Rod Serling’s comedy about confusion between Russians and the Cincinnati Reds airs at 8 p.m. on March 25 on WVXU 91.7.
CCM and Cincinnati Public Radio station 91.7 WVXU have co-produced a long-lost baseball comedy by The Twilight Zone creator Rod Serling. Recently featured by the New York Times, the radio play titled O’Toole From Moscow airs on 91.7 WVXU at 8 p.m. this Wednesday, March 25, 2020.
The New York Times describes the comedy as “a screwball romp, with a side of whimsy.” Read the full article.
O’Toole From Moscow is about confusion between Russians and the Cincinnati Reds at the height of the “Red Scare” over possible Communist infiltration of American institutions during the Cold War. Serling originally wrote the one-hour television play for NBC Matinee Theatre and it was only broadcast once on Dec. 12, 1955. The performance was not filmed or recorded.
O’Toole From Moscow was adapted for radio and produced by WVXU’s John Kiesewetter, who tracked down the original script with the help of Serling historians. He also met with Serling’s daughter, Anne, who is the program host and narrator on the radio play. CCM Acting students recorded the comedy, which was directed by CCM Professor Richard Hess, at Cincinnati Public Radio’s studio. Sammi Grant, a visiting master’s student from London’s Central School of Speech and Drama, tutored the cast so they would sound authentically Russian.
Hess hand-picked his lineup of eight student cast members for the radio play: Chandler Bates, Austin James Cleri, Matt Fox, Dustin Parsons, Jack Steiner, Frankie Chuter, Cameron Nalley and Lucas Prizant. The team also recruited Cincinnati Reds organist John Schutte, who provided the ballpark organ music for the broadcast. Read more about the making of this radio play on WVXU.
The “O’Toole From Moscow” team, from left: WVXU engineer Josh Elstro, Frankie Chuter, Matt Fox, Chandler Bates, director Richard Hess, Cameron Nalley, Jack Steiner, Austin James Cleri, Dustin Parsons, Sammi Grant and Lucas Prizant. Photo/John Kiesewetter
Long-time baseball fans will enjoy Serling’s script and hear references to some of baseball’s biggest stars of the 1950s including: Jackie Robinson, Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berri, Stan Musial and Ted Kluszewski.
In O’Toole From Moscow a Russian consulate staffer named Mushnick is being sent back from New York to Moscow for re-education because of his high absences due to attending Brooklyn Dodgers games at Ebbets Field. So Mushnick and a muscular Russian security officer named Joseph Bishofsky hop a train and go as far west as their money will take them — to Cincinnati. Bishofsky panics in Cincinnati and goes to the Reds office to turn himself in, mistaking the baseball team for his Russian comrades. Mushnick bursts in to explain that Joseph – whom he calls “Joseph O’Toole” – is an outfielder wanting a tryout. The Reds give O’Toole a shot, and he ends up being a better slugger than Kluszewski – until the Russians find him.
Tune in to hear the O’Toole From Moscow broadcast on 91.7 WVXU at 8 p.m. this Wednesday, March 25. A live stream of the broadcast will also be available on the WVXU website.
During its 150th anniversary season, CCM commemorates the 100th birthday of cultural icon Leonard Bernstein with an unprecedented series of events.
Celebration is in the air at CCM as the 150-year-old performing and media arts institution prepares to commemorate the 100th birthday of an American icon. In 2018, CCM will stage a year-long festival memorializing the legacy of composer, conductor, educator and activist/humanitarian Leonard Bernstein. Beginning on January 26, 2018, this wide-ranging festival will span two concert seasons and include over a dozen major performances, making it one of the world’s most comprehensive Bernstein Centennial Celebrations!
CCM’s Bernstein Festival features the talents of students and faculty members from throughout the college, united in a celebration of the life and career of one monumental artist. Bernstein, who would have turned 100 years old on Aug. 25, 2018, was a towering figure of 20th-century music and culture. He achieved international acclaim as the composer of West Side Story, Candide, On the Town and other stage and orchestral works. The celebrated conductor of the New York Philharmonic and other leading orchestras, Bernstein was equally esteemed as an educator whose televised Young People’s Concerts with the New York Philharmonic created generations of music lovers.
CCM’s festival showcases many of Bernstein’s signature works, including the iconic “Symphonic Dances” from West Side Story, the monumental Age of Anxiety symphony for piano and orchestra, Songfest, the Symphonic Suite from Academy Award-winning film On the Waterfront, poignantly satirical one-act opera Trouble in Tahiti and much more.
In addition to Bernstein’s compositions, CCM’s festival also showcases music by Aaron Copland, Roy Harris, David Diamond and other composers who were championed by Bernstein through his work as a conductor and musical ambassador. According to Interim Dean bruce mcclung, “These works by Bernstein’s colleagues and the younger American composers who he promoted will help provide a cultural and musical context for CCM’s festival.”
For CCM Director of Orchestral Studies MarkGibson, programming this festival has been fulfilling both artistically and personally. “Lenny is the reason I am on the podium today and have been in the halls of CCM every year for the past 20 years,” says Gibson, who studied with Bernstein at the Tanglewood Music Center as the Bernstein Conducting Fellow in 1986.
A college-wide celebration of Bernstein’s artistic output and ongoing influence seemed like a natural fit for CCM’s ongoing Sesquicentennial Celebration, too. “During this same year that CCM celebrates the 150th anniversary of its founding, Lenny would have celebrated his 100th birthday. Let’s do it for him, let’s throw him a party all year long.”
The festivities begin on Friday, Jan. 26, 2018, as Gibson leads the CCM Philharmonia in a concert featuring Bernstein’s “Symphonic Dances” from West Side Story along with Lenny’s “anthem,” the beloved Overture to Candide. The concert also features CCM Eminent Scholar of Chamber Music and Piano James Tocco in Bernstein’s highly dramatic second symphony, The Age of Anxiety. Like Gibson, Tocco was mentored by Bernstein earlier in his career, working closely with him on the world-premiere recording of Bernstein’s complete works for solo piano in 1983. Tocco has performed The Age of Anxiety with orchestras around the world and recorded it with Leonard Slatkin and the BBC Symphony Orchestra.
CCM’s Bernstein Festival continues through March with performances by the Opera d’Arte undergraduate opera series, Wind Orchestra, Wind Ensemble, Concert Orchestra, Chorale and much more. The festival then resumes in September with another series of events leading up to the CCM Jazz Orchestra’s performance of Stan Kenton’s West Side Story on Sunday, Nov. 4, 2018.
Some of CCM’s Bernstein Festival performances are free and open to the general public, while others require paid admission. Audiences can also purchase the “Bernstein Experience” package, which provides access to every ticketed festival event and comes with additional perks. View complete schedule and ticketing information for CCM’s Bernstein Festival below.
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CCM’S BERNSTEIN FESTIVAL
SPRING 2018
8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 26 BERNSTEIN FESTIVAL OPENING CONCERT CCM Philharmonia Featuring Eminent Scholar of Chamber Music James Tocco, piano Mark Gibson, music director and conductor BERNSTEIN: Overture to Candide (1956)
BERNSTEIN: Symphonic Dances from West Side Story BERNSTEIN: Symphony No. 2 (The Age of Anxiety) (1949/65) Location: Corbett Auditorium Tickets: $15 general, $10 non-UC students, UC students FREE
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8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 2
8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 3
2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 4 TROUBLE IN TAHITI Music and libretto by Leonard Bernstein THE TELEPHONE Music and words by Gian Carlo Menotti TALE FOR A DEAF EAR Music and lyrics by Marc Bucci Brett Scott, conductor Amy Johnson, stage director and co-producer Kenneth Shaw, co-producer Gabriela Sam, assistant stage director The CCM Opera d’arte Series of undergraduate productions proudly presents a triple bill of one-act American operas! Leonard Bernstein’s Trouble in Tahiti candidly portrays the troubled marriage of a young suburban couple. Written between Bernstein’s biggest Broadway successes, Trouble in Tahiti draws upon popular song styles to deliver an uncompromising critique of Mid-century American marriage. The triple bill also includes Gian Carlo Menotti’s The Telephone and Mark Bucci’s rarely produced, but haunting, Tale for a Deaf Ear. Taken together, Opera d’arte’s triple bill offers three contrasting views into the extremes of human relationships. Location: Cohen Family Studio Theater Admission: Admission is free. Reservations are required. Tickets become available to Bernstein Festival subscribers at noon on Monday, Jan. 22. They are available to the general public beginning at noon on Monday, Jan. 29. Please visit the CCM Box Office or call 513-556-4183 to reserve. Limit two tickets per order.
Opera d’arte Sponsor: Rafael & Kimberly Daniel de Acha Foundation
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4 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 11 CELEBRATING CCM’S SESQUICENTENNIAL WITH DALE WARLAND
CCM Chamber Choir and Chorale, Cincinnati Children’s Choir Bel Canto, and UC Men’s and Women’s Choruses Earl Rivers, Robyn Lana, Kevin Coker, Molly Getsinger and Graeme Langager, conductors CCM’s Sesquicentennial Celebration includes a choral concert featuring guest conductor/composer-in-residence Dale Warland (HonDoc, 2008), inductee in the American Classical Music Hall of Fame and founder of the Grammy Award-nominated Dale Warland Singers. The CCM Chamber Choir presents the world premiere of I Hear America Singing commissioned by the CCM Choral Department and composed by Warland in honor of the 150th anniversary of CCM’s founding. CCM Chamber Choir also presents Leonard Bernstein’s Missa Brevis, and guest conductor and alumnus Graeme Langager leads the CCM Chorale in Brahms’ NeueLiebeslieder (New Love Songs). Location: Corbett Auditorium Tickets: $15 general, $10 non-UC students, UC students FREE
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8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 16 FUN AND GAMES CCM Philharmonia Featuring the winners of the CCM String Quartet Competition Mark Gibson, music director Annunziata Tomaro, guest conductor CCM’s Sesquicentennial Celebration welcomes back CCM alumna and former faculty member Annunziata Tomaro (DMA Orchestral Conducting, 2014) for a can’t-miss concert featuring the CCM Philharmonia with the internationally acclaimed Ariel Quartet!
BERNSTEIN: Overture to Slava! ADAMS: Absolute Jest STRAVINSKY: Petrouchka (1911 version) Location: Corbett Auditorium Tickets: $15 general, $10 non-UC students, UC students FREE
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7 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 25 LENNY AND FRIENDS ON BROADWAY CCM Philharmonia Mark Gibson, music director and conductor Join us for a celebration of Bernstein’s Broadway legacy, including works by Bernstein, Loesser, Weill, Sondheim and Styne. Location: Corbett Auditorium Tickets: $20 general, $15 non-UC students, UC students FREE
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8 p.m. Friday, March 2 BERNSTEIN, KHACHATURIAN, R. STRAUSS: DANCES CCM Wind Orchestra Terence Milligan, music director and conductor Leonard Bernstein was an American treasure and a larger-than-life force in music. We celebrate his 100 years with “Symphonic Dances” from West Side Story and “Three Dance Episodes” from On the Town, along with Spartacus by Aram Khachaturian and Der Rosenkavalier by Richard Strauss. Location: Corbett Auditorium Tickets: $15 general, $10 non-UC students, UC students FREE
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8 p.m. Tuesday, March 6 REMEMBERING LENNY: NEW WORKS AND OLD FRIENDS Café MoMus Aik Khai Pung, music director and conductor LUKAS FOSS: Time Cycle DAVID CLAY METTENS: In This World (World Premiere)
HSIN-LEI CHEN: Vortex•Hymn (World Premiere) Location: Cohen Family Studio Theater Admission: FREE
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8 p.m. Thursday, March 8 BERNSTEIN’S CHICHESTER PSALMS AND SAXOPHONE CONCERTOS CCM Concert Orchestra and Chorale Featuring guest artists from the North American Saxophone Alliance Biennial Convention Aik Khai Pung and Brett Scott, music directors and conductors Bernstein’s most popular choral/orchestra work, Chichester Psalms, premiered in 1965 with the composer conducting. The work features a boy soprano (or countertenor), and the texts that Bernstein selected from Psalms 23, 100, 108 and 131 of the Hebrew Bible. Saxophone repertoire to be announced. Location: Corbett Auditorium Tickets: $15 general, $10 non-UC students, UC students FREE
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8 p.m. Friday, March 30 BERNSTEIN’S SERENADE AFTER PLATO’S SYMPOSIUM AND STRAUSS’ ‘GROßMACHTIGE PRINZESSIN’ FROM ARIADNE AUF NAXOS CCM Concert Orchestra Aik Khai Pung, music director and conductor STRAUSS: “Großmachtige Prinzessin” from Ariadne auf Naxos Featuring the winner of the CCM Voice Competition
BERNSTEIN: Serenade after Plato’s Symposium Featuring the winner of the CCM Violin Concerto Competition
BRAHMS: Serenade No. 2 in A Major, Op. 16 Location: Corbett Auditorium Tickets: $15 general, $10 non-UC students, UC students FREE
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FALL 2018
8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 14 LENNY AND FRIENDS CCM Philharmonia and Concert Orchestra Mark Gibson and Aik Khai Pung, music directors and conductors Concert Orchestra CHAVEZ: Symphony No. 2 (Sinfonia India)
THOMPSON: Symphony No. 2 (1931) excerpt
DIAMOND: Music to Romeo and Juliet (1947) Philharmonia COPLAND: El Salón México HARRIS: Symphony No. 3
BERNSTEIN: Symphonic Suite from On the Waterfront Location: Corbett Auditorium Tickets: $15 general, $10 non-UC students, UC students FREE
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8 p.m. Monday, Oct. 31 BERNSTEIN AND FRIENDS CCM Wind Orchestra and Wind Ensemble Terrence Milligan and Kevin Michael Holzman, music directors and conductors
COPLAND: Fanfare for the Common Man BERNSTEIN: Symphonic Suite from On the Waterfront THOMSON: A Solemn Music COPLAND: Incidental Music from Our Town BERNSTEIN: Slava! Additional works to be announced Location: Corbett Auditorium Tickets: $15 general, $10 non-UC students, UC students FREE
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8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 2 SONGFEST AND FANCYFREE CCM Philharmonia Featuring CCM Voice faculty members and student soloists Mark Gibson, music director and conductor Location: Corbett Auditorium Tickets: $15 general, $10 non-UC students, UC students FREE
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7 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 4 STAN KENTON’S WEST SIDE STORY CCM Jazz Orchestra Scott Belck, music director and conductor Hear CCM jazz students perform music from Kenton’s West Side Story album, which won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Performance by a Large Group (Instrumental) in 1962. Location: Corbett Auditorium Tickets: $20 general, $15 non-UC students, UC students FREE
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Purchasing Tickets Single tickets to all Spring 2018 Bernstein Festival events are now available for purchase through the CCM Box Office in person, over the phone at 513-556-4183 or online at ccm.uc.edu/boxoffice/bernstein-festival. Ticket prices vary; see individual event listings for additional information. Tickets for CCM’s Fall 2018 Bernstein Festival events will go on sale in August.
Experience the complete Bernstein Festival! CCM subscribers can purchase CCM’s “Bernstein Experience” package for $160, giving them access to every ticketed concert in CCM’s Bernstein Festival at a savings of over 20% off single ticket prices. Bernstein Experience package holders get first access to CCM’s Fall 2018 festival events. Package holders also receive exclusive perks for CCM’s non-ticketed Bernstein Festival events, including early access to tickets for Trouble in Tahiti!
To purchase a Bernstein Experience package, contact the CCM Box Office at 513-556-4183. Already have tickets to some of these events? Call the Box Office to upgrade to the Bernstein Experience package. The Bernstein Experience is available for purchase through January 26, 2018.
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.
We are delighted to report that CCM alumnus Darrell D. Miller (BM Musical Theatre, 1985) has been named to Savoy Magazine’s prestigious 2015 “Most Influential Black Lawyers” list in recognition of his distinguished legal career, professionalism and outstanding commitment to community service!
The listing is comprised of the “best of the best” of Black lawyers who are partners within leading national law firms and also corporate counsel from Fortune 1000 corporations.
As diversity and inclusion for legal professionals continues to grow, Savoy’s listing of “top lawyers” emerges with an influential cross section of legal professionals representing a diverse range of expertise with national and global responsibilities.
A graduate of both Cincinnati’s School for Creative and Performing Arts (SCPA) and CCM, Miller received his Juris Doctor from the Georgetown University Law Center in 1990, and he has gone on to become one of the world’s leading entertainment attorneys, working in film, television, theatre and digital media.
Today, Miller is the managing partner of Fox Rothschild LLP’s Los Angeles offices and the chair of the firm’s Entertainment Law Department. His client list includes Academy Award-nominated actress Angela Bassett, star of the hit CBS program NCIS (and fellow Cincinnati-native and SCPA alumnus) Roscoe “Rocky“ Carroll, music mogul and film actor Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, reality television star NeNe Leakes and more.
Last April, Dunham Publishing Group released Miller’s first book, The 16th Minute of Fame, whichdetails the serious perils that come with blindly embracing and enjoying the fleeting fun of celebrity fame and fast money. Part professional memoir, part insider’s guide to the entertainment industry and part manual for strategic career planning, The 16th Minute of Fame ultimately focuses on the pathways to a more successful life.
Congratulations on this well-deserved recognition, Darrell!
Listen to Darrell D. Miller discuss his new book with Anne Arenstein courtesy of WVXU 91.7 FM by visiting wvxu.org/term/darrell-d-miller.
Please note the following updates to CCM’s schedule of major events for the spring:
The Pangea Chamber Players guest artist concert originally scheduled for April 2 has been cancelled.
The April 12 performance of Chuck Owen’s River Runs features the CCM Concert Orchestra, not the CCM Philharmonia.
The venue has changed for CCM’s April 19 performance of Dave Brubeck’s The Gates of Justice. The concert will now take place at Knox Presbyterian Church, 3400 Michigan Ave., Cincinnati, OH 45208
CCM welcomes composer Mark Applebaum for a guest artist performance at 7 p.m. on Saturday, April 25 in Watson the Robert J. Werner Recital Hall. This performance is free and open to the general public.
CCM’s Division of Electronic Media will host its SeniorShowcase at 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 30 in Watson Hall. Admission to the event is free and open to the general public.
You can always find the most up-to-date information on CCM’s calendar of events at ccm.uc.edu.
CCM’s 2014-15 Mainstage Series continues TONIGHT with the timeless fairytale musical Peter Pan, playing through Sunday, March 8, in Corbett Auditorium. See a complete list of performance times below.
Directed and choreographed by guest artist Joe Locarro, with musical direction by CCM Professor of Musical Theatre Roger Grodsky, this production promises to whisk audiences away to a place where dreams are born and no one ever grows up! PeterPan features spectacular flying effects provided by ZFX, Inc.
Listen to cast member Tom Meglio give Cincinnati Public Radio’s Mark Perzel a preview of the high-flying musical by visiting wvxu.org/post/ccms-peter-pan.
Performance Times
8 p.m. Friday, March 6
2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, March 7
2 p.m. Sunday, March 8
Location
Corbett Auditorium, CCM Village
University of Cincinnati
Purchasing Tickets
Tickets to Peter Pan are $31-35 for adults, $20-24 for non-UC students and $18-22 UC students with a valid ID.
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.
CCM Season Presenting Sponsor and Musical Theatre Program Sponsor: The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation
Mainstage Season Production Sponsor: Macy’s
Mainstage Production Sponsor: Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC
Community Partner: ArtsWave
Peter Pan is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI. 421 West 54th Street, New York, NY 10019 | Phone: 212-541-4684 | Fax: 212-397-4684 |http://www.MTIShows.com.
CCM holds its annual LINKS (Lonely Instruments for Needy Kids) Collection Days on Saturday, March 14, and Sunday, March 15, at Joseph-Beth Booksellers (2692 Madison Rd., Rookwood Pavilion, Cincinnati). The hours for the collection drive are 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Saturday and noon – 5 p.m. Sunday.
Harvey, well-respected by music teachers in the Greater Cincinnati area, wanted to fill the need of getting instruments into the hands of students whose parents were not able to buy, rent or borrow an instrument. The solution was somewhat simple — a “recycling program” for musical instruments.
Since 1993, LINKS has placed more than 2,000 instruments into the hands of children unable to purchase or rent instruments of their own. LINKS accepts donations of new and used instruments from the Greater Cincinnati community, then places them with students in local elementary, middle and high school bands and orchestras, as well as with students in the CCM Preparatory Department. Students are qualified by the recommendation of their music teacher, and a LINKS scholarship application is submitted in the student’s name.
Even if the instrument is not in perfect condition, donations are gladly accepted. Buddy Roger’s Music generously contributes the time to carefully restore, tune and clean each instrument. All of the donations are tax deductible, and Joseph-Beth Booksellers will donate 20% of store purchases back to LINKS during the collection days (learn more here). Entertainment during the collection will be provided by local music students of all ages.
In addition to the March 14 and 15 collection days, instruments are accepted year-round at any Buddy Roger’s Music Store. Call 513-729-1950 for store locations.
For more information on LINKS or to make a monetary donation, call the CCM External Relations Office at 513-556-2100.
WVXU contributor Anne Arenstein recently spoke with CCM Director of Choral Studies Earl Rivers about our upcoming concert production of Pulitzer Prize-winning composer John Adams’ American oratorio El Niño.
The CCM Philharmonia Orchestra, Chamber Choir, Chorale and Cincinnati Children’s Choir proudly present a stirring rendition of Adams’ El Niño at 3 p.m. on Sunday, March 2, in UC’s Corbett Auditorium. CCM welcomes guest artists Michael Maniaci, Eric Jurenas and Steven Rickards for this performance.
World Piano Competition : Gold winner Marianna Prjevalskaya of Spain performs during The World Piano Competition in the final round in the Corbett Auditorium Theater at the College Conservatory of Music on the University of Cincinnati campus. Courtesy of Enquirer Media.
CCM proudly presents 2013 World Piano Competition Gold Medalist Marianna Prjevalskaya in concert at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 8, as part of the fifth annualBearcat Piano Festival. Tickets for this performance are on sale now.
This concert marks the first time in the history of the World Piano Competition that the winner is presented in a public recital. You can listen to CCM Piano Department Chair Awadagin Pratt speak to the novelty of this exciting performance courtesy of Cincinnati Public Radio here.
Prjevalskaya will perform Debussy’s Preludes Book II, along with the following works by Rachmaninoff:
The latest installment of WVXU’s Around Cincinnati features a number of upcoming CCM performances! First up, guest artist D. Lynn Meyers gives Jim Stump a preview of this week’s Mainstage Production of Metamorphoses (Feb. 5 – 9). You can listen to their full conversation here.
Later on in the program, Brian O’Donnell speaks with CCM faculty members AwadaginPratt and Michael Chertock about the BearcatPiano FestivalandPianopalooza (Feb. 6 – 16). You can listen to the interview here.
The Cincinnati Enquirer‘s list of Top Arts Picks for February is also filled with CCM happenings, including the Bearcat Piano Festival, Metamorphoses, and Les Misérables (Feb. 27 – March 9). Read the full preview here.
Even Gramophone Magazine’s latest podcast features an upcoming CCM performance, as James Jolly speaks with guest artist Gerald Finley about his current tour with pianist Julius Drake, which comes to CCM’s Corbett Auditorium on Feb. 5! You can download the podcast here.
Kanniks with the choir at St. Johns Unitarian Church in Cincinnati in 2004.
Earlier this week, NPR’s Morning Edition spoke with CCM Musicology adjunct faculty member Kanniks Kannikeswaran and freshman Music Education/Music History major Vidita Kannikeswaran about the award-winning Greater Cincinnati Indian Community Choir(and Indian choral music in general)!
Kanniks Kannikeswaran is a pioneer of the Indian American choral movement. His far reaching work in this area has led to the founding of Indian community choirs in not only Cincinnati, but also Washington, D.C.; Houston; Tampa and Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Minneapolis-St. Paul; Allentown, Pa.; Toronto; and, most recently, The Hague.
He has collaborated with artists such as Lakshmi Shankar, Mallika Sarabhai, with the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra and with institutions such as the National University of Singapore in producing crisp innovative works that convey the message of universal connectedness.
His magnum opus Shanti – A Journey of Peace has personally touched the lives of over 900 performers and has been seen by over 9000 even as many more communities are gearing towards performing this work.
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