THE VILLAGE NEWS – Fall 2014

NOTATIONS AND OVATIONS

STUDENT PRODUCED ‘GOLD RUSH EXPEDITION RACE’ FILM SERIES TO AIR ON UNIVERSAL SPORTS NETWORK
This action-packed documentary film series will be coming to television sets nationwide this fall! Read more…

CCM WELCOMES ITS FIRST DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY OUTREACH
Anne Cushing-Reid will help CCM expand its community engagement efforts through her new role with the Preparatory Department. Read more…

ALUMNI APPLAUSE

PERFORMANCE STUDIES ALUMNA APPOINTED TO PROFESSOR OF OBOE
Merideth Hite (BM, ’06) has joined the faculty of the University of Southern Mississippi. Read more…

CCM ALUMNUS MAKES HIS BROADWAY DEBUT IN THE HIT REVIVAL OF PIPPIN
After touring the nation with The Book of Mormon, Michael Schwitter (BFA, ’12) takes on the role of Pippin’s brother Lewis at the Music Box Theatre. Read more…

CCM ALUMNI WIN TOP PRIZES IN PLÁCIDO DOMINGO’S WORLD OPERA COMPETITION
Amanda Woodbury (MM, ’12), John Holiday (MM, ’12) and Yi Li (AD, ’13) were among this year’s finalists in the Operalia competition. Read more…

FACULTY FANFARE

CCM PROFESSOR OF COMPOSITION ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT
Joel Hoffman joined the University of Cincinnati faculty in 1978. This October, CCM will celebrate his service with a special concert featuring the Ariel Quartet. Read more…

STUDENT SALUTES

FRESHMAN DRAMA MAJOR RECEIVES CINCINNATUS PRESIDENTIAL AWARD
Isaac Hickox-Young is one of only 11 incoming UC students to receive this prestigious award, which pays full tuition, boarding fees and more for four years. Read more…

CCM DMA CANDIDATE RECEIVES MAY FESTIVAL FELLOWSHIP
First-year graduate student Daniel Blosser has been chosen as the 2014-15 May Festival Choral Conducting Fellow. Read more…

TUNE IN

THE CCM WIND ORCHESTRA TAKES THE STAGE AT A NATIONAL CONFERENCE
Watch the complete performance here.

DID YOU KNOW?

CCM’S STUDIO SERIES REMAINS ONE OF THE HOTTEST TICKETS IN CINCINNATI!
Box Office Manager Jeanne Rose provides the inside scoop on how to score tickets for this year’s productions! Read more…

SAVE THE DATE

CCM’S MAINTAGE SERIES PRESENTS MACBETH
Shakespeare’s dark and twisted tragedy makes its CCM debut Oct. 1 – 5, 2014. Read more…

THE MIND AND MUSIC OF CHOPIN
The Friends of CCM and the Cincinnati Psychoanalytic Institute welcome special guest artist Richard Kogan on Oct. 10. Read more…

CCM IN THE NEWS

New Artist of the Month: Conductor and CCM Alumnus Isaac Selya (Musical America Worldwide). Read more…
CCM Prep Teaches More Than How to Perform (Cincy Magazine). Read more…

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 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.

Cincinnati Children’s Choir Featured on CET Arts Channel

Cincinnati Children’s Choir, Ensemble-In-Residence at CCM.

The award-winning Cincinnati Children’s Choir is coming to a television set near you this weekend! CET Cincinnati Public Television‘s arts and culture series SHOWCASE with Barbara Kellar will spotlight the CCM ensemble-in-residence at 8 p.m. on Sunday, May 18.

In addition to a conversation with Choir Founder and Managing Artistic Director Robyn Reeves Lana and Executive Director Mary Kay Koehler, the program will also feature nearly 80 members of the Cincinnati Children’s Choir performing two songs.

The Cincinnati Children’s Choir is an educationally based choral ensemble program that provides high quality music education to children ages 6-18 in the Greater Cincinnati community. This program offers its participants the opportunity to demonstrate their musical understanding, artistry, and achievement by performing and collaborating with premier ensembles and children’s choirs throughout the world.

This episode of SHOWCASE with Barbara Kellar airs at 8 p.m. on Sunday, May 18, on CET Arts, which is available over-the-air on channel 48.3, on Time Warner Cable channel 987, on Cincinnati Bell Fiberoptics channel 248 and on Insight Cable channel 192. Learn more about CET Arts by visiting www.cetconnect.org/cet-arts.

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.

Cincinnati Children’s Choir Celebrates its 21st Anniversary in Concert on March 8

Cincinnati Children’s Choir, Ensemble-In-Residence at CCM.

CCM proudly presents the Cincinnati Children’s Choir as they “Celebrate Youth!” at 5 p.m. on Saturday, March 8, in UC’s Corbett Auditorium.

Directed by Robyn Lana, more than 350 children in seven different choirs come together to perform in their 21st anniversary concert: “Celebrate Youth!” In this approximately two-hour long concert, “we celebrate the artistry and ability of our young singers,” says Lana. “CCC is an award-winning choir recognized worldwide as a leading program. We celebrate their ability, energy and commitment to achieving the highest artistic standard.” The choirs will be presenting a great variety of work, from classical to world and folk music, including two commissioned world premieres and one regional premiere.

One of the world premieres that audiences can look forward to is “When Day is Done,” by CCM alumnus Jason Webb, a work that was commissioned by the CCM Harmony Fund. The CCM Harmony Fund was established to celebrate the healing power of the arts. The arts have the ability to inspire imaginative thinking, encourage conversation, present contrasting attitudes and make us examine our own viewpoints. The CCM Harmony Fund supports students and faculty at CCM in Drama, Opera, Musical Theater, Dance, E-Media and Orchestral productions that promote culturally diverse audiences and fight hate and prejudice.

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 Brings NPR’s Hit Show ‘From the Top with Host Christopher O’Riley’ to UC on April 2

CCM is pleased to announce that From the Top with Host Christopher O’Riley, the preeminent showcase for young musicians, will come to UC’s Corbett Auditorium to record a radio broadcast on Wednesday, April 2, 2014.

Heard weekly in the Greater Cincinnati area on WGUC 90.9 FM, the popular NPR radio program features the amazing performances and captivating personal stories of extraordinary young classical musicians from across the country. The From the Top episode recorded on April 2 will be presented by CCM to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Starling Chamber Orchestra, the college’s premier preparatory string ensemble.

The show will feature the Starling Chamber Orchestra, with conductor and CCM Violin Chair Kurt Sassmannshaus, and will include solo performances by several current and past Starling Chamber Orchestra participants. Twelve-year-old violinist Skye Park from Lexington, Kentucky, is a participant in the Starling Chamber Orchestra and previously appeared on From the Top in 2012 from a special show taped at CCM’s Great Wall Academy in Beijing, China.

Violinist and 2012 Naumburg Competition-winner Tessa Lark, 24, and violinist Jonathan Miron, 21, both Starling Orchestra alumni, will perform “Romance” by Joseph Hellmesberger, along with From the Top alumnus Charles Yang.

Also featured on the show will be 17-year-old pianist Yilun Xu from New York City and 17-year-old horn player Avery Roth-Hawthorne from Oakland, California.

For tickets and information, contact the CCM Box Office at boxoff@uc.edu or 513-556-4183, or visit ccm.uc.edu/fromthetop.

From the Top may be heard locally on WGUC 90.9 on Saturdays at 9 a.m.; this episode will air nationally the week of May 5.

Cincinnati Children’s Choir Invited to Perform at the Vatican

Cincinnati Children’s Choir, Ensemble-In-Residence at CCM.

We are thrilled to report that CCM ensemble-in-residence the Cincinnati Children’s Choir has been been invited to perform at the Vatican in July of 2015!

Visit www.Local12.com for more information about the forthcoming trip.

The Cincinnati Children’s Choir’s CCM concert series continues at 5 p.m. on Saturday, March 8, with a program of repertoire from around the globe!