the night, Night’s Daughters, which is an original collaboration by Megerdichian and CCM Drama visiting faculty member Giles Davies. The piece explores the consequences of betrayal, but in a unique way, “Usually stories of betrayal are told from the perspective of the one betrayed, but this story is told from the perspective of the one who commits the act and details how one puts themselves back together afterward,” says Megerdichian.

Joining the dancers on stage will be a drummer, a Shakespearean actor and the quirky harp duo Beyond Pluck, who are quickly making a name for themselves thanks to their classic rock covers for the harp. “Beyond Pluck members Rachel Miller and Paula Bressmen are adventurous and were really excited to create this with us,” says Megerdichian. Usually understood to be stationary instruments, the harps in Night’s Daughters will move around the stage on custom-built platforms and are an integral part of the piece’s movement.

Diego Salterini, founding co-director of Dance Now! Miami, choreographs the third work, Themes and Variations. The Interlochen and Joffrey Ballet faculty member created the work specifically for CCM, which features dancers on pointe, but with a twist, “It’s not traditional ballet by any means, it’s far more contemporary with a jazzy element to it,” explains Megerdichian.

To end the show with a bang, the department presents the incredibly athletic and strenuous iconoGlass, which features music by the renowned composer Philip Glass. Choreographed by David Hochoy, artistic director of the Indianapolis-based company Dance Kaleidoscope, the work premiered in 1998 with a cast that included Megerdichian himself as one of the featured dancers. “I remember being completely exhausted after this piece, so it’s an amazing challenge for our dancers,” says Megerdichian.

The 2015 Fall Dance Concert is a collection of varied and exciting works that will showcase the unbelievable versatility of the students in CCM’s Department of Dance.

Performance Times

• 8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 4
• 8 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 5
• 3 and 7 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 6

Location
Patricia Corbett Theater, CCM Village
University of Cincinnati

Purchasing Tickets
Tickets to the “Fall Dance 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/concerts/dance.

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 & Musical Theatre Program Sponsor: The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation

Community Partner: ArtsWave

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