CCM Alumnus Randy Edelman Receives 2014 BMI Spotlight Award

 

CCM alumnus Randy Edelman (far right) with composers Michael Penn and George S. Clinton at the 2014 BMI Film/TV Awards.

Distinguished UC alumnus Randy Edelman (CCM ’69, HonDoc ’04) was recently honored alongside other top composers at the 2014 BMI Film/TV Awards, which were held at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, on May 14, 2014.

Edelman, who has composed for films including The Last of the Mohicans, Gods and Generals, While You Were Sleeping and The Mask, received the BMI Spotlight Award in recognition of the use of his theme for The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. in games of the Olympiads spanning nearly two decades. You can learn more about the history of this composition here.

In 2003 Edelman received BMI’s highest honor, the Richard Kirk Award for Outstanding Career Achievement. Founded in 1939, BMI is now the largest music rights organization in the US. Operating on a non-profit-making basis, the organization still nurtures new talent and new music.

Last January, Edelman returned to the stage of Corbett Auditorium for a special performance with CCM’s Philharmonia and Jazz Ensemble. Learn more about his recent return to campus courtesy of UC Magazine.

CCM Drama Grad Diana Maria Riva Returns to Primetime TV

CCM alumna Diana Maria Riva on television’s ‘Saint George.’ Photo courtesy of FX.

We are thrilled to report that CCM Drama alumna Diana Maria Riva (BFA, ’91; MFA, ’95) returns to primetime television as a series regular in a new comedy starring George Lopez. The half-hour Saint George premieres at 9 p.m. ET tonight (Thursday, March 6) on the FX channel!

Riva plays Lopez’s “tough and sexy” boss, as described in FX press materials. Her character, Concepcion, is the assistant principal at a downtown Los Angeles school, where she supervises Lopez teaching an evening history class — his way to give back to the community.

You can learn more about the program courtesy of the Cincinnati Enquirer here and courtesy of UC Magazine here.

NBC’s 2014 Olympic Coverage Features the Iconic Music of CCM Alumnus Randy Edelman

Television viewers of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi have a CCM alumnus to thank for the rousing theme music featured in NBC’s coverage of the games.

Beginning with the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, the NBC television network has used music originally composed by distinguished alumnus Randy Edelman (CCM ’69, HonDoc ’04) extensively in its televised sports broadcasts.

A prominent singer, songwriter, arranger and film scorer, Edelman has led a prolific career since concluding his studies at CCM and has regularly seen his film and television scores find a second life in NBC’s sports coverage. Below, you can listen to the closing credits soundtrack for NBC’s Olympics coverage, which features Edelman’s “World of the Heart” and “Finale.”

As the Los Angeles Times has previously reported, the heroic music used by NBC to promote upcoming Olympic competitions was originally the theme for the comedy-western television series The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. You can view the original title sequence for that program (complete with Edelman’s score) below:

This theme has come to soundtrack NBC’s Olympic coverage for nearly 20 years and has also been used in the network’s coverage of Major League Baseball playoffs and other major sporting events.

CCM Alumnus Flaherty’s Score for ‘Rocky’ Heads to Broadway

A scene in the ring from the musical “Rocky.”

After more than a year of packed houses in Hamburg, Germany, Rocky: The Musical will soon open on Broadway, with a score composed by Stephen Flaherty (Composition, 1982), and his lyricist writing partner Lynn Ahrens. Tickets are already on sale for previews starting Feb. 11, 2014, at the Winter Garden Theatre and for an official opening on March 13.

Flaherty and Ahrens wrote 20 new songs for the show and retained three popular oldies: “Eye of the Tiger,” “Gonna Fly Now” and “Take You Back.” Because the story is set in Philadelphia in 1975, “the score combines a lot of sounds of the period — funk, soul, pop, rock and folk,” Flaherty says. “We look back to that time, but it is really a contemporary score.”

Rocky: Das Musical opened in Germany in November 2012, produced by Stage Entertainment, as well as Sylvester Stallone, creator, writer and star of the 1976 Rocky movie, which received 10 Oscar nominations. Germans loved the show. The front page of Hamburg’s daily newspaper declared, “Big Emotions, Big Theater.” And the city’s biggest tabloid announced, “‘Rocky’ Knocks Hamburg Out!”

Of course, both producers had hoped to move the show to Broadway eventually and did so even though the German production is still packing houses to rave reviews more than a year later.

“It has been an amazing adventure,” Flaherty says. “Our international cast in Germany comes from 12 different countries, and our band features some of the best players I’ve ever worked with. I’m having the time of my life. Thank God for the ‘Basic German For Dummies’ app!”

The Tony-winning writing team of composer Stephen Flaherty and lyricist Lynn Ahrens.

Flaherty and Ahrens have been writing popular musicals for 30 years, including two shows that won Tonys for best scores — Once on This Island in 1991 and Ragtime in 1998. The book for the latter was written by Terrance McNally, who won a Tony for his creation and who also wrote the book for Rocky.

In addition, Flaherty received a 2001 Drama Desk nomination for outstanding music for Seussical, which was originally scored for Broadway, later revised for a national tour, then revised again for junior-theater productions. For years, it has been one of the top three most-licensed properties in Music Theatre International’s licensing catalog.

You can learn more about Stephen Flaherty courtesy of UC Magazine.

How a CCM Alumnus Helped the Grinch Steal Christmas

CCM alumnus Albert Hague in his Marina Del Rey living room in 1998.

Did you know that CCM alumnus Albert Hague (CCM, 42) composed “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” as an audition piece to win the job scoring the 1966 TV movie How the Grinch Stole Christmas?

UC Magazine‘s Deborah Rieselman interviewed Hague in 1997 and got the inside scoop on how this now-iconic song came together. You can read the 2001 feature article here.

When Jim Carrey made the story into a full-length feature film in 2000, Hague’s song and much of his score accompanied the movie, and he was listed in the credits.

In honor of the season, you can enjoy an excerpt from How the Grinch Stole Christmas below:

Hague was also well known for playing the role of Mr. Shorofsky, the music teacher, in the TV series Fame from 1982-87. In addition, his musical Plain and Fancy, a story set among the Amish of Pennsylvania, is performed all year long, and has been for decades, in Nappanee, Ind.

Hague passed away in November of 2011 at the age of 81.

Five CCM Alumni on Broadway in ‘Annie’ Revival

Distinguished alumna Faith Prince listens to Emily Rosenfeld in the Broadway revival of ‘Annie.’

Until Jan. 5, 2014, Broadway audiences have a chance to catch four CCM alumnae in a Tony-nominated musical — the revival of Annie — plus one more if you wait at the back stage door to meet him after the show.

The biggest name of the group is Faith Prince, CCM ’79, HonDoc ’09, who co-stars as Miss Hannigan, the alcoholic matron at the orphanage. She joined the show at the Palace Theatre in the summer (2013).

Also joining the show this year were Justin Patterson, CCM ’99, who plays F.D.R.; Kirsten Wyatt, CCM ’97, who plays Lily St. Regis; Danette Holden, CCM ’96, part of the ensemble and an understudy for Faith Prince; and Derric Nolte, CCM ’11, assistant stage director.

The current revival of Annie was nominated for a Tony for Best Revival of a Musical. The show is expected to run through Jan. 5, 2014, after which a national tour will be launched.

You can learn more about these CCM alumni courtesy of UC Magazine.

‘Hunger Games’ Film Series Features Make-Up Design By CCM Alumnus Bradley Look

CCM alumnus Bradley Look.

Fans of the Hunger Games film series have another opportunity to see CCM alumnus Bradley Look’s handiwork in action. Look (MFA, 88) served as one of the makeup artists for the original film phenomenon and returns for the long-awaited sequel The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, in theatres now!

Since studying Make-Up and Wig Design at CCM, Look has become an Emmy-winner and one of the most sought-after make-up artists in the industry.

Learn more about Look’s work on both popular television programs and on major motion pictures courtesy of UC Magazine.

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 Alumna in Tony-Winning Best Musical

 

Tory Ross on opening night of “Kinky Boots”

Tory Ross, CCM ’02, has been in some top-rated TV shows, movies and now a Tony-nabbing Broadway show: Kinky Boots. Ross plays Pat and an ensemble role in the play that just grabbed six Tony Awards on June 16, including Best Musical, Best Score and Best Choreography.

Prior to the show opening in April 2013, Ross had appeared in two seasons of the British drama Downton Abbey, which won the Broadcasting Press Guild Award for Best Drama Series and the Banff Television Festival Award for Best Mini-Series. As of spring 2013, Ross’ latest appearance in that show was scheduled to air in the U.S. on Jan. 5, 2014.

Watch clips of Ross’ performances here.

Find out about other famous alumni from the University of Cincinnati courtesy of UC Magazine here.

CCM Students and African Refugees Bond Through Theatre

CCM's Will Kiley (right) reaches across cultures to connect with Ojullu Opiew Ochan, an Ethiopian refugee, as part of the Dadaab Theatre Project's performance. Photography by Richard E. Hess.

Last June, CCM sent a contingent from our Drama Program to create theatre with residents of Dadaab, the world’s largest refugee camp. This month, UC Magazine takes a look back at the life-changing project in its “beyond our borders” issue.

Listen to alumnus and project founder Michael Littig along with students Will Kiley and Alyssa Caputo describe the experience and read the complete feature here.