CCM Alumni Return in Concert with the US Air Force Band on Oct. 21

Several UC College-Conservatory of Music alumni will return to campus and perform as part of a community relations concert tour with the U.S. Air Force Concert Band and Singing Sergeants at 8 p.m. Friday, October 21 in Corbett Auditorium.

The concert is free and open to the general public but ticket reservations are required. Tickets are available online at https://bit.ly/USAFBandTour or in person at UC’s Veterans Programs and Services Office.

This year marks the 75th anniversary of the U.S. Air Force Band, the premier musical organization of the U.S. Air Force, which includes the Concert Band, Singing Sergeants and four additional ensembles. For three consecutive years, the Concert Band and Singing Sergeants have been the featured performing ensemble of Macy’s nationally broadcast Fourth of July fireworks show in New York City.

The tour is part of the Air Force Band’s “Advancing Innovation Through Music” (AIM) educational outreach program; students will be invited to perform on stage during each concert of the tour. Band members will also host master classes and a panel discussion for CCM students.

CCM alumni in the USAFB. Photo provided by the U.S. Air Force Band.

Eight members of the Concert Band and Singing Sergeants are former CCM students who look forward to return to the stage of their alma mater — three other CCM alumni in the Air Force Band are not part of this tour.

“I am thrilled to be playing at CCM again after almost 17 years,” says Senior Master Sgt. Julianna Arnold (MM Clarinet Performance, 1999). “My experience there as a graduate student enriched my life in many ways and prepared me for a career in music in the Air Force.”

Also represented is an alumnus of CCM Preparatory and Community Engagement. Master Sgt. Adam Green attended the preparatory program between 1980-1985, which he credits for helping him to become a professional musician.

Technical Sgt. Kaitlin Taylor (BM Oboe Performance, 2010) remembers her years at CCM fondly. “I found myself surrounded by inspiring professors with high standards and student peers very committed to their studies,” she says. “The environment was, and is, constantly striving for creative excellence.”

Join us in welcoming the U.S. Air Force Concert Band and Singing Sergeants in concert at 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 21 in CCM’s Corbett Auditorium. Performance details and ticketing information are listed below.

*There is a University of Cincinnati Homecoming Kickoff Party on Sigma Sigma Commons from 6-9 p.m. on Oct. 21. Please be aware there may be heavier-than-normal traffic in and around campus.

About the U.S. Air Force Band (USAFB)
The U.S. Air Force Concert Band and Singing Sergeants are two of the six performing ensembles within the United States Air Force Band, the premier musical organization of the U.S. Air Force. Stationed at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in Washington, D.C., the U.S. Air Force Band honors those who have served, inspires American citizens to heightened patriotism and service and positively impacts the global community on behalf of the U.S. Air Force and the United States of America.

CCM Alumni in the USAFB:
Technical Sgt. Kaitlin Taylor (BM Oboe Performance, 2010)
Technical Sgt. Jilian McGreen (MM Vocal Performance, 2014 and DMA Vocal Performance ABD, anticipated 2017)
Technical Sgt. Benjamin M. Bowers (BM Clarinet Performance, 2003)
Technical Sgt. Val Lukashuk (BM Trumpet Performance, 1999)
Master Sgt. Christian Pagnard (MM Trumpet Performance, 1999)
Chief Master Sgt. Erica Ann Montgomery (MM Percussion Performance, 1990)
Master Sgt. Brooke Emery (MM Clarinet Performance, 2003)
Senior Master Sgt. Julianna Evans Arnold (MM Clarinet Performance, 1999)

Alumni in the USAFB not on tour:
Kathleen Leigh Fitzpatrick (French Horn, 1997-1998)
Technical Sgt. Jess Lightner (MM Tuba Performance, 2003)
Technical Sgt. Will Timmons (MM Trombone Performance, 2009)

Performance Time
8 p.m. Friday, October 21

Location
Corbett Auditorium, CCM Village
University of Cincinnati

Admission
Admission is free and open to the general public but ticket reservations are required. Tickets are available online at https://bit.ly/USAFBandTour or in person at UC’s Veterans Programs and Services Office. Call 513-556-6811 for more information.

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 information on parking rates.

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

CCM Season Presenting Sponsor & Musical Theatre Program Sponsor: The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation
____________________

Story by CCM graduate student Charlotte Kies

Photography provided by the U.S. Air Force Band

CCM Drama Holds Annual Senior Showcase and Dolly Awards on March 27

CCM’s Department of Drama presents its annual Senior Showcase at 2 and 7 p.m. on Friday, March 27, in UC’s Patricia Corbett Theater. The 13th annual DOLLY Awards Ceremony follows the 7 p.m. showcase performance. These events are free and open to the public. Reservations are not required.

CCM’s Class of 2015 in Drama.

The showcase performance will consist of a variety of scenes by graduating seniors in CCM’s Drama program, demonstrating the depth and breadth of the acting skills they have honed during their undergraduate training at CCM. The Senior Showcase will be the first presentation of a performance that the students will be taking on the road to exhibit their talent in New York and Los Angeles in April. You can learn more about the Drama Class of 2015 by visiting ccm.uc.edu/theatre/drama/seniorshowcase.

Hosted by Richard E. Hess, CCM’s A.B., Dolly, Ralph and Julia Cohen Chair of Dramatic Performance, the Annual CCM Drama DOLLY Awards recognize outstanding achievement and performance by students in the Department of Drama. Awards are given for Excellence in Performance and Excellence in Ensemble Performance from the 2014-15 CCM Drama season, which included the productions TRANSMIGRATION 2014, Living Dead in Denmark, Macbeth, Speech and Debate and The Heidi Chronicles.

The evening will also include tributes to CCM faculty members Diane Kvapil and R. Terrell Finney, both of whom will retire at the end of the semester. A faculty member since 1977, Professor Kvapil received the Acclaim Award for Outstanding Theatre Educator in 2011. A faculty member since 1983, Professor Finney currently serves as CCM’s Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Director of Graduate Studies. He is also currently serving as president of the National Association of Schools of Theatre.

CCM alumnus Keith Pillow.

The highlight of the ceremony will be the presentation of the 2015 Julia Winter Cohen Career Excellence Award to a graduate of CCM Drama. This year’s honoree is Keith Pillow, CCM Drama class of 1989. An accomplished film and television actor, Pillow has had recurring roles on Judging Amy, The Shield, The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Awkward and Pretty Little Liars. He has made guest appearances on The Mentalist, Glee, The Goldbergs, Law & Order L.A., TheCloser, Nip/Tuck, Hot in Cleveland, 24, CSI, Cold Case, The Young and the Restless, General Hospital and The Bold and the Beautiful, to name but a few. A classically trained singer and actor, Pillow is also very much at home on the stage. His credits include the Broadway touring company of Show Boat, the role of Pontius Pilate in the European tour of Jesus Christ Superstar, the role of Hud in the European tour of Hair and the role of Jim in the national tour of Big River. He was also featured at the prestigious Theater des Westens in Berlin as Jacob in La Cage aux Folles, and in productions of My Fair Lady, Anything Goes and Evita. In addition to his television and stage credits, Pillow has appeared in over 20 national and regional commercials and numerous films.

About Diane Kvapil

CCM Associate Professor of Drama Diane Kvapil.

Diane L. Kvapil studied at Catholic University in Washington, D.C., and the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York City with Sanford Meisner. She joined CCM’s faculty in 1977 and currently serves as Associate Professor of Drama. Kvapil has directed several notable productions during her time at CCM, including Trojan Woman (with original music by Richard Oberacker), Our Town, Three Sisters (which won the Acclaim Award for Outstanding Ensemble) and Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia. In 2011, she received the Acclaim Award for Outstanding Theatre Educator.

Featured in numerous regional and national touring productions as well as WNET and NBC telecasts, Kvapil has also performed with National Players in Japan, Korea, Canada, North Africa and Bermuda. She is in demand for on-camera commercial work as well as voice overs for radio and television. As a writer, Kvapil has had a teleplay produced for NBC’s Young People’s Specials. She studied with American actor and acting teacher Eric Morris during the summer of 1987.

About R. Terrell Finney

CCM Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, Director of Graduate Studies and Professor of Drama Terrell Finney.

R. Terrell Finney, Jr. is the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Director of Graduate Studies and a Professor of Drama at CCM. A faculty member since 1983, his recent directing credits include Charley’s Aunt, Floyd Collins, Dancing at Lughnasa, The Diviners, Myths and Hymns, As You Like It,Lend Me A Tenor, Chekhov in Yalta, Blithe Spirit and the world premiere of Clever Dick for CCM/Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati, among others. He has also served as a faculty member at Birmingham-Southern College and the Cincinnati School for Creative and Performing Arts.

Finney is a former artistic director of the Showboat Majestic where selected productions included Crimes of the Heart and They’re Playing Our Song. He also directed The Importance of Being Earnest for the Cincinnati Shakespeare Festival. Acting credits include Nurse Nanny Fanny in ETC’s Snow White, Hysterium in the Hot Summer Nights production of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and Argon in CCM’sThe Imaginary Invalid. He has also served as narrator for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.

A graduate of the MFA directing program at Boston University, he spent the summers of 1992 and 1995 in training programs with the Royal National Theatre of Great Britain. A past president of the Ohio Theatre Alliance, Finney previously served as the head of the Division of Opera, Musical Theatere, Drama and Arts Administration at CCM and acted as producer of CCM’s acclaimed Hot Summer Nights from 1998 to 2002. A member of Actors’ Equity Association, he is currently serving as President of the National Association of Schools of Theatre and frequently serves as a consultant to theatre programs across the United States.

Although Finney is retiring this spring, he will make a return to CCM’s Mainstage Series to direct Eugene O’Neill’s Ah, Wilderness! in February of 2016. You can learn more about this production, and the rest of CCM’s upcoming season, by visiting ccm.uc.edu/about/villagenews/notations-ovations/mainstage-series-2015-2016.

Performance Times
2 & 7 p.m., Friday, March 27

Location
Patricia Corbett Theater, CCM Village
University of Cincinnati

Admission Details
Admission to the CCM Drama Senior Showcase and DOLLY Awards Ceremony 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.

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.
_____

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

Community Partner: ArtsWave