Plan Ahead: UC Homecoming Street Closures This Weekend

The University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music presents a packed performance schedule this weekend with the Mainstage production of A Chorus Line, the Studio Acting performances of Middletown and a guest artist concert from the United States Air Force Band. Please be aware that there will be heavier than normal traffic on and around campus related to UC Homecoming activities.

If you plan to attend a CCM performance on Friday or Saturday, please take note of the UC Homecoming events and street closures that may impact your parking and travel time.

Friday, Oct. 21
UC Homecoming Kick-Off Party
6-9 p.m. | UC’s Sigma Sigma Commons
There will be no street closures on Friday but there may be increased traffic on and around campus.

Saturday, Oct. 22
UC Homecoming activities will feature the Bearcats Blitz Tailgate and the annual Homecoming parade around campus, both start at 3 p.m. The football game versus East Carolina University is at 7 p.m. at UC’s Nippert Stadium.

Parade Route Street Closings

• Calhoun Street, between Vine Street and Clifton Avenue, will close at 2 p.m.
• Clifton Avenue, between McMillan Avenue and Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, will close at 2:30 p.m.
• Eastbound traffic on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, between Clifton Avenue and Woodside Drive, will be restricted prior to the start of the parade. The eastbound right-hand lane (the lane closest to campus) will be closed; the middle and left-hand lanes will remain open. Westbound traffic will remain unaffected.

Entry into the Clifton Court, Woodside and Calhoun parking garages will be prohibited starting at 2 p.m. on Saturday. All parking and regular driving routes will be reinstated near the Homecoming parade’s anticipated end by approximately 4:30 p.m.

Get additional parking and tailgate details here.

CCM Alumni Help Make Super Bowl 50 Performances a Hit

If you were one of the estimated 167 million viewers watching last Sunday’s Super Bowl 50, then you caught two CCM graduates in action!

For her buzzed-about rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” pop singer/songwriter Lady Gaga was joined on piano by CCM alumnus Alex Smith (BM Jazz Studies, 2001).

CCM alumna Lindsey Grebeldinger-Stewart (MM Voice, 2013) was also featured in the pre-game performances, singing “America the Beautiful” as an alto vocalist with the United States Armed Forces Chorus.

USA Today caught up with Smith after his well-received performance and reported on how the pianist and Soundview Preparatory School music teacher prepared for the most-viewed performance of his career.

“Some of my experience with Gaga had primed me a little bit,” Smith explained to reporter Kevin Phelan. “Doing a nationally broadcast television show with her; that was really nerve wracking for me at the time. And getting to play with Tony Bennett was a huge honor and thrill and was also something that created sort of a nerve-wracking experience for me in terms of wanting to do well for someone who’s such a legend… those moments really provided good practice for something like this.”

As previously reported, Smith is a member of the Brian Newman Quintet, which also includes CCM alumni Brian Newman (CCM, 1999-2003), saxophonist Steve Kortyka (BM Jazz, 2004) and bassist Scott Ritchie (BM, 2003). Newman knew Lady Gaga “before she was famous” and his Quintet first performed with her on the 2011 ABC Holiday Special A Very Gaga Thanksgiving, before playing on Gaga’s duet album with Tony Bennett, Cheek to Cheek. The quintet also toured North America and Europe with the duo this past summer.

You can read USA Today‘s profile of Alex Smith here.

You can read Billboard‘s report on the Armed Forces Chorus’ rendition of “America the Beautiful” here.

CCM Philharmonia Begins Exciting Trek Through the ‘Great Decade’ This Friday, Sept. 4

The acclaimed CCM Philharmonia begins its 2015­–16 season at 8 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 4, with a performance that will inaugurate the orchestra’s adventure through what CCM Professor Mark Gibson has dubbed the “Great Decade.”

The period in question – ranging from 1900 through 1909 – is noteworthy due to the explosion of cutting edge compositional techniques and modernist composers that would completely reshape the musical landscape.

In place of the homogeny that defined previous eras such as the Classical and Romantic periods, art music at the dawn of the 20th century saw the emergence of composers with very distinct, individual voices, as well as established composers evolving in new, creative ways.

“This particular period of time may be the outstanding symphonic decade in all of western classical music,” explains Gibson, the head of CCM’s Department of Orchestral Studies and music director for the CCM Philharmonia. “From an orchestral standpoint, CCM has never had a more exciting season.”

The CCM Philharmonia’s season-opening concert on Friday, Sept. 4, focuses on composers from Russia and Austria, giving the audience a taste of these new tracts in classical music.

Igor Stravinsky, often considered the father of both Primitivism (The Rite of Spring) and Neoclassicism (Pulcinella), is represented with one of his earliest works: the orchestral suite Fireworks.

Arnold Schoenberg is also showcased with his Five Orchestral Pieces, a highly chromatic work that can be seen as a gateway into his revolutionary work with atonality (Pierrot Lunaire) and 12-tone technique (Variations for Orchestra).

Finally, the concert ends with the rich orchestral colors of famed pianist/composer Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 2 in E Minor, Op. 28, a work that represents the transition from the previous Romantic era to a new and different world.

This special concert event also opens with an added treat: cellists from the Cincinnati Young Artists (CYA) program will join the CCM Philharmonia in a special version of “The Star-Spangled Banner” arranged by Distinguished Teaching Professor of Music Theory and Composition Miguel Roig-Francolí. The arrangement, written for 50 cellos, represents the 50 states.

This same rendition of the national anthem will also be performed the following evening (7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 5), as UC President Santa J. Ono joins musicians from both CCM and the CYA on cello to perform the work at the inauguration of the newly renovated Nippert Stadium prior to the Bearcats’ football home opener against Alabama A&M. You can learn more about this performance by visiting uc.edu/news/NR.aspx?id=22149.

The CCM Philharmonia’s Sept. 4 performance gives a small glimpse of what is to come during this season’s celebration of the “Great Decade.” Learn more about this four-concert adventure below!
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THE GREAT DECADE (1900–1909): A SEASON OF EXPLORATION

8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 4
WORKS FROM RUSSIA AND AUSTRIA
CCM Philharmonia
Mark Gibson, music director and conductor
STRAVINSKY: Fireworks
SCHOENBERG: Five Orchestral Pieces
RACHMANINOFF: Symphony No. 2 in E Minor, Op. 28
Location: Corbett Auditorium
Tickets: $15 general, $10 non-UC students, UC students FREE.

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8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 2
WORKS FROM ITALY AND ENGLAND
CCM Philharmonia
Mark Gibson, music director and conductor
RAVEL: Alborada del Grazioso
PUCCINI: Duetto: “Bimba, bimba non piangere” (from Madama Butterfly)
ELGAR: Symphony No. 1 in A-flat Major, Op. 55
Location: Corbett Auditorium
Tickets: $15 general, $10 non-UC students, UC students FREE.

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8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 20
MAHLER’S SYMPHONY NO. 7
CCM Philharmonia
Mark Gibson, music director
Ulrich Nicolai, guest conductor
MOZART: Piano concerto TBA
Feat. the winner of the CCM Piano Concerto Competition
MAHLER: Symphony No. 7
Location: Corbett Auditorium
Tickets: $15 general, $10 non-UC students, UC students FREE.

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8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 29
RICHARD STRAUSS’ SALOME
CCM Philharmonia
Featuring faculty artists Amy Johnson, Kenneth Shaw and Tom Baresel, along with several student soloists
Mark Gibson, music director and conductor
Robin Guarino, stage director
The capstone of CCM’s festival celebrating the “Great Decade,” Richard Strauss’ 1905 masterpiece Salome represents the epitome of pre-World War I decadence, opulence and extravagance. An adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s controversial stage work of the same name, this staging is an hour and a half of irresistible drama and ecstatic hyper-romanticism. It is a must see for opera fans, theatre enthusiasts and lovers of massive orchestral sound.
Location: Corbett Auditorium
Tickets: $15 general, $10 non-UC students, UC students FREE.

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Purchasing Tickets
Tickets can be purchased in person at the CCM Box Office, over the telephone at 513-556-4183 or online now through our e-Box Office!

Visit ccm.uc.edu/boxoffice for CCM Box Office hours and location.

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 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 & Musical Theatre Program Sponsor: The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation

Community Partner: ArtsWave

Orchestral Sponsor: Mr. & Mrs. Joseph W. Hirschhorn
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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.

CCM Announces Updated Event Information for November and December 2012

Today, we are delighted to provide you with CCM’s updated schedule of major events for November and December 2012. All updated listings are highlighted in red.

All events listed below take place in CCM Village on the campus of the University of Cincinnati unless otherwise indicated. Admission is free to many CCM performances, although some events do require purchased tickets or reservations. Please see individual event information for details and ordering information.

All event dates and programs are subject to change. Visit ccm.uc.edu or contact the CCM Box Office at 513-556-4183 for the most current event information.

CCM Slideshows: A Midsummer Night’s Dream

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CCM proudly presents a colorful new twist on William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, running through Oct. 7 in UC’s Patricia Corbett Theater.

Are you coming to campus for UC Homecoming this weekend? Come to CCM Village after the Homecoming Kickoff Party at the Myers Alumni Center on Friday for an 8 p.m. performance or come early on Saturday and catch a matinee of A Midsummer Night’s Dream at 2 p.m. (kick-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.).

This is a perfect weekend to experience EVERYTHING going on at the University of Cincinnati! Don’t miss the opening of CCM’s must-see 2012-13 Mainstage Series.

Art of the Piano Festival Welcomes Celebrated Performers and Pedagogues to CCM

This month, CCM presents an exclusive opportunity for gifted young pianists to work with some of the world’s most sought-after teachers. Art of the Piano starts its festivities on June 18 and runs through June 30, 2012. Taking place in CCM’s Robert J. Werner Recital Hall, students will enjoy daily master classes, take part in student recitals and have the opportunity to see luminaries such as Ann Schein, Awadagin Pratt, Tamás Vásáry, Wonmi Kim and Robert Weirich in performance.

Tickets to the Pratt and Vásáry’s performance on Wednesday, June 20 are $12 for general admission, $11 UC faculty and staff members and $5 for students with valid ID. All other recitals are free and open to the public (see a complete schedule below).

UC Head Football Coach Butch Jones Conducts Master Class At CCM

CCM Dean Peter Landgren, UC Head Football Coach Butch Jones and CCM Assistant Professor of Trombone Tim Anderson.

Earlier today, UC Head Football Coach Butch Jones stopped by CCM’s Robert J. Werner Recital Hall to give a master class on performance preparation and mental conditioning.

From dealing with nerves and eliminating distractions to strategies for staying motivated, Coach Jones discussed the similarities between athletic and musical performance to a hall filled with CCM students and faculty!

UC Campus Community: CCM and UC Athletics Events on Dec. 3, May Impact Traffic & Parking

This Saturday, Dec. 3, 2011, the University of Cincinnati will be hosting multiple events on campus. If you will be coming to campus on Saturday, please plan for the increased traffic.