Accomplished Producer and Administrator Denton Yockey is Named Head of CCM’s Division of Theatre Arts, Production and Arts Administration

CCM Interim Dean bruce d. mcclung has announced the appointment of Denton Yockey to the position of Professor of Arts Administration and Head of the Division of Theatre Arts, Production and Arts Administration (TAPAA) at CCM. Yockey will arrive on campus this July to work with TAPAA’s Interim Division Head, Alan Yaffe, and his appointment will officially begin on Aug. 15, 2018.

In his new position, Yockey will oversee CCM’s Departments of Acting, Arts Administration, Dance, Musical Theatre, Opera, and Theatre Design and Production. He will also serve as producer of CCM’s Mainstage and Studio Series productions.

Yockey is one of the nation’s premier regional theatre producers and presenters of touring Broadway. During a career that has spanned more than 30 years, Yockey has produced or presented shows starring such luminaries as Jensen Ackles, Margaret Colin, Richard Kind, Jack Klugman, Lorenzo Lamas, Donna McKechnie, Lou Diamond Phillips, Tony Randall, Cathy Rigby, Sally Struthers, new Tony winner Rachel Bay Jones and Academy Award-winning June Squibb.

Yockey is currently the Executive Director of the Thrasher-Horne Center at St. Johns River State College in Orange Park, Florida. He is also a principal with A Rising Tide Theatrical Group, LLC, which independently produces theatrical entertainment and national tours while providing counsel for other projects.

Over the course of his career, Yockey has helmed four not-for-profit theatres including Lone Star Performing Arts Association in Galveston, Texas (Executive Director); Casa Mañana Theater in Fort Worth, TX (President and Executive Producer); and Starlight Theatre in Kansas City (President and Executive Producer). Under his leadership, Starlight Theatre received the 2013 Venue Excellence Award from the International Alliance of Venue Managers in the Performing Arts Centers category. Also in 2013, his mini-tour of Miss Saigon was cited in Playbill’s list of “Most Unforgettable Experiences.” During his tenure at Casa Mañana, the landmark theatre underwent its historic renovation and the theatre was the producer and presenter of all the Broadway shows at the newly opened Bass Performance Hall. Upon his departure from Casa Mañana, Yockey received the Silver Dome Award, the theatre’s highest award for meritorious individual accomplishment.  He is one of only three recipients in the 13-year history of the award.

Yockey received a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Georgia and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Indiana University South Bend. He is a member of the Broadway League and a past Tony Awards voter for over 15 years. While in Texas he was a theatre panelist for the Cultural Arts Council of Houston and the Texas Commission on the Arts, and board member of the Live Theatre League of Tarrant County, Texas Nonprofit Theatres, Inc., and the National Alliance for Musical Theatre.

A native of Plymouth, Indiana, Yockey met his wife of 26 years, Gina, on stage in a production of The Mystery of Edwin Drood. They are the proud parents of Gwyneth and Grayson Yockey, both whom are pursuing acting careers.

On the announcement of Yockey’s appointment, mcclung commented:

“Yockey’s impressive background in producing, presenting and administration, coupled with his dedication to artistic success, positions him as the ideal head of CCM’s Division of Theatre Arts, Production and Arts Administration. I am grateful to Search Committee Chair Alan Yaffe and committee members Rebecca Bromels, Lydia Brown, Vince DeGeorge, Susan Felder, Qi Jiang and Stirling Shelton for their work and dedication to find CCM’s next great division head.”

Please join us in welcoming Denton Yockey to the CCM family!

Acclaimed Violinist Giora Schmidt is Named Assistant Professor of Violin at CCM

Interim Dean bruce d. mcclung has announced the appointment of Giora Schmidt to the position of Assistant Professor of Violin at CCM. Schmidt joined CCM’s faculty on a visiting basis in 2017. His new tenure-track appointment will begin on Aug. 15, 2018.

CCM Assistant Professor of Violin Giora Schmidt.

Praised by the Cleveland Plain Dealer as “impossible to resist, captivating with lyricism, tonal warmth and boundless enthusiasm,” Schmidt has appeared with many prominent symphony orchestras including Chicago, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Detroit, Toronto, Vancouver and the Israel Philharmonic.

As a recitalist and chamber musician, Schmidt has performed at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, San Francisco Performances, the Louvre Museum in Paris and Tokyo’s Musashino Cultural Hall. His festival appearances include the Ravinia Festival, the Santa Fe and Montreal Chamber Music Festivals, Bard Music Festival, Scotia Festival of Music and Music Academy of the West.

Born in Philadelphia to professional musicians from Israel, Schmidt began playing the violin at the age of four. He has studied with Patinka Kopec and Pinchas Zukerman at the Manhattan School of Music, and the late CCM faculty member Dorothy DeLay and Itzhak Perlman at the Juilliard School.

Schmidt was the first prize winner of the Philadelphia Orchestra’s Greenfield Competition in 2000, the recipient of a 2003 Avery Fisher Career Grant and won the Classical Recording Foundation’s Samuel Sanders Award in 2005. He was selected to be a Starling Fellow at the Juilliard School from 2004 to 2006.

Prior to his current appointment as Visiting Assistant Professor of Violin at CCM, Schmidt was on the faculty of the Juilliard School and the Perlman Music Program. Through technology and social media, he continues to find new ways of reaching young violinists and music lovers around the world.

On the announcement of CCM’s new Assistant Professor of Violin, mcclung commented:

“Schmidt’s commitment to pedagogy and his passion for excellence make him an ideal addition to the CCM family. I am grateful to Violin Search Committee Chair James Bunte and committee members Gershon Gerchikov, Alexandra Kazovsky, Kurt Sassmannshaus, and Won-Bin Yim for their work and dedication to find CCM’s next great faculty member.”

Please join us in congratulating Giora Schmidt on his new appointment!

CCM Welcomes Thomas Gamboa as Assistant Director of Wind Studies

CCM Interim Dean bruce d. mcclung has announced the addition of esteemed conductor and educator Thomas Gamboa as the college’s new Assistant Director of Wind Studies. Gamboa’s appointment begins on Aug. 15, 2018.

Originally from San Diego, Gamboa earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music Education and Music Performance in bassoon from UCLA. He also earned a Masters of Music degree in Conducting from Northwestern University, where he studied with Mallory Thompson. Additional conducting studies include work with Tom Lee, Donald Neuen, Victor Yampolsky, Craig Kirchhoff, Kenneth Kiesler, Neal Stulberg, Jerry Junkin, David Effron, David Loebel, Donald Hunsberger, Michael Votta, Kevin Sedatole, Gary Hill and Mark Davis Scatterday. This spring, he will complete his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Wind Conducting from the University of Michigan, where he is studying with Michael Haithcock.

An accomplished conductor, Gamboa previously held the rank of Captain and served active duty as Conductor and Commander of the United States Air Force Band at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. He later served as Associate Conductor and Flight Commander of the U.S. Air Forces in Europe Band at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. He earned his commission from Officer Training School, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama in February 2011.

Gamboa traveled with the Band of the Air Force Reserve on numerous national and international tours including Spain, Germany, Turkey, Qatar and Kuwait. He also helped plan, execute and edit the band’s final television broadcast Holiday Notes from Home 2011, which featured country music group Little Big Town and singer/songwriter Lee Ann Womack as guest artists. The Band of the Air Force Reserve celebrated a historic second nomination for an Emmy Award in Entertainment Programming for this broadcast, which was viewed by 1.1 million people in 174 countries.

A seasoned educator, Gamboa taught and served as the Instrumental Music Director and Music Department Chair at West Adams Preparatory High School in the Pico-Union neighborhood of Central Los Angeles. During his tenure, he founded and conducted the high school’s marching band, wind ensemble, chamber orchestra and symphonic orchestra. He was also a conducting and chamber music instructor for the National High School Music Institute, where he served as Assistant Conductor for the Wind Ensemble. Additionally, Gamboa taught drum major camps with the United Spirit Association during the summer for more than 15 years. In addition to teaching, he designed the conducting curriculum and trained instructors throughout his time with the drum major camps.

On the announcement of CCM’s new Assistant Director of Wind Studies, mcclung commented:

“Current and future students will benefit from Professor Gamboa’s extensive experience as a conductor and educator. He makes an excellent addition to CCM’s Division of Ensembles and Conducting, and I am grateful to Wind Studies Search Committee Chair Terence Milligan and committee members James Cully, Kevin Holzman, Ann Porter and Aik Khai Pung for their efforts with this successful search.”

Please join us in welcoming Professor Gamboa to the CCM Family!

Dynamic Conductor and Educator Kevin Michael Holzman is Named Director of Wind Studies at CCM

Kevin Michael Holzman will begin his new appointment as Director of Wind Studies at CCM on Aug. 15, 2018.

Interim Dean bruce d. mcclung has announced the appointment of Kevin Michael Holzman to the position of Director of Winds Studies at CCM. Holzman joined CCM’s faculty on a visiting basis in 2017. His new appointment will begin on Aug. 15, 2018.

In his new position, Holzman will serve as the music director for three ensembles: the Wind Orchestra, CCM’s premier large wind ensemble, and two chamber ensembles. His academic responsibilities will include teaching graduate conducting, survey of wind literature and related courses as well as the advising and mentoring of wind conducting students in CCM’s MM and DMA programs.

Prior to his appointment as Visiting Assistant Director of Wind Studies at CCM, Holzman earned his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in conducting at the Eastman School of Music, where he studied with Music Director of the Eastman Wind Ensemble, Mark Scatterday, DMA. As the Frederick Fennell Conducting Fellow and 2016 recipient of the prestigious Walter Hagen Prize for Excellence in Conducting, Holzman served as Associate Conductor of the world-renowned Eastman Wind Ensemble and Eastman Wind Orchestra. He regularly appeared as a conductor for OSSIA New Music, including multiple world-premiere performances. He also studied extensively with Neil Varon, Director of Eastman Orchestras.

In summer 2016, Holzman was invited to serve as an associate conductor on the Eastman Wind Ensemble’s first tour in Europe, where he conducted the Eastman Harmonie in Salzburg, Vienna and Prague. He also collaborated with prominent composers David Maslanka and Bert Appermont for the “Celebration of the Symphony” concert with the Eastman Wind Ensemble. The performance was Eastman’s first live-streamed large ensemble concert, which included the North American premiere of Appermont’s Symphony No. 2 The Golden Age. Holzman also served as an Assistant Producer for the Eastman Wind Ensemble’s recent release Sierra Live and upcoming album featuring the music of Jeff Tyzik.

Beyond Eastman, Holzman has worked with professional ensembles including the United States Army Band “Pershing’s Own” and the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. In April 2017, he was appointed conductor of the Music in the American Wild ensemble, a National Endowment for the Arts grant-funded ensemble that commissioned 11 new works in celebration of the 2016 U.S. National Parks Centennial. Holzman recently completed a studio-recording project of commissioned compositions, set for release by ArtistShare NYC in spring 2018. In 2016 Holzman formed and began serving as Music Director of the Upstate Brass Band, an exciting brass ensemble that performs in upstate New York, and was commissioned to record a series of new brass band arrangements by renowned composer/trombonist Bill Reichenbach.

Holzman became the founding Music Director and conductor of the Hobart and William Smith Colleges Wind Ensemble in fall 2016. He successfully recruited and led the ensemble’s inaugural year, and it is now the college’s largest instrumental ensemble. After earning his MM in conducting at the University of Arizona (UA), Holzman had the opportunity to teach and conduct as Interim Principal Conductor for the Wind Symphony at UA’s Fred Fox School of Music during the director’s extended absence from 2012 to 2014. He also served as the Director and Coordinator of the UA Symphonic Band and High School Honor Band during his tenure.

In addition to his work with collegiate and professional ensembles, Holzman is a passionate advocate for music education and access to music in all schools. He recently served as Volunteer Coordinator for ROCmusic, an El Sistema-inspired community music program in Rochester, New York, and he assisted with the UA Outreach Honor Band during his tenure in Tucson, Arizona. He is an honorary member of Phi Mu Alpha, Tau Beta Sigma and Kappa Kappa Psi music fraternities.

You can catch Holzman and the CCM Wind Ensemble in concert at 8 p.m. tonight, Nov. 2, in Patricia Corbett Theater. You can view a schedule of other upcoming CCM Winds Series performances by visiting ccm.uc.edu/music/winds/events/2017-18.

Please join us in congratulating Kevin Michael Holzman on his new appointment!

CCM Presents Free Performances by World-Class Musicians with Fall 2016 Faculty Artist Series

The esteemed faculty artists at UC’s College-Conservatory of Music take center stage during 12 diverse performances this fall! Running from August 29 through November 1, these programs highlight music from multiple genres, from classical styles to contemporary commercial music and beyond.

Each concert in CCM’s Faculty Artist Series series is free and open to the general public, offering audiences the chance to hear recitals by world-class artists in CCM’s stunning performance halls.

Please refer to the listings below for a complete schedule and additional performance information.

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CCM’S FALL 2016 FACULTY ARTIST SERIES

8 p.m. Monday, Aug. 29
TIMMER AND FRIENDS
Timothy Northcut, tuba
Location: Cohen Family Studio Theater
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8 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 7
Alan Siebert, trumpet
Sandra Rivers, piano
A night of trumpet and piano, with selections by Joseph Turrin, George Gershwin, Robert Schumann, J.G.B. Neruda, Brendan Collins and others.
Location: Robert J. Werner Recital Hall
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4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 11
Marie-France Lefebvre, piano
Featuring Mark Gibson, piano; Donna Loewy, piano; and Nathaniel Chaitkin, cello
This program will include Rachmaninoff’s Cello Sonata, Op. 19, and Corigliano’s Gazebo Dances, along with works by Mozart and Schubert.
Location: Robert J. Werner Recital Hall
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The previously announced Sept. 19 performance by Daniel Weeks and Donna Loewy has been rescheduled for 4 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 22, 2017. The performance will remain in the Robert J. Werner Recital Hall.

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8 p.m. Monday, Sept. 19
Allen Otte, Percussion
Featuring music written for Allen Otte by Rzewski, Schuette and Applebaum as well as original compositions by Otte himself!
Location: Cohen Family Studio Theater
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8 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 20
Mary Stucky, mezzo-soprano
Rodney Stucky, guitar and lute
Performing songs from the rich repertory of French, German, Spanish and English music for voice, guitar and lute.
Location: Robert J. Werner Recital Hall
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8 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 20
Russell Burge, vibraphone
Steve Allee, piano
Original compositions and great American standards.
Location: Cohen Family Studio Theater
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8 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 21
Mara Helmuth, composition
Pianists Shiau-uen Ding and Kristofer Rucinsky perform Helmuth’s All Alarms Sounding, a new work for two pianos and 8-channel electronics. This recital also features from O for two cellos and electronics, along with works from the Sonic Refuges projects, which was inspired by Helmuth’s trip to Australia.
Location: Robert J. Werner Recital Hall
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4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 25
Michael Chertock, piano
Featuring the music of Ravel, Prokofiev, Stravinsky and Messiaen.
Location: Robert J. Werner Recital Hall
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The previously announced Sept. 26 performance by Thomas Baresel, Amy Johnson, Kenneth Griffiths and Mark Gibson has been rescheduled for 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2017. The performance will remain in the Robert J. Werner Recital Hall.
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8 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 27
Commercial Music Production Faculty Concert
Experience the musical innovations of CCM’s Commercial Music Production (CMP) faculty members with a concert program featuring musical genres from across the globe! For this concert, our faculty artists perform original music with their own groups and also collectively as the CMP Faculty Group! CMP Program Director Kim Pensyl performs with faculty members Aaron Jacobs, John Taylor and Rusty Burge, along with faculty emeritus Rick VanMatre. CMP faculty artists Jim Connerely, Dan Karlsberg and Ric Hordinski also perform during this special event, which is the first concert presented by the CMP department!
Location: Robert J. Werner Recital Hall
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7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 11
CCM Faculty Jazztet
CCM’s world-famous jazz faculty artists show off their skills with a set of cool charts and blazing solos!
Location: Robert J. Werner Recital Hall
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8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 1
Percussion Group Cincinnati
Featuring music by Cage, Stockhausen and a premiere from CCM alumnus Mark Saya.
Location: Patricia Corbett Theater
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Event Information
All events listed here take place in CCM Village on the campus of the University of Cincinnati. Admission to Faculty Artist Series performances is free and reservations are not required.

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.

For directions to CCM Village, visit ccm.uc.edu/about/directions.

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CCM Season Presenting Sponsor: The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation

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A preeminent institution for the performing and media arts, CCM is the largest single source of performing arts presentations in the state of Ohio.

All event dates and programs are subject to change. For a complete calendar of events, please visit us online at ccm.uc.edu.

Building a Ballet: E-Media students give inside look at CCM’s ‘Swan Lake’

CCM Electronic Media and UC journalism students take us behind-the-scenes with a look at the rehearsals for next week’s production of Swan Lake. The video series chronicles all of the work and dedication students, faculty and staff put into the lavish new production of Tchaikovsky’s timeless ballet.

Students within the News Writing and Reporting class, taught by Assistant Professor of E-Media Hagit Limor and Journalism Professor Bob Jonason, created the videos, which star faculty and students within CCM’s Dance Department.

In the video above, Dance Department chair and Swan Lake co-director Jiang Qi discusses the work that goes into presenting such an iconic ballet. He explains:

“Swan Lake is one of the top classical ballets in the repertoire. It’s almost textbook. You learn Swan Lake and then you get much stronger. This is an art form that requires a lot of physical and mental endurance to get through.”

The videos and photos, created by students Brevin Couch, Mark D’Andrea, Tyler Dunn, Daniel Honerkamp, Ailish Masterston and Andrew Wilkins, can be viewed on the Building a Ballet website. Visit the website to view interviews with dance students Madison Holschuh (Odette), Sam Jones (Prince Siegfried), and Kiahna Saneshige (Odile). The package was recently featured in Cincinnati Magazine.

Swan Lake is only the second story ballet ever presented as part of CCM’s Mainstage Series. The production runs April 22 – 24 in CCM’s Corbett Auditorium.

Co-directed by Jiang and Professor Deirdre Carberry, the production features students from CCM’s BFA Ballet program, which Dance Magazine has hailed as one of the country’s “top programs to consider.”

The lavishly staged spectacle features accompaniment by CCM’s lauded Concert Orchestra under the direction of Professor Aik Khai Pung.

This production marks the first time in CCM’s nearly 150-year history that a dance production has featured brand new costumes designed and built in-house. You can learn more about the work that went into costuming Swan Lake here.

Performance Times

• 8 p.m. Friday, April 22
• 8 p.m. Saturday, April 23
• 2 p.m. Sunday, April 24

Location
Corbett Auditorium, CCM Village
University of Cincinnati

Purchasing Tickets
Tickets to Swan Lake are $27-31 for adults, $17-20 for non-UC students and $15-18 for UC students with a valid ID.

Tickets can be purchased in person at the CCM Box Office, over the telephone at 513-556-4183 or online at ccm.uc.edu/boxoffice/mainstage/swan-lake.

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.

For directions to CCM Village, visit ccm.uc.edu/about/directions.

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CCM Season Presenting Sponsor and Musical Theatre Program Sponsor: The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation

Mainstage Season Production Sponsor: Macy’s

Production Sponsors: Rosemary & Mark Schlachter, Teri Jory & Seth Geiger and Graeter’s

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Story by Curt Whitacre

From Sketch to Stage: The Making of CCM’s ‘Swan Lake’ Costumes

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There is a shortage of tutu makers in the world, said CCM Professor and Head of the Costume Design and Technology Program Dean Mogle, who faced the daunting task of designing costumes for Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake ballet.

CCM is working to fix that shortage by training the next generation of costume designers and technicians, whose work will debut on stage in the conservatory’s first ballet production to have costumes designed and built in-house.

A timeless tale of love, magic and mystery, Swan Lake will grace the Corbett Auditorium stage from April 22-24, marking the second time in CCM’s nearly 150-year history that a full-length story ballet has been included in the Mainstage Series.

Staff and students within the Costume Design and Technology program have worked on the ‘Swan Lake’ costumes for the past 18 months.

Presented by CCM’s Department of Dance, the ballet uses three different casts and the principal roles are all double cast ­— which is challenging for the costume shop students and staff responsible for ensuring the pieces fit each dancer correctly.

“You have to understand what dancers go through—what they need,” Mogle said. “Balance becomes really important.”

Costume designers and technicians must consider the weight of the fabrics and headpieces so the dancer can retain their natural balance. There is also limited “real estate” on the costume for artistic expression or characterization, Mogle said. If a female dancer needs to be lifted, safety dictates the fabric around her waist can’t be too slick and can’t get caught on anything.

“The ballet world is a totally different beast.”

Newly designed costumes for the Hungarian Czardas in Act III of ‘Swan Lake,’ made by costume students and staff. To the far right is Prince Siegfried’s jacket, made by Jessica Barksdale.

Mogle, with a team of students and faculty within the Costume Design and Technology program, has worked on the Swan Lake costumes for the past 18 months. They’ve borrowed and modified some costumes from a previous CCM performance of Brigadoon and the Broadway production of Cyrano, The Musical. Costumes for the principal and specialty roles in the ballet are newly designed and made.

Iconic white tutus, bodices, vibrant dresses and rich fabrics have taken over their workshop. The costumes are designed in the traditional style typically associated with the classic ballet. CCM plans to reuse and rent out some of them after the performance.

Jessica Barksdale is building Mogle’s design for Prince Siegfried’s costume, which will be worn in Acts III and IV.

Mogle, who previously designed costumes for the Cincinnati Ballet’s The Nutcracker, watched five or six different productions of Swan Lake to prepare for his costume designs. The pieces are still evolving on a daily basis, he said.

“Since we are making the production to last about 30 or 40 years, we don’t ever want to get too wild and crazy with the concept because it is pretty traditional,” Mogle said. “The things that really change in a traditional ballet like this are going to be the specialty characters.”

Those include the newly designed and made pieces that will be worn at the ball in Act III, where the Queen invites potential wives from Poland, Hungary, Italy, Spain, Naples and Poland to match with her son, Prince Siegfried.

A sketch and sleeve of Von Rothbart’s Act III costume, made by Erin Winslow.

At the ball, Prince Siegfried will wear a newly designed black and gold jacket made by Jessica Barksdale, first-year costume technology graduate student. Rothbart, the evil sorcerer who cursed the prince’s love Odette, will wear an intricately detailed costume made by senior costume technology student, Erin Winslow, as part of her capstone project.

Barskdale and Winslow are also making the iconic white and black swan costumes for leading female characters Odette and Odile. Associate Professor of Costume Technology Regina Truhart is managing all costume production for the ballet.

The in-progress white and black swan costumes for characters Odette and Odile are being made by Jessica Barksdale and Erin Winslow, respectively.

After 27 years at CCM, Mogle is familiar with the 30,000 costume pieces the conservatory has in stock. Luckily, the costume department was able to pull pieces from past performances of Brigadoon and Cyrano to modify them for courtier and peasant costumes in Swan Lake.

The costume department dyed some of the costumes in bright jewel tones and added details such as sashes, sleeves, aprons and hats. Net petticoats were used to make the costumes lighter and easier to dance in.

Costumes from the CCM production of ‘Brigadoon’ are being modified for the female peasants in Act I of ‘Swan Lake.’

“Every time we do [Swan Lake], we’ll add more to it and rely less on our costume stock,” Mogle said, adding that when the ballet is performed again in 6 years they will likely build new peasant costumes.

“That’s how some companies do it anyway. They’ll use tutus from many kinds of shows. Pulling together a show like this from all of these different places is a great exercise.”

Acquiring materials is one hurdle but then, of course, the costumes must actually fit.

It helps that musical theatre bodies and dancer bodies are similar in stature, Mogle said. It would cost around $5,000 to reproduce one of the Cyrano costumes today.

Costume technicians included three clasp sizes on the ‘Swan Lake’ bodices so they can be adjusted for different dancers.

With three different casts, and double-cast principals, it was important to make the costumes interchangeable for different dancers. The technicians included three clasp sizes for the bodices to make them more adjustable and, in some cases, built extra costumes.

The process and pieces are evolving daily, with more adjustments expected after fittings and the dress rehearsals. A beautiful design can look perfect on a mannequin but flawed when put on a body that needs to breathe, dance and kick. That is why it’s important for the costuming students to learn each step in the creative process, said Mogle.

 “The whole focus of our program is teaching design and technology so designers know how to make stuff and makers know how to design stuff. So they all have the same sensibility as to how things should look and how they should be handled. If the knowledge base in those two roles isn’t strong then things fall apart.”

After the designs are sketched, the appropriate fabrics need to be found, Mogle said of the costuming process. Then there’s making the patterns and cutting them out of the cloth and stitching them together. There’s also fabric painting and dying and mask and jewelry making.

“Each one of those is a profession in itself,” Mogle said. “The more skills you have as a technician and the more kinds of plays and operas and ballets that you can design as a designer, your job market opens up. It’s a good part of training and real life experience.”

Co-directed by Dance Department Chair Jiang Qi and Associate Professor of Dance Deirdre Carberry, the Mainstage Series production features students from CCM’s BFA Ballet program. The lavishly staged spectacle features accompaniment by CCM’s lauded Concert Orchestra under the direction of Assistant Professor of Music Aik Khai Pung.

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Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake runs April. 22 – 24 in Corbett Auditorium. Tickets are $27-31 for adults, $17-20 for non-UC students and $15-18 UC students with a valid ID.

Tickets can be purchased in person at the CCM Box Office, over the telephone at 513-556-4183 or online at ccm.uc.edu/boxoffice/mainstage/swan-lake.

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CCM Season Presenting Sponsor and Musical Theatre Program Sponsor: The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation

Mainstage Season Production Sponsor: Macy’s

Community Partner: ArtsWave

Production Sponsors: Rosemary & Mark Schlachter, Teri Jory & Seth Geiger and Graeter’s
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Story by Rebecca Butts

CCM Dance Presents Lavish New Production of Enduring Classic Ballet ‘Swan Lake’ April 22-24, 2016

Madison Holschuh as Odette and Samuel Jones as Prince Siegfried in CCM’s production of ‘Swan Lake.’ Photo by René Micheo.

CCM’s Department of Dance presents Tchaikovsky’s timeless ballet, Swan Lake, April 22-24 in Corbett Auditorium. Co-directed by Dance Department Chair Jiang Qi and Associate Professor of Dance Deirdre Carberry, the Mainstage Series production features students from CCM’s BFA Ballet program, which Dance Magazine has hailed as one of the country’s “top programs to consider.” The lavishly staged spectacle features accompaniment by CCM’s lauded Concert Orchestra under the direction of Assistant Professor of Music Aik Khai Pung.

A tale of unending love and haunting mystery, Swan Lake is one of the most well-known fables of our time. The classic Russian ballet is performed in four acts and tells the story of Odette, a maiden turned into a swan by the evil sorcerer, Von Rothbart.

Disinterested in potential love matches arranged by his mother, Prince Siegfried is in search of a wife when he stumbles upon Odette during a night hunt. The two fall madly in love but their romance is hindered by Odette’s curse – which forces her and her fellow maidens to become swans by day and human by night.

Swan Lake marks only the second time in CCM’s nearly 150-year history that a full-length story ballet has been included in the Mainstage Series. As a result, this production features brand new costumes designed and built in-house, which is actually a CCM first.

Costume Design and Technology Program Head Dean Mogle spent 18 months on the creation of Swan Lake’s intricate costumes. For the past 40 years, Mogle has designed for numerous drama, musical theatre, opera and dance productions, including the Cincinnati Ballet’s The Nutcracker.

“The ballet world is a totally different beast,” Mogle said of the challenging costume designs. “In dance, it’s all about the body and movement.”

In addition to the famous white swan costumes traditionally associated with the ballet, the story will come to life with vibrant colors and rich fabrics adorning the talented performers of CCM Dance. In particular, keep an eye out for the intricately designed costumes worn by Prince Siegfried’s potential wives on display during the opulent ball in Act III.

For this production, the iconic role of Odette will be performed by dance majors Yu-Ting Huang (on Friday and Sunday) and Madison Holschuh (on Saturday).

Guest artist Patric Palkens, appearing by permission of the Cincinnati Ballet, will perform as Prince Siegfried in the Friday and Sunday performances of Swan Lake. Palkens joined the Cincinnati Ballet in 2011 and was promoted to Principal Dancer in 2015. He returns to Cincinnati after spending a year in Europe with Salzburg State Theater Austria Dance.

The ballet will also feature Assistant Professor of Dance André Megerdichian, who will dance the role of evil sorcerer Von Rothbart. Megerdichian has performed professionally over two decades with such companies and choreographers as the Jose Limón Dance company, Janis Brenner and Dancers, The Mary Anthony Dance Theatre, Soundance Repertory Company, Reidel Dance Theatre, Daniel Charon and Sean Curran.

Join us for this timeless tale of love and magic in CCM’s Corbett Auditorium April 22-24.

Performance Times

• 8 p.m. Friday, April 22
• 8 p.m. Saturday, April 23
• 2 p.m. Sunday, April 24

Location
Corbett Auditorium, CCM Village
University of Cincinnati

Purchasing Tickets
Tickets to Swan Lake are $27-31 for adults, $17-20 for non-UC students and $15-18 for UC students with a valid ID.

Tickets can be purchased in person at the CCM Box Office, over the telephone at 513-556-4183 or online at ccm.uc.edu/boxoffice/mainstage/swan-lake.

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.

For directions to CCM Village, visit ccm.uc.edu/about/directions.

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CCM Season Presenting Sponsor and Musical Theatre Program Sponsor: The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation

Mainstage Season Production Sponsor: Macy’s

Production Sponsors: Rosemary & Mark Schlachter, Teri Jory & Seth Geiger and Graeter’s

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Story by CCM and UC Lindner College of Business graduate student Ryan Strand (BFA Musical Theatre, 2006)

CCM Welcomes Scott Lipscomb as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Director of Graduate Studies

Scott Lipscomb, incoming Associate Dean for Aacademic Affairs and Director of Graduate Studies at CCM.

CCM Dean Peter Landgren has announced the appointment of Scott D. Lipscomb to the position of Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Director of Graduate Studies. Lipscomb’s tenure at CCM will begin on May 31, 2016.

“I look forward to welcoming Dr. Lipscomb to Cincinnati this spring,” said Landgren. “He will be a strong advocate for student learning, an innovator when working with our curricula, a collaborative partner for our faculty members and a key member of our administrative team. Dr. Lipscomb’s interdisciplinary background lends itself perfectly to CCM’s approach to academics. His expertise will also allow CCM to maximize its research potential in collaboration with UC’s other colleges.”

Lipscomb comes to CCM from the University of Minnesota, where he most recently served as Associate Director of the School of Music, Director of Undergraduate Studies and Professor of Music. In these roles, he collaborated on the School of Music’s strategic planning process and served as primary author and facilitator for that institution’s 10-year NASM self-study, while also serving as a member of the school’s senior leadership team.

During his tenure at the University of Minnesota, Lipscomb also served as Interim Director of the School of Music from 2014-15. He headed the school’s Division of Music Education and Music Therapy from 2006-10 and 2011-13.

Prior to his appointment at the University of Minnesota, Lipscomb held faculty and administrative positions at Northwestern University, the University of Texas at San Antonio, Southern Methodist University and Webster University in Vienna, Austria.

Lipscomb’s primary areas of research include the integration of technology in the music classroom, the facilitation of music learning through technology and the incorporation of music across the K-12 curriculum, along with interactive instructional media development, sound for multimedia, website design and multimedia cognition.

A frequent presenter at regional, national and international conferences, Lipscomb has also had his research published in numerous peer-reviewed journals and edited volumes. He is editor of the Journal of Technology in Music Learning.

Lipscomb is immediate past-President for the Association for Technology in Music Instruction, while serving on the boards of the Society for Music Perception & Cognition and the Technology Institute for Music Educators. He also chairs the Technology Institute for Music Educators’ research committee.

Lipscomb holds a PhD and an MA in Systematic Musicology from UCLA. He received his BM in Jazz Performance with an emphasis on electric and acoustic bass from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Lipscomb will spend the month of June working side-by-side with CCM’s retiring Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Director of Graduate Studies Terrell Finney.

“June will be a time to welcome Dr. Lipscomb to campus, as well as a time to thank Terrell Finney for his years of dedicated service to CCM,” Landgren added.

Lipscomb’s academic home at CCM will be the Division of Electronic Media and he will continue his research activities while fulfilling the duties of Associate Dean.

Please join us in welcoming Scott Lipscomb to the CCM family!

A Discussion With ‘American Idiot’ Set Designer Thomas Umfrid

The curtain rises on CCM’s production of Green Day’s punk rock-opera American Idiot  at 8 p.m. on Thursday, March 3, but the behind-the-scenes work has been going on for months. Much of the design process for a musical must be completed before actors even step into the rehearsal hall, but the work doesn’t end there. It continues all the way to opening night.

Thomas Umfrid, American Idiot set designer and Professor of Stage Design at CCM, is no stranger to the process. His career has taken him around the world, designing for opera, drama, musical theatre, dance and more. We were able to tear him away from his hectic schedule leading up to opening night to give us a little insight about his design.

Talk about the overall design for American Idiot and how you came up with it.

An image from ground zero in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attack in New York City.

Director Aubrey Berg came up with the design concept, a lot of which is based on iconographic 9/11 imagery, which I then developed into the design.

This project has an overriding environmental conceit and isn’t supposed to be any particular time or place.  It’s a space that evokes a dark and pessimistic mood and serves the loosely episodic stage action.

The music and lyrics aren’t pretty or glamorous, they ’re down and dirty. So is the set.

How does the set help tell the story?

Although the story deals with events passing in time and inter-related characters, it doesn’t necessitate “in focus” scenic environments, time of day or symbolic references to actual places.

For example, the characters go to New York, but the city isn’t directly rendered in any particularly recognizable way. It could be any big western city where marginalized and drugged out suburban youth have fled to try and find themselves, and in so doing, get terribly lost in the process.

How close is the actual product on stage to the initial ideas?

There is always a natural, and expected, “page to stage” evolution of a set design from the scale model and mechanical drawings to the real thing sitting on stage.

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My student, staff and faculty colleagues have done an incredible job of developing and translating Aubrey’s and my ideas to the stage. When the cast moves into the theater and begins to explore the, at times, 28 foot high stage after weeks of rehearsal in a rather neutral and barrier free rehearsal hall, I’ll have a much better idea of how successful we’ve been in translating our ideas to the stage. This is always a crucial and exciting phase of any show.

What was most important to you to convey through the set?

I hope the audience will be subconsciously affected by the environment and, rather than notice anything in particular about the set, have a visceral reaction as they experience the show as a whole entity.
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American Idiot runs March 3 – 13 at CCM’s Patricia Corbett Theater. This production contains mature subject matter, including references to drug use, sexual content and profanity. Tickets can be purchased in person at the CCM Box Office, over the telephone at 513-556-4183 or online at ccm.uc.edu/boxoffice/mainstage/american-idiot.

CCM’s Mainstage Series production of Green Day’s ‘American Idiot’ plays March 3 – 13, 2016.

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CCM Season Presenting Sponsor and Musical Theatre Program Sponsor: The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation

Mainstage Season Production Sponsor: Macy’s

Community Partner: ArtsWave

American Idiot 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 | www.MTIShows.com