CCM Acting Students Devise New Work for International Fringe Festival

H2O: A Play about Water will debut in Cincinnati on April 19, 2018, as part of CCM Acting’s Studio Series. Tickets become available at noon on Monday, April 16 through the CCM Box Office. 

CCM students have devised a new work to be presented this summer at Scotland’s Edinburgh International Fringe Festival. Before the production travels overseas, H2O: A Play about Water will premiere in Cincinnati as the final installment of CCM’s 2017-18 Studio Series on April 19-21 in Cohen Family Studio Theater.

The play is an original 60-minute piece of theatre that was created by 30 students from the Acting, Musical Theatre and Technical Production Departments at CCM. Admission to the CCM performances is free, but reservations are required. Tickets become available at noon on Monday, April 16 through the CCM Box Office.

CCM Acting Department Chair Richard Hess conceived the show and directed the students as they crafted the new work. The play is a theatrical collage of scenes that explore the abundance, scarcity and restorative powers of water.

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“Water is life,” Hess says. “Seventy-one percent of our planet is water. Oceans rise. Droughts kill. Water soothes and water heals. H2O is an epic theatrical journey. Are you thirsty? Come have a drink of H2O.”

Faculty and students will travel to Scotland to present H2O: A Play about Water in four performances at the 71^st Edinburgh International Fringe Festival on August 4-8, 2018. This is the first time CCM Acting students have presented an original work in the most prestigious Fringe Festival in the world.

“Some dreams can last 37 years, and when they come true, they are more vivid and more magical than expected,” says Hess about this opportunity. “In 1981 when I was a junior in college, I traveled to Scotland for a study abroad experience and stayed for the year studying drama and English at the University of Glasgow. I have dreamed of taking a show to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival since I first set foot in Scotland 37 years ago. Taking 30 CCM students to Scotland is a dream come true.”

You can see the Cincinnati premiere of H2O: A Play about Water in CCM’s Cohen Family Studio Theater from April 19-21. Visit CCM’s guide to Studio Series tickets for tips and tricks to secure your seats.
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Performance Times

• 8 p.m. Thursday, April 19
• 8 p.m. Friday, April 20
• 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, April 21

Location
Cohen Family Studio Theater, CCM Village
University of Cincinnati

Admission
Admission is free. Reservations are required. Tickets become available at noon on Monday, April 16. Please visit the CCM Box Office or call 513-556-4183 to reserve. Limit two tickets per order.

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

Acting Studio Series Sponsor: Neil Artman and Margaret Straub

CCM Slideshows: 150th Birthday Bash

 

Students, faculty and staff enjoyed CCM’s 150th anniversary birthday picnic. Photo by Joseph Fuqua II.

CCM began its yearlong Sesquicentennial Celebration with a Birthday Bash Picnic on August 25. Thanks to the students, alumni, faculty, staff and friends who joined us for the celebration!

View the slideshow below to see highlights from CCM’s birthday picnic:

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The celebration continues throughout CCM’s 2017-18 season with nearly 1000 public performances and special events! Join the CCM Philharmonia for its season-opening concert at 8 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 8 in Patricia Corbett Theater.

You can learn more about CCM’s fall schedule of performing and media arts events by picking up a Fall 2017 Calendar of Major Events at the CCM Box Office.

You can also view a digital copy of CCM’s Fall Calendar of Events by visiting issuu.com/ccmpr/docs/ccmfall2017calendarbooklet.

CCM Announces Sesquicentennial Studio Series of Acting, Dance, Musical Theatre and Opera

CCM presents nine eclectic and electrifying productions as part of its 150th Anniversary Studio Series of Acting, Dance, Musical Theatre and Opera. This annual series of performing and media arts events features CCM’s acclaimed “stars of tomorrow” in a collection of scaled-down stagings set in the Cohen Family Studio Theater and other intimate performance spaces.

Composer, lyricist, playwright and CCM alumnus Todd Almond.

The 2017-18 series opens in October with the musical revue Sondheim on Sondheim, which showcases the songs of legendary musical theatre composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim. In November, CCM proudly presents The Earth is Flat, a touching coming-of-age story written by CCM alumnus Todd Almond (BM, 1999) and set in UC’s Calhoun Hall. November also sees the return of the 48-Hour Film Festival, which showcases 10 student-created short films produced over the course of a single weekend.

The series continues in early 2018 with productions of the operas Trouble in Tahiti, The Telephone, Tale for a Deaf Ear and Ariodante. CCM’s popular Dance Student Choreographers’ Showcase and TRANSMIGRATION Festival of Student-Created New Works both return in March. The 150th Anniversary Studio Series concludes in Spring 2018 with the unconventional and moving musical drama The Theory of Relativity (directed and choreographed by CCM alumna Katie Johannigman) and the debut of an original 60-minute play created by CCM Acting for the 71st Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

The Studio Series is just one part of the yearlong CCM Sesquicentennial Celebration, which includes world premieres, guest artist performances, a series of off-campus concerts and a one-of-a-kind alumni showcase event. For an initial overview of CCM’s 150th anniversary programming, please visit ccm.uc.edu/about/villagenews/notations-ovations/sesquicentennial-celebration.

The complete 2017-18 Studio Series lineup is listed below. Titles and dates are subject to change.

Tickets and Parking Information
All Studio Series performances are free and open to the general public, but reservations are required and seating is limited. Reservations can be made the week of each show by visiting the CCM Box Office in UC’s Corbett Center for the Performing Arts or by calling 513-556-4183.

Unless otherwise noted, all Studio Series productions take place in CCM’s intimate and versatile “black box” performance space, the Cohen Family Studio Theater.

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 directions to CCM Village, visit ccm.uc.edu/about/directions.
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CCM’s 150TH ANNIVERSARY STUDIO SERIES
Acting, Dance, Musical Theatre, Opera

8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 5
8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 6
2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 7
• Studio Musical Theatre Series •
SONDHEIM ON SONDHEIM
Music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Conceived and originally directed by James Lapine
Aubrey Berg, director
Stephen Goers, music director
Katie Johannigman, choreographer

A “revelatory revue full of wonderful moments,” Sondheim on Sondheim is an intimate portrait of the famed songwriter in his own words… and music. Ranging from the beloved to the obscure, the songs are interspersed with in-depth video interviews, delving into Sondheim’s personal life and artistic process. Far from the typical song cycle, Sondheim on Sondheim has massive theatrical potency, as well as inarguable staying power. A “funny, affectionate and revealing tribute to musical theater’s greatest living composer and lyricist” and a wonderful showcase for CCM’s Musical Theatre stars of tomorrow.

Location: Cohen Family Studio Theater
Admission: Admission is free. Reservations are required. Tickets become available at noon on Monday, Oct. 2. Please visit the CCM Box Office or call 513-556-4183 to reserve. Limit two tickets per order.
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8 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 2
8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 3
2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 4
• Studio Acting Series •
THE EARTH IS FLAT
Written by Todd Almond
Richard E. Hess, director

The CCM Sesquicentennial celebrates the work of accomplished alumnus Todd Almond! A love letter to the University of Cincinnati written by Almond, The Earth is Flat explores the universal awkwardness of the American college experience. The search for identity by those least prepared with answers resonates with unexpected comedy in this new play commissioned by CCM Acting as part of the Cincinnati Playwrights Conference in 2016. A coming-of-age story set in Calhoun Hall, The Earth is Flat follows purple-haired Ethan as he takes his first tentative steps toward self-knowledge.

Location: Cohen Family Studio Theater
Admission: Admission is free. Reservations are required. Tickets become available at noon on Monday, Oct. 30. Please visit the CCM Box Office or call 513-556-4183 to reserve. Limit two tickets per order.

Acting Studio Series Sponsor: Neil Artman and Margaret Straub
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7 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 19
• Studio Acting/Digital Media Collaborative/E-Media Series •
FOURTH ANNUAL 48-HOUR FILM FESTIVAL
Richard E. Hess and John Owens, producers

Join us for our annual celebration of original film work by students. After random team placement, student authors, actors, directors, editors, and composers have 48 hours from 7 p.m. on Friday night to 7 p.m. on Sunday night to create finished original short films. All UC students are invited to participate.

Location: MainStreet Cinema, Tangeman University Center
Admission: Admission is free. Reservations are not required, but space may be limited.
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8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 2
8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 3
2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 4
• CCM at 150 Celebrates Bernstein at 100/Opera d’arte Series •
TROUBLE IN TAHITI + THE TELEPHONE + TALE FOR A DEAF EAR
Music and libretto by Leonard Bernstein/Music and words by Gian Carlo Menotti/Music and lyrics by Mark Bucci
Brett Scott, conductor
Amy Johnson, director and co-producer
Kenneth Shaw, co-producer
Gabriela Sam, assistant director

The CCM Opera d’arte Series of undergraduate productions proudly presents a triple bill of one-act American operas! Featured works include Leonard Bernstein’s Trouble in Tahiti, a one-act opera that 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 bit of froth, 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 vastly contrasting views into the extremes of human relationships.

Location: Cohen Family Studio Theater
Admission: Admission is free. Reservations are required. Tickets become available at noon on Monday, Jan. 29. Please visit the CCM Box Office or call 513-556-4183 to reserve. Limit
two tickets per order.
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8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 16
8 p.m. Saturday, Feb 17
2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 18
• Studio Opera Series •
ARIODANTE
Music by George Frideric Handel
Libretto based on a work by Antonio Salvi
Aik Khai Pung, conductor
Robin Guarino, director

Hailed as one of Handel’s finest operas, Ariodante presents a tale of royal intrigue and betrayal set in the remote Scottish Highlands. The daughter of the King of Scotland is happily engaged to Prince Ariodante, but the scheming Duke Polinesso plots to take the princess’ hand in marriage and seize the throne for himself. Intrigue ensues in this celebrated opera seria, but true love wins the day!

Location: Cohen Family Studio Theater
Admission: Admission is free. Reservations are required. Tickets become available at noon on Monday, Feb. 12. Please visit the CCM Box Office or call 513-556-4183 to reserve. Limit two tickets per order.

Opera Department Sponsor: Mr. and Mrs. Edward S. Rosenthal
Opera Production Sponsor: Genevieve Smith
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8 p.m. Thursday, March 1
8 p.m. Friday, March 2
2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, March 3
• Studio Dance Series •
DANCE STUDENT CHOREOGRAPHERS SHOWCASE
André Megerdichian, director

Come experience the next generation of emerging choreographers as CCM dance majors take the stage with exciting and diverse new works.

Location: Cohen Family Studio Theater
Admission: Admission is free. Reservations are required. Tickets become available at noon on Monday, Feb. 26. Please visit the CCM Box Office or call 513-556-4183 to reserve. Limit two tickets per order.
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7 p.m. Wednesday, March 7
7 p.m. Thursday, March 8
7 p.m. Friday, March 9
• Studio Acting Series •
TRANSMIGRATION 2018
A Festival of Student-Created New Works
Richard E. Hess and Brant Russell, producers

TRANSMIGRATION, so named for “the movement from one place to another” or “the transition from one state of being to another,” is a festival of new works created by the students in CCM Acting. Six teams of actors craft and perform six original 30-minute shows. Performed simultaneously in different locations throughout CCM Village, this 10th Anniversary Edition of TRANSMIGRATION will allow the audience to sample four different new works of their choosing in one spectacular evening. “Thanks to the [Acting] program at UC’s College-Conservatory of Music, theatre fans were offer a jolt of onstage vitality,” observed CityBeat’s Rick Pender.

Location: CCM Village
Admission: Admission is free, but reservations are required. Tickets become available at noon on Monday, March 5. Visit the CCM Box Office or call 513-556-4183 to reserve. Limit two tickets per order.

Acting Studio Series Sponsor: Neil Artman and Margaret Straub
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8 p.m. Thursday, March 29
8 p.m. Friday, March 30
2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, March 31
• Studio Musical Theatre Series •
THE THEORY OF RELATIVITY
Music and lyrics by Neil Bartram
Book by Brian Hill
Katie Johannigman, director and choreographer
Stephen Goers, musical director

From Drama Desk Award nominees Neil Bartram and Brian Hill (The Story of My Life), The Theory of Relativity is a joyous and moving look at our surprisingly interconnected lives. Whether you’re allergic to cats, in love for the first or tenth time, a child of divorce, a germophobe or simply a unique individual, audience members and actors alike are sure to find themselves in this fresh new musical. Created using the real-life experiences and struggles of Millennials, The Theory of Relativity introduces a compelling array of characters experiencing the joys and heartbreaks, liaisons and losses, the inevitability and the wonder of human connection.

Location: Cohen Family Studio Theater
Admission: Admission is free, but reservations are required. Tickets become available at noon on Monday, March 26. Visit the CCM Box Office or call 513-556-4183 to reserve. Limit two tickets per order.
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8 p.m. Thursday, April 19
8 p.m. Friday, April 20
2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, April 21
• Studio Acting Series •
EDINBURGH FRINGE FESTIVAL PROJECT
Susan Felder and Richard E. Hess, directors

Every year thousands of performers take to hundreds of stages all over Edinburgh, Scotland for the largest arts festival in the world. For the first time, CCM Acting will present an original 60-minute piece in August of 2018 in the 71st Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Join us at CCM in April as we present our original creation for Cincinnati audiences.

Location: Cohen Family Studio Theater
Admission: Admission is free, but reservations are required. Tickets become available at noon on Monday, April 16. Visit the CCM Box Office or call 513-556-4183 to reserve. Limit two tickets per order.

Acting Studio Series Sponsor: Neil Artman and Margaret Straub
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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.

This is our story. This is your season. Join us for a celebration 150 years in the making…

CCM Holds Inaugural Andrew Howell Memorial Scholarship Competition

UC’s College-Conservatory of Music will hold the inaugural Andrew Howell Memorial Scholarship Competition 2 p.m., Sunday, March 26, 2017
 in the Robert J. Werner Recital Hall. The performance is a free event and open to the public.

CCM honors the memory of student Andrew Howell with a Memorial Scholarship Competition on Sunday, March 26, 2017.

This competition is held in loving memory of Andrew Howell, an extraordinary musician and an exceptional person who passed away during his undergraduate studies at CCM. A junior from Charlotte, N.C., Howell was a member of the CCM horn studio and a student of Randy Gardner.

Open to current undergraduate horn majors as well as applicants who have committed to attend CCM in 2017-18, the winner of the Andrew Howell Memorial Horn Scholarship Competition will receive a one-year $3,000 scholarship and a solo performance opportunity.

The scholarship will be offered annually to support the studies of an exceptional undergraduate horn student and perpetuate Andrew’s memory.

Application Details
The application deadline is March 10, 2017.

For further details and an application, contact Professor Randy Gardner at randy.gardner@uc.edu.

About Andrew Austin Howell

Andrew Howell (1990-2010) was beginning his third year as a horn performance major at CCM when he died in an outdoor accident on October 23, 2010 while admiring the bright night sky above the lights of the city below.

Andrew was a student of Randy Gardner, and a well loved member of the CCM community. He is remembered by his family, friends and classmates for his genuine encouragement of others, his love of animals, his charming and unassuming manner, and for his rare sense of humor. He had a musical soul, possessing a broad appreciation for the world and the people around him.

Born into a family of professional church musicians, Andrew was immersed in music from his earliest days, demonstrating a keen observation and attention to musical performances and shows. In addition to his skilled horn playing, he loved to sing and improvise on the piano. Whether he was painting, photographing, singing or playing, Andrew pursued an artful expression of what he saw as a beautiful world.

A participant in the Pensacola Children’s Chorus, the Charlotte Children’s Choir, the Charlotte Symphony Youth Orchestra and the music programs of his churches and schools, Andrew was happiest making music. He studied horn with Bob Blalock of the Charlotte Symphony and spent summers studying at the Brevard Music Center Summer Institute and Festival, the Tanglewood Horn Workshop, and the Chautauqua Music Festival with Richard Deane, Kristy Morrell, Jean Martin-Williams, Eric Ruske and Roger Kaza.

Event Information

Performance Time
2 p.m., Sunday, March 26

Location
Robert J. Werner Recital Hall, CCM Village,
University of Cincinnati

Admission
Admission is free and open to the public.

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 campus of the University of Cincinnati. 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.

CCM Faculty Jazztet Concert features Ariel Quartet, World Premiere of new work from Grammy Award-winning Alumnus

For the first time, acclaimed artists in CCM’s Faculty Jazztet will collaborate with the college’s renowned String Quartet-in-Residence, the Ariel Quartet, in a free concert presented at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 15 in Patricia Corbett Theater. The concert features new compositions by the jazz faculty and the world premiere of Catching Light, by Grammy Award-winning composer Michael Patterson (BM Composition, 1978).

From left to right: Alexandra Kazovsky, Jan Grüning, Amit Even-Tov and Gershon Gerchikov are the Ariel Quartet.

New works by faculty members Steve Allee, Craig Bailey and Kim Pensyl will feature the Ariel Quartet’s virtuoso string sounds and exciting improvisations. Performers will include Allee, piano; Bailey, saxophone and flute; Pensyl, flugelhorn; James Bunte, saxophone and flute; Rick VanMatre, saxophone and clarinet; Rusty Burge, marimba and vibraphone; Aaron Jacobs, bass and Art Gore, drums.

Grammy Award-winning New York composer and CCM alumnus Michael Patterson will also debut his new work, Catching Light, during the program. Featured on stage will be paintings by internationally recognized visual artist Anna Socha VanMatre. Inspired by Michael Patterson’s composition, she has created a large eight-paneled work, also titled Catching Light, which contrasts texture and color to capture the effect of varying sunlight and moonlight.

The concert will take place at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 15 in CCM’s Patricia Corbett Theater. Admission is free and reservations are not required. Before the concert Patterson will present a lecture on classical composition, jazz composition and film scoring from 4:30-6 p.m. in Room 2150 of CCM’s Mary Emery Hall.

About Michael Patterson
An alumnus of CCM’s composition department, Patterson is a Grammy and Emmy Award winner who has written concert works for the London Symphony Orchestra, the Rochester, Utah, and New Mexico orchestras, the Debussy Trio, Judy Kang, Novus, Eddie Daniels and Rick VanMatre. He has composed, arranged and produced records for jazz artists like Marc Copland, Gene Bertoncini, Hank Jones, James Moody, Calabria Foti and Bob McChesney. Patterson’s film work includes episodes of The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones, over 50 episodes of JAG (CBS-TV), Tiny Toon Adventures with Steven Spielberg, and feature film work on Lucasfilms’ Radioland Murders. He currently teaches composition and film scoring at NYU.
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Event Information

8 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 15
CCM FACULTY JAZZTET
Featuring CCM String Quartet-in-Residence, The Ariel Quartet
CCM’s acclaimed jazz faculty artists collaborate with CCM’s renowned String Quartet-in-Residence, the Ariel Quartet. World premieres by faculty members Steve Allee, Craig Bailey and Kim Pensyl will feature virtuoso string sounds combined with exciting improvisations. Grammy Award-winning New York composer and CCM alumnus Michael Patterson will also debut a new work. Featured on stage will be paintings by internationally recognized visual artist Anna Socha VanMatre.
Location: Patricia Corbett Theater
Admission: FREE

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.

CCM’s Music For Food Concert Features Piano Trios by Beethoven and Schubert

UC’s College-Conservatory of Music concludes the second year of its chamber music series supporting Music For Food at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 5 at the Dieterle Vocal Arts Center. Part of a national musician-led initiative to raise resources and awareness in the fight against hunger, CCM’s Music For Food concert benefits Cincinnati’s Freestore Foodbank.

The concert exclusively features acclaimed guest artists, the Lee-Cho-Katz Trio. Founding cellist of the world-renowned Cleveland Quartet and a master teacher at the New England Conservatory, Paul Katz joins violinist Catherine Cho and pianist Pei Shan Lee to perform piano trios by Beethoven and Schubert in concert.

CCM’s Music For Food concert is presented by series coordinators Lydia Brown, Gwen Coleman Detwiler and the Ariel Quartet. In lieu of paid admission, concert attendees are asked to bring a donation of non-perishable food items or cash for the Freestore Foodbank.

Program Details
BEETHOVEN: Piano Trio in E-flat major, Op. 1 No. 1
SCHUBERT: Piano Trio in E-flat major, D.929

Performance Time
2 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 5

Location
Dieterle Vocal Arts Center, Room 300
CCM Village, University of Cincinnati

Admission
Non-perishable food items or cash donation
Suggested donation: $20 general, $15 students

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.

About Music For Food
Music for Food is a national 501(c)(3) non-profit organization focused on hunger relief. It’s concert series that strives to raise resources and awareness in the fight against hunger. The organization is in its seventh season and has local chapters in ten U.S. cities. Over 335,000 meals have been provided as a direct result of Music for Food concerts. Learn more by visiting www.musicforfoodboston.org.

About Cincinnati’s Freestore Foodbank
Recognized as non-profit of the year at the 2016 Cincinnati USA Business Awards, the Freestore Foodbank serves 23 million meals each year across 20 counties in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana. As one of Ohio’s largest foodbanks, the non-profit organization distributes meals through a network of 350 community partner agencies, which includes food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, community centers, senior centers and daycare facilities. Ninety-four percent of donations to the foodbank go directly to programs and services. The Freestore Foodbank is a Better Business Bureau Accredited Charity and a member of Feeding America and United Way. Learn more by visiting www.freestorefoodbank.org.

CCM’s Thinking About Music Lecture Series Resumes On Friday, Jan. 27

Each semester, CCM welcomes distinguished experts for a series of free Friday afternoon musical discussions. This spring, the Thinking About Music lecture series will present four free public talks, beginning with a presentation on Arnold Schoenberg and the 1913 Scandal Concert by Vanderbilt University Professor of Musicology Joy H. Calico on Friday, Jan. 27.

Schoenberg caricature originally published in ‘Die Zeit’ on April 6, 1913.

Sponsored by the Joseph and Frances Jones Poetker Fund of the Cambridge Charitable Foundation, these music theory and history discussions feature diverse topics presented by distinguished experts from all over the United States and are designed to engage participants’ imaginations and to consider music in new ways.

This semester’s guest lecturers also include University of Kentucky Professor Donna Kwon (Feb. 10), Case Western Reserve University Professor Francesca Brittan (March 3) and Bowling Green State University Professor Per Broman (April 7). See the listings below for more information on this semester’s presentation topics.

Since its inception in 1997, the Thinking About Music Series has presented over 130 lectures and one symposium by guests from a number of different colleges, universities, schools of music, foundations, institutes, museums and publications.

The subjects of the lectures have covered historical musicology, music theory and ethnomusicology, along with the ancillary fields of organology, dance, music business and law, cognitive psychology, and the philosophy, theology and sociology of music.
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2017 SPRING JOSEPH AND FRANCES JONES POETKER THINKING ABOUT MUSIC LECTURE SERIES

2:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 27
ARNOLD SCHOENBERG AND THE 1913 SCANDAL CONCERT
Joy H. Calico, Vanderbilt University
On March 31 of 1913, Arnold Schoenberg conducted a concert in the Great Hall of Vienna’s Musikverein, which became known as the city’s most notorious scandal concert. The event was broken up by a melee, charges were filed and the subsequent court proceedings were reported in the press. This lecture analyzes the ways in which both the scandal and Schoenberg’s response to it sit at the nexus of fin-de-siècle anxieties about Central European concert life, the anti-noise movement and emerging copyright law.
Location: Baur Room
Admission: FREE
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2:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 10
STEPPING IN THE MADANG: SITE-SPECIFIC PERFORMANCE IN KOREAN DRUMMING AND DANCE
Donna Kwon, University of Kentucky
In Korean folk expressive culture, the outdoor village courtyard or madang is often conceived in opposition to the concert stage or mudae. In this presentation, Donna Kwon will discuss how the madang became central to the promotion of site-specific Korean drumming and dance. She will first discuss how this contributes to the expressive ecology of a place-based tradition in shamanist ritual forms of Korean drumming or p’ungmul. Then she will explore how the madang and site-specific performance concepts are applied by contemporary ch’angjak yeonhui groups. These groups consist of performers who are trained in Korean drumming and other traditional performing arts but who combine them into new works.
Location: Baur Room
Admission: FREE
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2:30 p.m. Friday, March 3
ELECTRIC BATON: SOUND, SCIENCE AND THE BIRTH OF THE PODIUM CONDUCTOR
Francesca Brittan, Case Western Reserve University
Hector Berlioz, among the first of the modern conductors, was a larger-than-life figure, at once magisterial, quasi-magical and military. Among the formative moments of his conducting career was a concert given at the height of the Exposition universelle (Paris, 1855), which established him as a musical leader of formidable power. Here he relied on a new wedding of music and technology — an “electric baton” — to wield the massive forces under his command. This talk examines the nature of his device and, more broadly, the ways in which telegraphy and electricity (both artificial and nervous) emerged as central to romantic notions of conducting.
Location: Baur Room
Admission: FREE
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2:30 p.m. Friday, Apr. 7
BERGMAN’S MUSIC(IANS): MIRROR AND MEANING
Per Broman, Bowling Green State University
Ingmar Bergman’s love of classical music, especially that of J.S. Bach, is well known and is exhibited frequently in his films. Many films also feature musicians. In this presentation, Broman will analyze the role of these characters — who they are, what they do, how they behave and what they talk about — and argue that they are essential for understanding Bergman’s aesthetics.
Location: Baur Room
Admission: FREE
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Event Information
Unless otherwise indicated, all Thinking About Music lectures take place on Fridays at 2:30 p.m. in the Baur Room of CCM’s Corbett Center for the Performing Arts, which is located on the campus of the University of Cincinnati.

These events are free and open to the public. All event dates and programs are subject to change. Visit ccm.uc.edu for the most current event information.

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

CCM’s Thinking About Music Series is sponsored by the Joseph and Frances Jones Poetker Fund of the Cambridge Charitable Foundation, Ritter & Randolph, LLC, Corporate Counsel; along with support from Interim Dean mcclung’s Office, the Graduate Student Association and the Division of Composition, Musicology and Theory at CCM.

 

 

CCM’s Faculty Artist Series Continues Jan. 9

Acclaimed faculty artists from the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music take center stage during 12 diverse performances this spring! Running from January 9 through April 23, these programs highlight music from multiple genres, from classical styles to contemporary commercial music and beyond.

 

Each concert in CCM’s Faculty Artist Series is free and open to the general public, offering audiences the chance to hear recitals by internationally renowned 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 SPRING 2017 FACULTY ARTIST SERIES

8 p.m. Monday, Jan. 9
• Faculty Artist Series •
Dror Biran, piano
J.S. BACH: Partita No. 1 in B-flat Major, BWV 825
J.S. BACH: French Suite No. 5 in G Major, BWV 816
SCHUMANN: Carnaval for Piano, Op. 9
Location: Robert J. Werner Recital Hall
Admission: FREE
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8 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 10
• Faculty Artist Series •
Kimberly Trout, viola
John Kurokawa, clarinet
Hitomi Koyama, piano
MIKLÓS RÓZSA: Introduction and Allegro, Op. 44
MAX BRUCH: Selections from Eight Pieces, Op. 83
SCHUMANN: Märchenerzählungen, Op. 132
Location: Robert J. Werner Recital Hall
Admission: FREE
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4 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 15
• Faculty Artist Series •
THE PAT AND JULIE SHOW(A.K.A. DIVA: RECONSTRUCTED)
Patricia Linhart, soprano
Julie Spangler, piano
2016 was a wild year, and we plan to kick it out of here in style. Pat and Julie promise a program full of surprises, assisted by James Bunte and Luke Dumm along with special guest Mary Stucky. Get here early for your party favors and stick around for the construction.
Location: Patricia Corbett Theater
Admission: FREE
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8 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 17
• Faculty Artist Series •
Thomas Baresel, tenor
Amy Johnson, soprano
Kenneth Griffiths and Mark Gibson, piano
Join us for an evening of art song featuring French duets by Hue, Duparc and Saint-Saëns, along with operetta duets by Lehár, Strauss and Milloeker. This program also features Alan Louis Smith’s Windows: Five Songs of Love and selected songs of Rachmaninoff.
Location: Robert J. Werner Recital Hall
Admission: FREE
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4 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 22
• Faculty Artist Series •
IN RECITAL
Daniel Weeks, tenor
Donna Loewy, piano
Featuring songs by Schubert, Quilter, Donizetti, Tosti and Dubois.
Location: Robert J. Werner Recital Hall
Admission: FREE
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8 p.m. Monday, Jan. 23
• Faculty Artist Series •
FROM BLUES TO BEBOP AND BEYOND
Craig Bailey, saxophone
Featuring Steve Allee, piano; Dan Karlsberg, piano; Eric Lechliter, trumpet; Zak Granger, trombone; Aaron Jacob, bass; Juan Megan, drums and percussion; Art Gore, drums
Craig Bailey performs selections from throughout his career, including music by Ray Charles, Art Blakey, Panama Francis and original compositions inspired by his world travels.
Location: Patricia Corbett Theater
Admission: FREE
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8 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 25
• Faculty Artist Series •
James Bunte, saxophone
Location: Cohen Family Studio Theater
Admission: FREE
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4 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 5
• Faculty Artist Series •
(UN)STRUCTURED
Awadagin Pratt, piano
CCM Professor of Piano and Artist-in-Residence Awadagin Pratt presents 300 years of fantasies and fugues – from Bach to the future – assisted by Charles Dennis Thurmond, Russell Burge and others.
Location: Robert J. Werner Recital Hall
Admission: FREE
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8 p.m. Monday, Feb. 13
• Faculty Artist Series •
Kurt Sassmannshaus, violin
Christoph Sassmannshaus, cello
Rohan DeSilva, piano
This concert features Theodor Kirchner’s piano trio version of Brahms’ Sextet in B-flat, Op. 18, which was approved by Brahms but only recently published by Bärenreiter. Other works include Fritz Kreisler’s Syncopation, one of his few original works for piano trio, and Stravinsky’s Suite Italienne for violin and piano.
Location: Robert J. Werner Recital Hall
Admission: FREE
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8 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 15
• Faculty Artist Series •
CCM FACULTY JAZZTET
Featuring CCM String Quartet-in-Residence, The Ariel Quartet
For the first time, CCM’s acclaimed jazz faculty artists collaborate with CCM’s renowned String Quartet-in-Residence, the Ariel Quartet. World premieres by faculty members Steve Allee, Craig Bailey and Kim Pensyl will feature virtuoso string sounds combined with exciting improvisations. Grammy Award-winning New York composer and CCM alumnus Michael Patterson will also debut a new work. Featured on stage will be paintings by internationally recognized visual artist Anna Socha VanMatre.
Location: Patricia Corbett Theater
Admission: FREE
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8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 24
• Faculty Artist Series •
LOU HARRISON CENTENNIAL CONCERT
Percussion Group Cincinnati and Friends
Featuring music spanning composer Lou Harrison’s entire career, including music written for Percussion Group Cincinnati.
Location: Patricia Corbett Theater
Admission: FREE
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4 p.m. Sunday, April 23
• Faculty Artist Series •
Michael Unger, organ
Featuring solo and chamber music by Mendelssohn, Haydn and others, celebrating the historic 1866 Koehnken and Company Organ at Plum Street Temple.
Location: Isaac M. Wise Temple, 720 Plum Street, Cincinnati 45202
Admission: FREE
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Event Information
All events listed here take place in CCM Village on the campus of the University of Cincinnati unless otherwise noted. 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

CCM, Cincinnati Opera Co-host Free Performance of ‘Intimate Apparel’ Nov. 14

The University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) and Cincinnati Opera’s Opera Fusion: New Works program presents a free performance of excerpts from new American opera Intimate Apparel at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, November 14 in the Cincinnati Club’s Oak Room.

‘Intimate Apparel’ composer Ricky Ian Gordon.

Tickets are available now though the Cincinnati Opera box office by calling 513-241-2742 or visiting cincinnatiopera.org.

Opera Fusion: New Works is currently providing a 10-day workshop for Intimate Apparel, which is composed by Ricky Ian Gordon to a libretto by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lynn Nottage. The new opera is commissioned by The Metropolitan Opera/Lincoln Center Theater’s New Works Program.

The workshop is directed by Robin Guarino, CCM’s J. Ralph Corbett Distinguished Chair, and conducted by Timothy Myers, the artistic and music director of North Carolina Opera. Paul Cremo, dramaturg and director of opera commissioning programs for the Metropolitan Opera, will be the dramaturg for the workshop.

‘Intimate Apparel’ playwright, Lynn Nottage.

Adapted by Nottage from her prize-winning 2003 play of the same name, Intimate Apparel tells the story of Esther, a 35-year-old seamstress in 1905 New York City. Esther sews lingerie for a living, interacting with a wealthy Fifth Avenue wife, a Tenderloin prostitute, and a Jewish fabric merchant on the Lower East Side, with whom she shares a closeness that cannot be pursued further because of his religion. Esther embarks on a letter-writing relationship with a Panama Canal laborer, leading to marriage and ultimately heartbreak, but she maintains her strength of character and determination to make a better life for herself.

Learn more about Intimate Apparel at cincinnatiopera.org.

About Opera Fusion: New Works
Funded by a generous grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Opera Fusion: New Works is a groundbreaking joint program of Cincinnati Opera and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music created in 2011 to foster the development of new American operas. The program offers composers or composer/librettist teams the opportunity to workshop an opera during a 10-day residency in Cincinnati, utilizing the talent, personnel and facilities of both organizations. The workshops are cast with a combination of CCM students and professional artists, and each workshop concludes with a public performance. The program is led by co-artistic directors Marcus Küchle, Director of Artistic Operations of Cincinnati Opera, and Robin Guarino, the J. Ralph Corbett Distinguished Chair of Opera at CCM. In 2015, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation renewed the program’s funding, allowing for a second cycle of six workshops over three years.

In 2011, Opera Fusion: New Works awarded its first workshop to composer Douglas J. Cuomo and librettist John Patrick Shanley in support of their new opera Doubt, which premiered at Minnesota Opera in January 2013. In 2012, Opera Fusion: New Works provided workshops for Champion, by composer Terence Blanchard and librettist Michael Cristofer, which premiered at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis in June 2013; and Morning Star, by composer Ricky Ian Gordon and librettist William M. Hoffman, which premiered at Cincinnati Opera in June 2015. In 2013, the residency went to Fellow Travelers, by composer Gregory Spears and librettist Greg Pierce, which premiered at Cincinnati Opera in June 2016. In 2014, the program invited composer Jake Heggie and librettist Terrence McNally to workshop Great Scott, which premiered at the Dallas Opera in October 2015. For the final workshop of the original six-workshop grant, the residency was awarded to Meet John Doe, with music and libretto by the late Daniel Catán. The first workshop of the second grant cycle was given in October 2015 to Shalimar the Clown, by composer Jack Perla and librettist Rajiv Joseph, which premiered at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis in June 2016.

Most recently Opera Fusion: New Works presented excerpts from new American opera Some Light Emerges on September 22, 2016. Composed by Laura Kaminsky to a libretto by Mark Campbell and Kimberly Reed, Some Light Emerges was originally inspired by the creation of Houston’s iconic Rothko Chapel by philanthropist and art collector Dominique de Menil.

Opera Fusion: New Works Lab Presents
Intimate Apparel
Composed by Ricky Ian Gordon
Libretto by Lynn Nottage
Co-artistic Directors Robin Guarino and Marcus Küchle
Robin Guarino, director
Paul Cremo, Dramaturg
Timothy Meyers, conductor

Performance Time
7:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 14

Location
The Cincinnati Club’s Oak Room
30 Garfield Place, Cincinnati OH 45202

Reserving Tickets
Admission to Intimate Apparel is free, but reservations are required. Please contact the Cincinnati Opera box office for tickets by calling 513-241-2742 or visiting cincinnatiopera.org.
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CCM Season Presenting Sponsor: The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation

Opera Department Sponsor: Mr. & Mrs. Edward S. Rosenthal

Opera Production Sponsor: Genevieve Smith

CCM Presents Rachmaninoff’s ‘All-Night Vigil’ at Covington’s Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption

CCM’s Chamber Choir.

Under the music direction of Earl Rivers, the CCM Chamber Choir performs Sergei Rachmaninoff’s All-Night Vigil (Vespers), Op. 37, at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 6 at the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption in Covington, Kentucky.

The All-Night Vigil (Vespers) is a series of 15 liturgical/concert settings from the Russian Orthodox tradition in 60 minutes, which achieves great heights of expressive power and intensity through “choral orchestration” by continually varying the textures and sonorities. Subscribers have access to a preferred section of best seats at this can’t-miss, free concert. Ask your usher for more information at the event.

All Night Vigil (Vespers) premiered in 1915 in Moscow, just two years before the revolution that brought the Soviet Union into existence and quashed the performance of sacred music in Russia. Some musicologists view this work as the musical grand finale of religiously-minded imperial Russia, as it enjoyed great success just before the Russian revolution. Interestingly, the All-Night Vigil is one of two liturgical works that Rachmaninoff wrote after his devotion to religion flagged.

It is sung in Church Slavonic, which is used by the Christian Orthodox Church. The bass part stretches to a low B-flat; guest basso profundos Cameron Beauchamp and Craig Peterson will join the choir on these incredibly low parts.

Earl Rivers has conducted CCM’s forces in acclaimed regional premieres of John Adams’ On the Transmigration of Souls and El Niño, J.S. Bach’s Mass in B Minor with Bastian Clevé’s film The Sound of Eternity, Tan Dun’s Water Passion after St. Matthew, Philip Glass’ Symphony No. 5 ­­– Requiem, Bardo and Nirmanakaya and Krzysztof Penderecki’s Credo. He has also produced and conducted American university premieres of staged productions of J.S. Bach’s St. Matthew Passion and St. John Passion, as well as Arthur Honegger’s Joan of Arc at the Stake. He has championed early music at CCM with successful productions of Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610 and Music of Love and War that introduced students to guest artists and coaches. He produced the Shakespeare quadricentennial celebration, which featured CCM Chamber Choir premieres of three settings of Shakespeare texts by composers Judith Bingham, Dominick DiOrio and Jake Runestad. Rivers has received Choral America’s Michael Korn Founders Award for Development of the Professional Choral Art, which honors individuals with a lifetime of significant contributions to the professional choral art, and Chorus America’s Director Laureate Award, an honorary title that recognizes an individual who has demonstrated extraordinary leadership and has had significant impact on the choral field. In June 2017 Rivers will conduct South Korea’s Suwon Civic Chorale and Orchestra in the South Korean premiere of Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610. He will also give conducting master classes and lessons while in Seoul.

The CCM Chamber Choir has been acclaimed for its staged productions of Bach’s St. John Passion at Christ Church Cathedral and St. Matthew Passion at St. Peter in Chains Cathedral, which were produced in conjunction with CCM’s Opera Department. The choir hosted renowned early music artists with its Monteverdi Project, which was produced for public television by WCET Arts Connect, and also advocates for new music by performing contemporary works, including David Lang’s Little Match Girl Passion, Tan Dun’s Water Passion after St. Matthew and Alfred Schnittke’s Concerto for Choir. The CCM Chamber Choir has performed at the conventions of the American Musicological Society, American Choral Directors Association and the National Collegiate Choral Organization, as well as Chorus America’s Conducting Masterclass. The choir will perform a staged production of J.S. Bach’s St. Matthew Passion at 3 p.m. on Sunday, April 9, 2017 at Christ Church Cathedral, 318 East 4th Street.

The Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption was built in 1895 and was designed to replicate the Basilica of St. Denis in northern Paris, albeit at a smaller scale. It purportedly houses the world’s largest handmade stained glass window found in a church, as well as three pipe organs, an altar carved from Italian marble, several murals and marble floors. Pope Pius XII elevated the cathedral to the rank of minor basilica in 1953. The UC College-Conservatory of Music has held concerts in the basilica regularly since the early 1970’s.

Performance Time
3 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 6

Location
Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption
1101 Madison Ave., Covington, KY 41011

Admission
Free and open to the general public, no reservations required. Subscribers have access to a preferred section of best seats at this can’t-miss concert. Ask your usher for more information at the event.

Parking and Directions
The Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption is located at the corner of 12th and Madison Avenue in Covington, Kentucky. There are public parking lots to the north and east of the church.

From I-71/75, take the 12th St./Pike St. exit from either direction. Turn east on to 12th Street to Madison Avenue. Turn left on to Madison Avenue. Turn right on 11th Street and enter the lot or go to Scott Boulevard and turn right to access the rear lot.

From Scott Street, travel south to 11th Street. Turn right on 11th, then left into the public parking lot or go past 11th Street and enter the east lot between 11th & 12th facing the Apse.

For additional information, please refer to www.covcathedral.com/directions.
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Story by CCM graduate student Alexandra Doyle