CCM’s 2017-18 Season Brochure Now Available In Print and Online

Welcome to CCM’s Sesquicentennial Performance Season!

This season, the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) celebrates the 150th anniversary of its founding with an unparalleled series of performances and special events designed to highlight a tradition of innovation and excellence dating back to 1867.

The history of CCM’s success involves three institutions separate in their origins but united by a common cause: the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, the College of Music of Cincinnati and the University of Cincinnati. Sometimes partners and sometimes rivals, these three institutions would eventually join forces to establish one of the world’s premier schools for the performing and media arts.

In the year ahead, we will look back on CCM’s illustrious history, celebrate the careers of our impressive alumni and showcase the talents of our incredible students and faculty members. We look forward to welcoming you to the CCM Village to experience our ongoing history, the artistry of our alumni and a chance to experience the stars of tomorrow.

Download a digital copy of CCM’s 2017-18 brochure today (7.1 MB). Physical copies are also available at the CCM Box Office.

Subscription and flex ticket packages are on sale now. Single tickets go on sale Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2017. For more details about CCM’s 2017-18 performance schedule, contact the CCM Box Office at 513-556-4183 or visit ccm.uc.edu.

Learn more about CCM’s Sesquicentennial by visiting ccm.uc.edu/about/villagenews/notations-ovations/sesquicentennial-celebration.

This is our story. This is your season.
Join us for a celebration 150 years in the making!

CCM Director of Jazz Studies Scott Belck Performs at Carnegie Hall This October

CCM Director of Jazz Studies and Ensembles & Conducting Division Head Scott Belck, DMA, will perform at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall next Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2015.

Belck will perform as a member of the acclaimed trumpet ensemble Tromba Mundi. The evening’s program is dubbed Sinfonia Americana and will include a musical journey from the Renaissance to the Old West, with stops in Hollywood and New Orleans along the way. Tromba Mundi released an album of the same name in 2013.

Founded in 2007 for the sole purpose of the exploration, promotion and performance of new works for trumpet ensemble, Tromba Mundi has recorded several world premiere compositions and continues to commission new music for the genre. The ensemble is comprised of professional performers and pedagogues from various universities across the United States.

The groups members also include Bryan Appleby-Wineberg, Jean-Christophe Dobrzelewski, John Marchiando, William Stowman and Joey Tartell.

In addition to his work with Tromba Mundi, Belck has recently toured as a member of Grammy Award-winning funk legend Bootsy Collins’ Funk Unity Band as lead trumpet. He has also served as trumpet and cornet soloist with the Air Force Band of Flight in Dayton, Ohio, where he held the post of musical director for the Air Force Night Flight Jazz Ensemble.

His playing credits include recordings as lead trumpet/guest soloist with the Cincinnati Pops featuring the Manhattan Transfer and John Pizzarelli, the Glenn Miller Orchestra, the Van Dells and jazz soloist with the University of North Texas One O’clock Lab Band with whom he recorded four CDs as jazz soloist and section trumpet.

Belck was named head of CCM’s Division of Ensembles and Conducting this fall. He directs CCM’s Jazz Orchestra and teaches applied Jazz Trumpet. Belck is a Yamaha Performing Artist.

You can learn more about Belck’s Carnegie Hall performance with Tromba Mundi by visiting www.carnegiehall.org/Calendar/2015/10/7/0730/PM/Tromba-Mundi.

Learn  more about CCM’s world-class faculty members by visiting ccm.uc.edu/about/villagenews/faculty.

Moye Chen Named Gold Medalist at the 2014 World Piano Competition

2014 World Piano Competition Gold Medalist Moye Chen.

After a week of thrilling performances, Moye Chen has been named Gold Medalist of the 2014 World Piano Competition!

Feng Bian and Reed Tetzloff were named Co-Bronze Medalists during last Saturday’s Finals Round, which saw all three pianists perform with the world-renowned Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. Learn more about Chen below.

Although this year’s World Piano Competition may be over, the excitement continues through Saturday, July 12, with the Art of the Piano, a unique summer festival and concert series curated by WPC Artistic Director (and CCM Artist-in-Residence) Awadagin Pratt. Learn more by visiting ccm.uc.edu/boxoffice/artofthepiano.

About Moye Chen
Moye Chen has performed extensively as a concert pianist in Asia and the United States. He has performed in renowned venues such as Carnegie Hall, Finney Chapel, Benaroya Concert Hall, the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, Beijing Concert Hall, Shanghai Concert Hall and the Shanghai Grand Theatre. Chen is a winner of many competitions, including Seattle, Heida Hermanns, and Buono and Bradshaw International Piano Competitions, Krannert Debut Artist Competition and Palatino Piano and Composition Competition. In addition, he was a recipient of the June and Charles Ross Fellowship Award in 2012 and 2013.

A native of Beijing, Chen began his piano study at the age of 7, and in 1997 he moved to Shanghai and had the great honor of performing during the ceremony of Macao’s return to China in 1999, broadcast by CCTV and SHTV. He has performed as a soloist with the Beijing Symphony Orchestra, Oberlin Chamber Orchestra, Oberlin Orchestra and Asian Ensemble Orchestra. Chen earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Shanghai Conservatory of Music and an Artist Diploma from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. Chen is currently pursuing his Doctorate of Musical Arts at the University of Illinois.

CCM Welcomes Cellist, Composer and Educator Mike Block for Master Classes and More Next Week

CCM welcomes Mike Block for two days of learning and creative music-making on April 8 and 9, 2014. Photography by Maria Camillo.

CCM welcomes pioneering multi-style cellist, composer and music educator Mike Block for two days of learning and creative music-making on April 8 and 9.

Hailed by Yo-Yo Ma as the “ideal musician of the 21^st century,” Block studied at the Juilliard School where he joined Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble, and soon after Mark O’Connor’s Appalachia Waltz Trio, which he played in for over three years.

Block will give a workshop geared toward teaching creativity to string students from 7 – 9 p.m. on Tuesday, April 8. High school and collegiate students are also welcome to attend this session.

Beginning at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, April 9, Block will host master classes and workshops, which will run through 6 p.m. A concert and reception will follow from 7:30 – 8 p.m. on Wednesday.

All events at CCM are free and open to the public and take place in room 300 of the Dieterle Vocal Arts Center in CCM Village, unless otherwise noted.

Area teachers and students are encouraged to sign up for any and all events by emailing Professor BettyAnne Gottlieb at bettyanne.gottlieb@uc.edu. 

CCM Presents a Plethora of Piano Performances This February

CCM will celebrate the art of the piano with a series of special events this February. The fifth annual Bearcat Piano Festival presents master classes and guest artist concerts from Feb. 6 – 11 in the Robert J. Werner Recital Hall and the Mary Emery Hall Master Classroom, followed by the ninth edition of CCM’s Pianopalooza showcase at 7 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 16, in Corbett Auditorium.

Launched in 2010 by CCM’s Piano Department Chair Awadagin Pratt, the Bearcat Piano Festival has grown into a veritable piano spectacular with several days of master classes and recitals by piano greats. This year’s Festival will feature a “Friends, Family and Favorites” theme:

• Performances by “friends” include Assistant Professor of Piano at the University of Louisville Dror Biran and University of Michigan doctoral student pianists.
• The festival celebrates “family” as Professor Emeritus Frank Weinstock returns to the CCM stage, while Momoro Ono – Juilliard graduate and brother of UC President Santa J. Ono – makes his CCM debut.
• As for “favorites,” CCM presents performances by acclaimed pianist Boris Slutsky and 2013 World Piano Competition Gold Medalist Marianna Prjevalskaya (who also studied with Slutsky). This will mark the first time in the history of the World Piano Competition that the winner is presented in a public recital.

In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, Pianopalooza IX, directed by CCM’s Division of Keyboard Studies Head Michael Chertock, will include songs of love and romance. The program showcases spectacular student pianists and features special appearances by CCM faculty artists including Awadagin Pratt, James Tocco and Chertock himself. Pratt will perform music by Rachmaninoff, Tschaikovsky, Schumann and celebrated jazz pianist (and Cincinnati native) Fred Hersch. Tocco and Chertock will present selections from Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story.

Pianopalooza IX and the Bearcat Piano Festival promise to excite audiences with the beautiful sound and versatile styles that this popular and complex instrument has to offer — the perfect listening opportunity for music and keyboard enthusiasts of all ages.

Event Information
Please see individual listings below for additional information. The Boris Slutsky, Marianna Prjevalskaya and Pianopalooza IX concerts require paid admission. All other Bearcat Piano Festival events are free and open to the general public. All dates and programs are subject to change.

CCM Announces Spring 2014 Calendar of Major Events

Download CCM’s Spring 2014 Calendar Booklet today.

UPDATED March 7, 2014: CCM is delighted to announce its spring 2014 schedule of major events. The largest single source of performing arts events in the state of Ohio, CCM presents nearly 150 major public performances from Jan. 12 through May 18, ranging from faculty and guest artist concerts to fully supported opera, musical theatre, drama and dance productions.

Highlights of CCM’s spring concert series include the return of Cincinnati’s premiere fundraiser “A Moveable Feast” on Jan. 17, the Ariel Quartet’s Beethoven Cycle running Jan. 23 – March 29, a performance of Schubert’s Winterreise song cycle by guest artists Gerald Finley and Julius Drake on Feb. 5, the fifth annual Bearcat Piano Festival running Feb. 6 – 11, the 17th annual PRISM concert on Feb. 23, a performance of John Adams’ El Niño on March 2 and a celebration of the music of jazz legend Thelonius Monk on March 9.

CCM’s Mainstage Series also continues in early 2014 with a production of Mary Zimmerman’s Metamorphoses, directed by guest artist D. Lynn Meyers, running Feb. 5 – 9; the CCM debut of the iconic musical Les Misérables, running Feb. 27 – March 9;  Donizett’s comedic opera Don Pasquale, running April 3–6; and the quintessential romantic ballet Giselle, running April 17–19.

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 Spring 2014 Calendar Booklet here.

CCM Professor Miguel Roig-Francolí’s Compositions Receive New York Premiere at Carnegie Hall on Nov. 17

Miguel A. Roig-Francolí Professor, Music Theory & Composition, College-Conservatory of Music. photo/Lisa Ventre

New York City’s famed Carnegie Hall will host a unique birthday celebration on Sunday, Nov. 17, as pianist Adam Kent and special guests present an evening of music by CCM Professor of Music Theory and Composition Miguel Roig-Francolí, presented in honor of the composer’s 60th anniversary.

The program will include the New York City premieres of Roig-Francolí’s Cinco Canciones con los Ojos Cerrados for soprano and piano, Sonata for violoncello and piano, and Songs of Light and Darkness for piano trio. Cincinnati audiences received a preview of this program at CCM on Oct. 8.

As Roig-Francolí explained to the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Janelle Gelfand, “A monographic Carnegie Hall recital is a very exciting event for any musician, let alone a composer – the type of event that happens only every 60 years, if it does at all. So I feel fortunate, grateful, humbled and excited that several institutions and a fabulous roster of performers have teamed together to make this possible.”

The Carnegie Hall performance will feature Jennifer Roig-Francolí, violin; Julia MacLaine, cello; Abigail Santos Villalobos, soprano; Adam Kent, piano; and the Damocles Trio (Airi Yoshioka, violin; Sibylle Johner, cello; Adam Kent, piano).

Mary Ellyn Hutton called the Oct. 8 preview performance “engrossing” in her review for Music in Cincinnati, commenting that “each work on the program was directly appealing and was marked by superb craftsmanship and vibrant color.” You can read Hutton’s full review of the concert at www.musicincincinnati.com.

Learn more about the Carnegie Hall performance courtesy of Cincinnati.com. The performance will begin at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 17, in the Weill Recital Hall of Carnegie Hall in New York. For more information, or to purchase tickets to the Carnegie Hall performance, visit www.carnegiehall.org.

CCM and Constella Festival Present Roig-Francolí and Friends in Concert on Oct. 8

Miguel A. Roig-Francolí Professor, Music Theory & Composition, College-Conservatory of Music. photo/Lisa Ventre

CCM celebrates the work of Music Theory and Composition Professor Miguel A. Roig-Francolí with a concert at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 8, presented in conjunction with the 2013 Constella Festival of Music and Fine Arts. Held in CCM’s Robert J. Werner Recital Hall, the performance is free and open to the general public.

The evening will feature five of Roig-Francolí’s chamber works performed by CCM faculty and students, including Cincinnati premieres of Songs of the Infinite, for violin and piano, and Songs of Light and Darkness, for piano trio. The concert will feature performances by Timothy Lees and Jennifer Roig-Francolí, violin; Ilya Finkelshteyn, cello; Abigail Santos Villalobos, soprano; and James Tocco, Michael Chertock and Edward Neeman, piano.

CCM Winds, Jazz, Musical Theatre, Guitar And More On Display This Weekend!

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You will find something for everyone on the CCM stage this weekend!

At 8 p.m. this evening (Friday, April 12), the CCM Wind Orchestra closes out its successful 2012-13 season with a survey of contemporary American composers. The eclectic program will include works by Samuel Barber, Warren Benson and more! Learn more about this performance here.

CCM welcomes acclaimed tenor Lawrence Brownlee to the stage at 8 p.m. this Saturday, April 13, for an encore performance of the program from his recent Carnegie Hall debut. Brownlee will be accompanied by composer, conductor and pianist Damien Sneed for this special performance. Learn more about this performance here.

CCM’s Jazz Ensemble and Jazz Lab Band will celebrate the impact of adjunct instructor of jazz drums and “living guru of big band drumming” John Von Ohlen with a swinging tribute concert at 4 p.m. on Sunday, April 14. Learn more about this performance here.

CCM Presents Guest Artist Lawrence Brownlee in Recital on April 13

Acclaimed tenor Lawrence Brownlee presents a guest artist recital at CCM on Saturday, April 13, 2013. Photography by Derek Blanks.

CCM presents a special recital by tenor Lawrence Brownlee at 8 p.m. on Saturday, April 13, in Corbett Auditorium. This performance is presented by the CCM Busse Fund. Tickets are on sale now.

Brownlee will be accompanied by composer, conductor and pianist Damien Sneed, whose spiritual arrangements will be featured on the program. In addition, Brownlee will sing works from the 19th and 20th centuries, including music by composers Giuseppe Verdi and Francis Poulenc. Brownlee recently performed the same program at his Carnegie Hall debut, accompanied by pianist and conductor Martin Katz, with whom he recorded an album of Italian songs under EMI Classics in 2006.

Originally from Youngstown, Ohio, Brownlee has had a quick rise to sought-after status as an operatic tenor. Since graduating from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music in 2001, he has won the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and received the Richard Tucker Award and Marian Anderson Award. Brownlee has taken the stage with some of the world’s top opera companies including the Metropolitan Opera, Teatro alla Scala, Royal Opera House, Hamburg State Opera and Opéra National de Paris. In addition to his EMI Classics release of Italian songs, he is featured on EMI’s release of Rossini’s Stabat Mater and on the Metropolitan Opera’s Met in HD recording of Rossini’s Armida, both from 2010.

Brownlee’s performing career has taken him back to Ohio before, for performances of Bach’s Magnificat with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in 2002 and of Handel’s Israel in Egypt with the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra in 2003. His return for this CCM encore performance of his Carnegie Hall debut program will be an event not to be missed.