Two Cincinnati Middle School Students Win Grants to Attend the CCM Experience Camp

Two Cincinnati students who participated in the Educational Theatre Association’s JumpStart Theatre program will have the opportunity to attend the CCM Experience performing arts camp at the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music. Thanks to a generous gift to CCM from the Cincinnati Symphony Club, JumpStart Theatre students Keyshawn Townsend from Aiken New Tech High School and Tychod “Jay” Smith from Oyler School will each receive a grant that will cover camp tuition for the students to attend July 9-20.

Tychod “Jay” Smith at JumpStart Theatre.

JumpStart Theatre is a three-year scalable program designed to bring musical theatre into schools that currently do not have a performing arts program, created by the Cincinnati-based national association, Educational Theatre Association, in collaboration with New York City-based companies iTheatrics and Music Theatre International (MTI). Townsend and Smith participated in the program during the 2017-18 school year, which culminated in a showcase performance at Memorial Hall in May.

CCM has contributed to JumpStart Theatre by sharing resources of costumes and props for student productions. The two organizations are also connected through CCM Preparatory and Community Engagement (CCM Prep) instructors Becca Kloha Strand and Dee Anne Bryll, who are both program coordinators at JumpStart Theatre. Strand is the director of the musical theatre track at the CCM Experience, where Bryll is a guest artist. CCM Prep Coordinator of Special Projects and Programs Amy Dennison is the director of the summer arts camp.

Keyshawn Townsend at JumpStart Theatre.

Strand said, “Keyshawn performed the role of Horton the Elephant in Seussical, Jr. last year at Aiken New Tech, as a part of the JumpStart Theatre program. As a leader both on stage and off, he truly embodied the role of Horton. The CCM Experience camp will be a wonderful opportunity for Keyshawn to exercise and grow his talents as a younger performer.”

Tiffaney Hamm, enrichment program manager at Oyler said, “Tychod is a special young man with a lot of talent. We chose him for this camp because his dream is to perform on stage, as he wants to have a life of acting and performing. This was Jay’s first year at Oyler and he came alive, forming great connections with his cast mates and peers. He continues to work hard in school even when obstacles get in the way. He is a really great kid, and I am proud to have him as a student.”

Offered through CCM Prep, the CCM Experience is an exciting new two-week summer program that combines dance, theatre and music for students ages 8-15. Students study at one of the finest performing arts schools in the country and take classes in multiple areas of concentration including instrumental music, acting, musical theatre, voice or dance. Each day students will have the opportunity to try something new, take a tour, make their own props, costumes and instruments, and learn more about how to be a professional artist. The program culminates with a fantastic showcase where students are put front and center on one of CCM’s stages.

“We look forward to our first CCM Experience Camp and are excited to welcome the two Cincinnati Symphony Club scholarship recipients from JumpStart Theatre,” said John Martin, Assistant Dean of CCM Preparatory and Community Engagement. “CCM Prep, the Cincinnati Symphony Club and the Educational Theatre Association share the same goal — to support excellence in the performing arts and provide engaging and accessible arts education to the community at large.”

Learn more about the Educational Theatre Association online at schooltheatre.org/about/mission.

About Jumpstart Theatre
The JumpStart Theatre pilot started in Cincinnati in the 2015-16 school year, and three schools moved to self-sustainability this year after completing three years in the program: Holmes Middle School, Finneytown Middle School, and James N. Gamble Montessori High School. In November 2017, the first expansion to St. Louis and San Diego was announced, and in June, 2018 an expansion to Atlanta for the 2019-20 school year was announced. In total 39 middle schools will have sustainable musical theatre programs where there previously were none.

About CCM Preparatory and Community Engagement
CCM Prep offers a wide variety of programs in music, dance and theatre arts for all ages and levels — pre-professional students preparing for a future in the performing arts and arts enthusiasts of all ages and abilities. Programs are offered throughout the year for youth, teens and adults at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and through numerous satellite locations and community partnerships. We aim to provide excellent and accessible arts opportunities within a highly creative environment that educates and inspires the whole student, serving as a catalyst for transforming and empowering our communities. Learn more at ccm.uc.edu/prep or contact CCM Prep directly by emailing ccmprep@uc.edu or calling 513-556-2595.

CCM Prep’s 2014-15 Program Offerings Guide Is Now Available Online

Immerse yourself in the performing arts through CCM’s Preparatory Department!

CCM Prep offers a wide variety of programs in Music, Dance and the Theatre Arts for both pre-professional students and arts enthusiasts of all ages.

CCM Prep offers a relaxed and welcoming environment where students of all ages may explore their artistic interests. Download a digital copy of this year’s Program Offerings brochure to find out about CCM Prep’s program offerings, tuition rates and more.

Download a copy of CCM Prep’s 2014-15 Program Offerings today. Copies are also available at the CCM Prep Office.

You can request a free physical copy of the Program Guide by calling 513-556-2595 or emailing ccmprep@uc.edu.

CCM Prep Announces Continuation of its New Horizons Orchestra Program

We are thrilled to announce the continuation of the CCM Preparatory Department‘s (CCM Prep) popular New Horizon Orchestra, an innovative program for beginning musicians over the age of 50 who want to learn to play a musical instrument. No previous musical experience is required, so it is truly “never too late!”

Come to CCM Prep’s “Play Days” this month to learn more about the New Horizons Orchestra and for the opportunity to try out various string instruments under the guidance of CCM educators and other local string professionals. Instrument purchase and rental information will also be available at each of these meetings. Those who would like to know more, but are unable to attend one of the informational meetings, may contact the CCM Prep Office at 513-556-2595.

Information Sessions – “Play Days”

• 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, August 9 at UC Blue Ash, Muntz Hall Commons
• 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, August 16 at UC Blue Ash, Muntz Hall Commons

CCM Faculty, Alumni and Programs Make Headlines This Summer

CCM continues to make headlines! See what the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Variety and more are saying about our faculty members, our alumni and our academic programs:

CCM Musical Theatre alumna Gabrielle Stravelli (BFA, 2001) received a glowing write-up in this Monday’s issue of the New York Times, with critic Stephen Holden calling her recent performance at the Metropolitan Room “intoxicating” and proclaiming that she, “recalled Ella Fitzgerald in her prime.” Stravelli next performs at the Metropolitan Room on July 29 and 31. Read the review here.

The New York Times also featured the World’s Fair Play Festival at the Queens Theater as its “Critics’ Pick” this week. A presentation of 10 original 10-minute long plays inspired by the 1939 and 19647 World’s Fairs, the festival has several notable CCM ties, with CCM Assistant Professor of Drama Brant Russell serving as a producer and director of the festival and Sarah Vargo (BFA, 2014) working as Assistant Director. Todd Almond (BM, 1999) was commissioned to write one of the festival’s new plays. The World’s Fair Play Festival runs through Sunday, July 27, 2014. Read the review here.

CCM Drama alumna Diane Rogers (MFA, 1992) also received accolades this week for the new musical COUPLED. Rogers wrote the music, lyrics and book to COUPLED, which Broadway World deems a “must-see.” The show plays through Aug. 10 at the Jimmy Ferraro Studio Theatre in New Port Richey, Florida. Read the review here.

Earlier this month, Variety published an interview with Musical Theatre alumnus Mickey Fisher (BFA, 1995), whose show Extant is one of the summer’s most highly anticipated television events. Fisher wrote the script and will serve as an executive producer for Extant, a futuristic thriller produced by Steven Spielberg’s Amblin TV for CBS with Halle Berry starring. Read the feature here.

The Times-Picayue recently profiled CCM faculty members Diane Lala and Robert Pavlovich in a feature on Tulane’s Summer Lyric Theatre production of A Chorus Line. Lala directed and choreographed this critically acclaimed production, which starred Pavlovich as formidable stage director Zach. Fellow CCM faculty member Roger Grodsky provided musical direction. Read the feature here.

CCM alumnus/composer Evan Mack (MM, 2005; DMA, 2008) and CCM alumnus/librettist Joshua McGuire (MM, 2005) are getting attention for their new opera, Roscoe, which received an Opera Saratoga workshop performance earlier in the summer. Last month, the Times Union profiled the opera, which is an adaptation of the best-selling novel of the same name by Pulitzer Prize-winning author William Kennedy. Read the feature here.

Earlier this summer, CCM Prep’s New Horizons Orchestra was featured in the Wall Street Journal. The Journal reported on the growing popularity of ensembles for older players. Read the feature here.

See who else is making headlines by visiting ccm.uc.edu/about/villagenews/in-the-news.

CCM Spotlights Talented Young Performers and Acclaimed Guest Artists During Summer 2014 Performance Series

Marianna Prjevalskaya, 2013 World Piano Competition Gold Medalist. Photography by David Rafie.

Young artists from all corners of the globe will make their way to Cincinnati this summer to work with CCM’s world-class faculty and renowned guest artists while in residence at the state-of-the-art CCM Village.

CCM offers a wide array of high caliber summer programs, and the general public can experience the artistry themselves during a series of nearly 50 public performances and guest artist recitals running Monday, June 9, through Saturday, Aug. 9, 2014.

A complete schedule of summer performances is listed below, with highlights including the World Piano Competition’s Finalists Concert featuring the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra on June 28, the Art of the Piano’s Guest Artist Recital Series (curated by CCM faculty member and World Piano Competition Artistic Director Awadagin Pratt) running June 27 – July 11, the Classical Guitar Workshop’s Concert Series running July 13 – 19 and a semi-staged production of Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’Amore (The Elixir of Love) on Aug. 9.

CCM’s Preparatory Department also hosts a number of workshops and immersion programs at CCM Village and at various off-campus locations throughout the summer, including the Cincinnati Young Artist Chamber Music Workshop Series, which features performances by Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra cellist and CCM faculty member Alan Rafferty, CCM Professor of Viola Catharine Carroll and CCM string quartet-in-residence the Ariel Quartet. Other highlights include the Centerstage Workshop production of Hoodie playing June 27 – 28 at UC Blue Ash’s Muntz Theater and the Cincinnati Children’s Choir’s summer concert on Aug. 2.

Learn more about these and dozens of other performing and media arts events by referring to the list below. You can also view a digital copy of CCM’s Summer 2014 Performance Calendar by clicking here.

CCM Prep Presents ‘Xanadu, Jr.’ and ‘Peter and the Wolf’ This Spring

The CCM Youth Ballet Company performed ‘Peter and the Wolf’ at Music Hall with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra earlier this season.

CCM’s Preparatory Department proudly presents its annual spring productions with the CCM Prep Ballet and Junior Musical Theatre. Tickets for both productions are on sale now.

On Friday, April 25, and Saturday, April 26, at 7:30 p.m. in UC’s Patricia Corbett Theater, the CCM Youth Ballet Company, Jr. Company and Mini company perform traditional and contemporary works including Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf.

The Junior Musical Theatre will perform Xanadu, Jr. the following weekend at 7 p.m. on Friday, May 2, and at 2 and 7 p.m. on Saturday, May 3, in the Cohen Family Studio Theater.

The CCM Youth Ballet Company consists of the Mini, Junior and Senior Youth companies with 50 dancers total, ranging from age 8 through adult. This year they will perform Sergei Prkofief’s beloved Peter and the Wolf. Soloists are Hannah Musser and Andrea Springman as the bird, Helga Paris-Morales and Jackie Sidow as the duck, Vera Bostwick and Juju Stojanovic as the cat, Lucas Wilmes and Blake Funk as Peter, Samuel St. John as the wolf and guest dancer John Wilmes as grandfather. CCM Preparatory faculty Tricia Sundbeck and Thomas Bell choreographed this production. The CCM Youth Ballet Company recently performed Peter and the Wolf at Music Hall with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra as part of the Lollipops music series.

The Junior Musical Theatre Intensive program provides a challenging and disciplined educational experience for students ages 9-14 who have a special interest in musical theatre. Last fall, 30 students were selected and then traveled to Atlanta the following January for the Junior Theater Festival, which included over 3,000 middle school students from all over the country. The CCM Junior Musical Theatre students presented a scene from Xanadu, Jr. and the group was given an “Excellence in Music” award. Margot Grom, Tanner Gleeson, Henry Howland, Nora DeGreen and Jonah Sorcher are the featured students in this disco-inspired musical, directed by Dee Anne Bryll, with musical direction by Becky Childs.

CCM Prep Musicians Featured in Ohio All-State Jazz Ensemble

The 2014 All-State Jazz Ensemble.

We are delighted to report that a record number of students from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music’s Preparatory Department (CCM Prep) will be featured in Ohio’s 2014 All-State Jazz Ensemble. Of the 20 musicians chosen from throughout the state to participate in this ensemble, six study at CCM Prep. All members of CCM’s Cincinnati Youth Jazz Orchestra, the six are:

• Sam Beiting (lead alto saxophone),
• Kevin Everson (drums),
• Ryan Guard (trombone),
• Andrew Haug (piano),
• Drake Samuels (trumpet) and
• Christopher Thompson-Taylor (lead tenor saxophone).

The All-State Jazz Ensemble consists of the 20 top high school jazz musicians in Ohio, all chosen after proving their abilities in a highly competitive statewide audition held last May.

CCM Announces Performance Schedule for 2014 Moveable Feast

CCM’s annual Moveable Feast benefit event returns to the campus of the University of Cincinnati this Friday, Jan. 17, for an unparalleled evening of artistic and culinary delights.

Today, we are delighted to provide you with an advanced look at the schedule for this year’s feast! Click on the image below for a print-friendly copy.

Click on this image for a larger, print-friendly copy.

Tickets to CCM’s 2014 Moveable Feast are on sale now and can be purchased online at ccm.uc.edu/support/events or ccm.weshareonline.org/MoveableFeast2014 or by calling 513-556-2100.

Learn even more about this event here.

CCM’s Preparatory Department Celebrates 35 Years of Cincinnati Junior Strings

Cincinnati Junior Strings founding maestro Gerald “Gerry” Doan.

CCM’s Preparatory Department (CCM Prep) celebrates the 35th anniversary of the Cincinnati Junior Strings ensemble with a winter concert at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 15, at the University of Cincinnati Blue Ash College Muntz Theater. This special event will honor recently retired Cincinnati Junior Strings founder Gerald Doan and new director Rachel Bierkan.

The 43 talented string students performing in this orchestra range in age from 9 – 14 years old. Under the direction of Bierkan, Jennifer Cox and Betty Anne Gottlieb, they will perform a variety of classical works, many arranged by Doan specifically for the Cincinnati Junior Strings!

Alumni of of the Cincinnati Junior Strings are encouraged to attend the Dec. 15 concert and perform with the orchestra. A reception will follow the performance, and both the concert and reception are free and open to the public.

Donations will be accepted for the Doan Scholarship Fund, which recognizes an outstanding member of Cincinnati Junior Strings. For further information about the event, please contact Amy Dennison, Assistant Dean and Director of CCM Prep at 513-556-946.

You can learn more about the Dec. 15 concert courtesy of Janelle Gelfand and the Cincinnati Enquirer here.

CCM’s Amy Dennison Receives 2013 National Guild Milestone Certificate of Appreciation

Jonathan Herman, Executive Director of the National Guild, with CCM Assistant Dean Amy Dennison.

We are delighted to report that Amy Dennison, Assistant Dean and Director of CCM’s Preparatory Department, has received the 2013 Milestone Certificate of Appreciation from the National Guild for Community Arts Education for her long-standing, exceptional service to the field! Dennison is one of seven community arts education leaders to receive this honor.

The goal of the Milestone program—now in its second year— is to recognize executive directors or divisional directors at Guild member organizations who have demonstrated a commitment to supporting and advancing community arts education for more than 20 years. Certificates were presented at the Guild’s Annual Meeting at the Conference for Community Arts Education in Chicago last Friday, Nov. 1.

“The National Guild is thrilled to recognize these exceptional leaders for their vision and dedication to community arts education,” said Jonathan Herman, executive director of the National Guild. “Through their decades-long work with communities and their service to the field, this year’s Milestone recipients have each made a powerful contribution to increasing access to arts education for all.”