Grammy-Nominated Pianist, Composer and Educator Sergio Pamies Joins CCM’s Jazz Faculty

UC College-Conservatory of Music Dean Stanley E. Romanstein has announced the addition of Sergio Pamies, DMA, to the college’s roster of distinguished performing and media arts faculty members. An accomplished pianist, composer and educator, Pamies’ appointment as Assistant Professor of Jazz Piano begins on Aug. 15, 2020.

Born in 1983 in Granada, Spain, Pamies has published four albums under his name: EntreAmigos (PSM, 2008), Borrachito (Bebyne Records, 2011), What Brought You Here? (Bebyne Records, 2017) and Summer Night at La Corrala: Solo Piano(expected October 2020). Critics have acknowledged his talent for composition, the lyrical qualities of his playing, and his natural and spontaneous ability to fuse the traditional jazz language and flamenco music of his childhood.

Pamies has performed at festivals in Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Colombia, Perú, China, Spain and the United States. He has collaborated with outstanding artists such as Dave Liebman, Christian Scott, Rubem Dantas, Antonio Serrano, Diego Amador, Pepe Luis Carmona “Habichuela,” Quamon Fowler, Brad Leali, Quincy Davis, Stockton Helbing, Ashleigh Smith, Samuel Torres, Tatiana Mayfield, Michael Miskiewicz and Joan Albert Amargós. Besides leading his own projects, he has produced other artists such as Verso Suelto (Verso Suelto, Youkali Music 2016), Korean singer Roja (My Shining Hour, Mirrorball Music, 2013) and The Zebras (Flamenco Jazz Project, North Texas Jazz, 2011).

Previously, Pamies taught jazz piano, jazz arranging and composition, in addition to leading the small group program, at University of Texas in Arlington. Pamies has given master classes and presented his research at Universidad de Granada (Spain), University of North Texas, University of Central Oklahoma, University of Texas at Arlington (USA), East Shanghai Normal University, Contemporary Music Institute of Zhuhai (China), Universidad Autónoma de Bucaramanga, Universidad Industrial de Santander and Universidad EAFIT de Medellín (Colombia), among other institutions. Pamies is a frequent collaborator of the European Piano Teachers Association’s Piano Professional journal, and a reviewer for the scholarly journal Jazz Education in Research and Practice.

Pamies received his bachelor’s degree in Jazz Piano (Liceo Conservatory in Barcelona, 2007), and then moved to the United States to study with Stefan Karlsson and complete a master’s degree in Jazz Piano at the University of North Texas (UNT), where he was awarded “Outstanding Student” in 2011. Pamies finished his doctoral studies (DMA in Jazz Piano) in 2016. He was the pianist of the seven-time Grammy nominated One O’Clock Lab Band at UNT, where he had the opportunity to perform with guest artists such as Bobby McFerrin, Arturo Sandoval, Marvin Stamm, Wycliffe Gordon, Doc Severinsen and Chuck Findley. As a member of the One O’Clock rhythm section, he has accompanied artists such as Christian McBride, Peter Bernstein, Lewis Nash, Tim Hagans and Greg Osby, among others. He is the featured soloist on Rich DeRosa’s composition “Neil,” which received a Grammy nomination in 2016 for “Best Instrumental Composition.”

In 2015, Pamies was selected for the “Latin Jazz Traditions” concert organized by Carnegie Hall, performing there with Paquito D’Rivera, having his composition “Dudú” selected for the program. In 2014, Pamies was awarded with the “Best Representation of Granada in a Foreign Country” youth cultural award by the Youth Institute of Andalucía, Spain. He has received seven DownBeat student awards: Best Instrumental Soloist (2013), Best Large Ensemble (2014) and Best Latin Group (2012) among them.

“CCM is home to one of the country’s top-rated jazz programs, and Sergio’s expertise as a pianist, composer and educator makes him an ideal addition to our world-class faculty. He is a wonderful successor to our dear colleague Stephen Allee, who retired earlier this year.” said Romanstein. “I want to recognize the excellent work of our search committee chaired by Scott Belck, which included Craig Bailey, Rusty Burge, Aaron Jacobs and BettyAnne Gottlieb.”

About CCM Jazz Studies

Offering both bachelor and master of music degrees, the Jazz Studies program at CCM teaches the fundamentals of classical music, stylistic elements of each historical jazz period, strategies for enhancing originality, techniques of electronic media and today’s cutting-edge trends that defy categorization. In 2019, CCM’s Department of Jazz Studies was named the inaugural college affiliate of the acclaimed Jazz at Lincoln Center, a distinction reserved for the country’s top-ranked jazz programs.

By receiving a wide musical perspective and the command of a broad jazz language, students in CCM’s jazz programs are equipped to pursue a future in jazz music. At the same time, this thorough course of study serves as the best preparation for related careers in commercial music.

Learn more by visiting ccm.uc.edu and sign up for our new email newsletter at ccm.uc.edu/subscribe

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Featured image at top: New CCM Jazz Studies faculty member Sergio Pamies.

UC Alumna Sarah Mizelle Joins CCM’s Office of Development and External Relations

University of Cincinnati alumna Sarah Mizelle has been named CCM’s new Director of Development and External Relations. A graduate of UC’s Carl H. Lindner College of Business (MBA, 2011) and College-Conservatory of Music (MA Arts Administration, 2013), Mizelle begins her new position on Monday, May 22.

“We are thrilled to welcome Sarah back to the UC Foundation and CCM,” says Karen Tully, CCM’s Senior Director of Development and External Relations. “I had the pleasure of getting to know Sarah while she served as a graduate assistant in CCM’s Development and External Relations Office from 2009 to 2011. She quickly became a valuable member of our team, coordinating many of the outreach and special events sponsored by CCMpower, our volunteer fundraising organization. We are delighted to have her rejoin the CCM family.”

Mizelle returns to CCM with a decade’s worth of leadership experience in building strong school communities through student, alumni and donor engagement. She most recently served as Executive Director of the Madeira Schools Foundation, where she successfully oversaw a $600,000 capital campaign to build a new fitness center at Madeira High School. During her tenure, the Madeira Schools Foundation’s annual auction also achieved the highest gross profit since its inception in 1985.

Prior to her position at the Madeira Schools Foundation, Mizelle was Executive Director of the Friends of the School for Creative and Performing Arts (SCPA), an organization dedicated to securing resources that enhance SCPA’s creative environment and enable the development of each student’s artistic potential.

Mizelle worked in CCM’s Development Office during her time as a student in CCM’s Arts Administration graduate program. She also served as manger of social media marketing and public relations for a CCM summer festival in Spoleto, Italy, in 2011.

Mizelle received her BM in Music Education from Miami University, Oxford, in 2004. She has continued her involvement in music and the performing arts throughout her career, volunteering for such organizations as People Working Cooperatively (PWC) Ohio and Cincinnati Music Theatre. At Cincinnati Music Theatre, Mizelle served as vocal director for productions of The Music Man and Sunset Boulevard and artistic director for Crazy For You, each of which won an Orchid Award for Excellence from the Cincinnati Association of Community Theatres.

“The arts have been an enormous part of my life and have shaped who I am today,” says Mizelle. “I am beyond thrilled to return to CCM, an institution where the arts thrive everyday. I am proud to have the opportunity to further the mission of such a truly special place.”

Please join us in welcoming Sarah Mizelle back to the CCM family!

Acclaimed Mezzo-Soprano Quinn Patrick Ankrum Joins CCM Voice Faculty

CCM Interim Dean bruce d. mcclung has announced the addition of acclaimed mezzo-soprano Quinn Patrick Ankrum, DMA, to the college’s roster of distinguished voice faculty members. Ankrum’s appointment as Assistant Professor of Voice becomes effective on August 15, 2017.

Celebrated for her strong lyric voice, sizzling coloratura facility and engagingly sincere personality, Ankrum has performed a wide variety of repertoire spanning the centuries from Claudio Monteverdi to John Harbison. She has sung with opera companies and orchestras throughout the United States, as well as with the National Orchestra of Mexico in Mexico City.

In the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons she demonstrated her versatility as she collaborated on the operatic, recital and concert stages with musicians in Missouri, Texas, New York, Florida and Kansas, along with international engagements in Toulouse, Paris, Mondavio (Italy) and Oban (Scotland). She will return to the U.K. this May where she will appear in a recital featuring the music of American composers at East of England Organ Day at the Royal Hospital School, Holbrook, as well as in a concert featuring the music of Rameau with the East Anglian Academy.

Ankrum is an advocate of contemporary composers. She recently premiered Romanian composer Vlad Burlea’s chamber piece “Oglinda” (Texas and Kansas 2016) and created the role of the Mother in the world premiere of J. Todd Frazier’s opera Breath of Life (Lubbock, Texas, 2015).  In addition, she co-premiered John Harbison’s chamber work Crossroads with colleagues at Texas Tech University (2013). She is the co-creator of Living Song Project with pianist and University of Oklahoma faculty member Elizabeth Avery, DMA. This unique database project promotes the art song and vocal chamber music of living American composers.

In addition to being an active performer and teacher, Ankrum takes an interest in musicians’ health and wellness. She is an Andover Educator trainee, and will be licensed to teach the course What Every Musician Needs to Know About the Body when she finishes her training.

Ankrum received degrees from Trinity University in San Antonio (BM, MAT), the University of Colorado at Boulder (MM) and the University of Rochester, Eastman School of Music (DMA), where she studied with Robert McIver. She was a Young Artist in the Glimmerglass Opera Young American Artists Program and the Baltimore Opera Studio, and participated in the National Association of Teachers of Singing Intern Program.

She has been a finalist and winner in numerous regional and national competitions, including the Metropolitan Opera National Council auditions (Rocky Mountain Region) and the National Association of Teachers of Singing Artist Awards competition (2nd place winner, 2006). She has served on the faculties of the State University of New York at Fredonia, Nazareth College (Rochester, New York) and Texas Tech University (Lubbock).

Please join us in welcoming Ankrum to the CCM family this fall!

Learn more about CCM’s illustrious faculty by visiting ccm.uc.edu/about/villagenews/faculty.

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!

CCM Welcomes John Martin as Assistant Dean of Preparatory and Community Engagement

CCM Dean Peter Landgren has announced the appointment of John William Martin to the position of Assistant Dean of Preparatory and Community Engagement at CCM. Martin comes to CCM shortly after finishing his tenure as Executive Director of the Brookline Music School, a preparatory-style, community arts education institution in Brookline, Massachusetts.

John William Martin.

In addition to Brookline, he has built a long career as a music administrator dating back to the 1980s: director of admissions and founding director of the Community Music School at Michigan State University; coordinator of music services, director of the Celebrity Artists Series and instructor in the Music Administration program at the University of Alabama; director of the Wausau Conservatory of Music in Wisconsin; and arts coordinator for the Jefferson County School system in Florida.

As a flutist, Martin’s performing career has also been impressive. He served as principal flutist of the Wausau (WI) Symphony Chamber Orchestra and associate principal flutist with the Central Wisconsin Symphony Orchestra. He has also had several engagements as a teacher: flute instructor for the University of Wisconsin-Marathon Center, visiting lecturer for the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point and an artist-in-residence for the state arts councils of Florida, Wisconsin and Alabama.

Martin is currently a board member of the National Guild for Community Arts Education and has served as chairperson of the Guild’s Central Great Lakes Chapter, as well a member of the Council of School Directors and the membership committee. He has served as a consultant to numerous community and university arts programs throughout the country and has been a participant in the National Guild’s Management Assessment Training Program.

A native of Charleston, South Carolina, John William Martin received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Montevallo (AL). He then earned a master of music degree in flute performance from Florida State University, where he studied under Charles DeLaney.

Martin’s other interests have included collaborations as both performer and composer with numerous dance companies including Happendance (Michigan’s oldest, continuing professional company), Children’s Dance Touring Theatre of Florida and dancers from the Martha Graham Company. He served as an officer on the board of directors and production manager of the Children’s Ballet Theatre of Michigan, 2003-09.

Martin’s appointment reflects CCM’s ongoing commitment to enhancing its already innovative educational and community outreach programs. Martin officially joins CCM on Monday, April 13, 2015. Please join us in welcoming him to the CCM family!

Add Excitement to Your Event with CCM’s Talented Performers!

If you are a community member in the Greater Cincinnati area looking to enhance an event with live performance, the talented CCM students and alumni can help. CCM’s Performer Referral Service allows you to find the perfect ensemble or performer to enliven your party, wedding, company picnic, anniversary celebration or other occasion. Artists and ensembles range from string trios to jazz quartets to piano accompanists to vocal soloists and more.