Watch: CCM Alumnus Edward Nelson Wins Glyndebourne Opera Cup

CCM alumnus Edward Nelson (BM Voice, 2011; MM Voice, 2013) took home the first prize award at the 2020 Glyndebourne Opera Cup, an international competition designed to discover and spotlight the best young opera singers from around the world. Dame Janet Baker, the competition’s honorary president, gave Nelson his trophy, which was inspired by the golden lyre that Baker used in Glyndebourne’s 1982 production of Orfeo ed Euridice.

This prize includes £15,000 (about $18,400 in U.S. currency) and the guarantee of a professional role at a top international opera house. The members of the deciding jury included opera legends Sumi Jo, Sir Thomas Allen and Dame Felicity Lott, as well as other industry professionals.

Following preliminary rounds in Cape Town, Berlin, London, Milan, Paris, Vienna and New York, six singers advanced to compete in the Glyndebourne Opera Cup final, accompanied by the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Nelson performed two dramatic arias from Ambroise Thomas’ Hamlet before sealing his win with a spectacular performance of “Largo al factotum” from The Barber of Seville. His winning performance is available to watch online at YouTube.

Nelson recently made his European debut with the Norwegian premiere of Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande at the Norwegian National Opera. His performances were well-reviewed, despite his having learned the role in just four weeks. Bachtrack.com said that “Nelson impressed with a ringing baritone, excellent French diction and a surprisingly easy top [register].”

This season, Nelson appears with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis as Dr. Falke in Die Fledermaus, Vancouver Opera as Figaro in The Barber of Seville, with San Francisco Opera as Bosun in Billy Budd and with the Saint Louis Symphony in Vaughan Williams’ Dona Nobis Pacem. Read more about Nelson’s professional accomplishments.

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Story by CCM Graduate Student Alexandra Doyle

CCM Jazz Studies Named Inaugural College Affiliate of the Acclaimed Jazz at Lincoln Center

When the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis (JALCO) embarks on its next international residency, the world-renowned big band will be accompanied by nearly two dozen CCM students and faculty members.

CCM’s Department of Jazz Studies has been named Jazz at Lincoln Center‘s inaugural College Affiliate, a distinction reserved for the country’s top-ranked jazz programs. Led by Grammy Award-winning trumpeter and composer Wynton Marsalis, the JALCO will invite a premier student ensemble on tour for educational residencies through this new program.

Left to right: Scott Belck, Wynton Marsalis and Stanley Romanstein.

For the initial installment of this program, the CCM Jazz Orchestra directed by Professor Scott Belck, DMA, will join Marsalis and the JALCO for an international residency in São Paulo, Brazil, from June 22-30. The residency will provide participants with an unprecedented level of real-world performance and teaching experience in an international setting.

Nine undergraduate and 10 graduate students will participate in the trip, alongside Belck and fellow CCM faculty members Craig Bailey, Steve Allee and Kimothy Pensyl. During the intensive week-long program, CCM’s students and faculty will work with JALCO members, perform in São Paulo schools, perform at the US Consulate and serve as the opening band on a number of JALCO concerts at venues around the city.

“We want our students and faculty to be part of a global network of alumni and artists — to experience other cultures, other languages and other ways of looking at and creating art,” says CCM Dean Stanley E. Romanstein, PhD. “CCM is cultivating these opportunities so we can provide students with more hands-on learning experiences that prepare them to take the next steps in their lives and careers.”

Wynton Marsalis performs with CCM students during a visit to UC’s campus in the fall of 2008. Photo/UC Creative Services.

Throughout this landmark residency, the JALCO and CCM Jazz Orchestra will appear in performances, a Jazz for Young People concert, clinics, and workshops in performance halls and schools throughout São Paulo. The two orchestras will also demonstrate jazz’s rich history of collaboration by performing with Brazilian musicians and exploring the melding of Afro-Latin influences with improvisation and jazz harmony.

Education is central to JALC’s mission and its official College Affiliate ensembles will take part in education activities, master classes and performances throughout the selected residencies. Following a parallel schedule with the JALCO, the college affiliate ensemble will perform in educational and public performances. The program will culminate with the ensemble opening for the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra in concert.

The CCM students participating in this exciting international opportunity include:

• Christopher Glenn Andrews: graduate student from Columbia, SC
• Justin Daniel Dawson: undergraduate from Dayton, OH
• Thomas Hayden Floro: undergraduate from Dayton, OH
• Timothy Francis Fogarty: graduate from East Setauket, NY
• Hector John Gagnet: undergraduate from Dayton, OH
• Robert Conwell Gooch: undergraduate from Dublin, OH
• Wade Andrew Goodwin: graduate student from Greensburg, IN
• Zachary Robert Granger: graduate student from West Chester, OH
• Carly Elizabeth Hood: graduate student from Edgewood, KY
• Marcelo Invernizzi da Silveira: graduate student from Campinas, Brazil
• Simon Richard Carol Jansen: undergraduate from Cincinnati, OH
• Ryan Thomas Jones: graduate student from Bremen, KY
• Jacob Matthew Lemons: graduate student from Harlan, IA
• Spencer Merk: undergraduate from Cincinnati, OH
• Christian Joseph Paradiso: undergraduate from Liberty Township, OH
• Mitchell Thomas Parton: undergraduate from Chicago, IL
• John Thomas Phillips, Jr.: undergraduate from Trenton, OH
• Andrew Chapin Walits: graduate student from Valparaiso, IN
• Jonathan Lloyd Wiseman: graduate student from Concord, NC

About Jazz at Lincoln Center

Jazz at Lincoln Center is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization, which is part of New York’s Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. Founded in 1987, its mission is to entertain, enrich and expand a global community for jazz through performance, education and advocacy.

Representing the totality of jazz music, Jazz at Lincoln Center’s mission is carried out through four elements – educational, curatorial, archival, and ceremonial – capturing, in unparalleled scope, the full spectrum of the jazz experience. It produces an annual concert season in Rose Theater and the Appel Room and nightly concerts at Dizzy’s Club, all located in at Frederick P. Rose Hall on the 5th floor of the Time Warner Center in New York City’s Columbus Circle.

Hailed as the “finest big band in the world today” by The Telegraph, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, led by Wynton Marsalis, is made up of 15 of the finest soloists, ensemble players, and arrangers in jazz music today. Learn more by visiting www.jazz.org/about.

About the CCM Jazz Orchestra

The CCM Jazz Orchestra performs under the direction of Professor Scott Belck at the 2016 Moveable Feast gala fundraiser. Photo/UC Creative Services.

The CCM Jazz Orchestra is the CCM’s premier big band. Under the direction of CCM Professor of Jazz Studies Scott Belck, the acclaimed ensemble performs a wide variety of styles including historical swing, bebop, post-bop, fusion, Latin and avant-garde. Special emphasis is placed on the idiom’s great art-music composers such as Thad Jones, Bill Holman and Bob Brookmeyer. The ensemble also focuses on projects like the annual Essentially Ellington Festival sponsored by Jazz at Lincoln Center and on the performance of student arrangements.

Concerts have included historical tributes to Woody Herman and Stan Kenton, as well as composer residency programs featuring artists like Maria Schneider, Jim McNeely, Slide Hampton, Tim Hagans, Kenny Wheeler and many others as guest conductors and performers.

The CCM Jazz Orchestra has been invited to appear at numerous professional festivals and educational conferences, and has been featured on several radio broadcasts. Many internationally recognized artists have performed as soloists with the CCM Jazz Orchestra, including Eddie Daniels, John Fedchock, Frank Foster, Curtis Fuller, Kenny Garrett, Joe Henderson, Ahmad Jamal, Dave Liebman and Joshua Redman.

The CCM Jazz Orchestra’s recent recording projects have included original collaborations with modern creative innovators. In Search of Garaj Mahal is a recording of new original arrangements performed by student and alumni members of the CCM Jazz Orchestra with guitar virtuoso Fareed Haque, which was released on the Harmonized Record label in 2016. That same program was performed live at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola in Jazz at Lincoln Center and was also featured as the opening night main stage performance at the Jazz Education Network’s international conference in 2016. Nobody Does it Better: The CCM Jazz Orchestra Does Bond featuring trumpeter, composer and arranger Steven Bernstein was released in 2017 to glowing reviews. Duke Ellington’s Nutcracker Suite will be released later this year.

In 2012, the CCM Jazz Orchestra recorded a live concert performance for public television (An Evening with Gerald Wilson, National Endowment of the Arts Jazz Master). This hour-long video special featured the CCM Jazz Orchestra with Wilson conducting, interspersed with commentary and anecdotes by the composer. Stream the entire video on demand below:

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.

By receiving a wide musical perspective and the command of a broad jazz language, the student is 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 at ccm.uc.edu/jazz.
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Featured image at top: The CCM Jazz Orchestra performs under the direction of Professor Scott Belck at the 2016 Moveable Feast gala fundraiser. Photo/UC Creative Services.

Composition Student Wins International Schwarzman Scholarship

Throughout her four years as a University of Cincinnati student, Rachel Walker has split her time between the U.S. and China to study music. She hopes to create an arts organization that serves as a bridge between the two countries and now, as a newly named Schwarzman Scholar, her goal is nearly in sight.

Rachel Walker. Photo by Jackie Stevens.

Walker, who graduates tomorrow from the UC College-Conservatory of Music with a bachelor’s of music in composition, will join students from 30 countries and 75 universities as a member of the second class of Schwarzman Scholars. The new international program is designed to shape future leaders by giving students a better understanding of the changing geopolitical landscape. It funds travel costs, a stipend and one-year tuition for a master’s program at Tsinghua University in Beijing.

This won’t be Walker’s first trip to Beijing. As a sophomore at CCM, Walker began teaching herself Mandarin and was encouraged by Professor Emeritus Joel Hoffman to spend a year studying traditional music at the China Conservatory.

“This experience, in addition to trips to Taiwan and Beijing on grants from the UC Research Council and CCMpower [a volunteer fundraising organization] respectively, have made an unspeakable impact on me as a person and an artist,” Walker says. “I have been researching Chinese instruments and collaborating extensively in Beijing, but have felt an increasing need to broaden my understanding of China past the traditional music world alone.”

She worked with UC’s office of Nationally Competitive Awards and the Office of the Provost to prepare her application for the Schwarzman Scholarship. Three hundred semifinalists were invited for in-person interviews before international panels composed of CEOs, former heads of state, university presidents, non-profit executives and other global leaders narrowed the selection to the 129 Schwarzman Scholars. Eileen Strempel, Senior Vice Provost for Academic Affairs at UC, helped coach Walker for the interview.

“Working with Rachel was a delight,” Strempel says. “She is an exciting composer who is determined to move music from a passive experience into a global community-building exercise. Her vision, distinctive creativity and perseverance position her perfectly to make the most of the Schwarzman Award.”

Walker was chosen after a rigorous selection process that evaluated leadership skills, academic ability and strength of character. As a Schwarzman Scholar, she will pursue a MA in Management of Global Affairs with a concentration in Public Policy. She wants to expand her network and leadership skills by learning more about how businesses and arts organizations run in China.

“The prestige of this award demonstrates to the world that the UC experience gives students the tools they need to compete with the best in the world,” says UC Vice Provost for International Affairs and Director of the Honors Program, Raj Mehta. “We are proud that Rachel’s success and her future work will continue to build upon the global reach and reputation of our university.”

After the scholarship she plans to start a new organization that creates more dialogue between the new music and folk music worlds in China and the U.S. She has experience in creating and running an arts organization. In 2015, she and another CCM composition student, Ivan Alexander Moscotta, founded Cincinnati Soundbox — a chamber music series aimed at diversifying the Queen City’s music scene with works from local and national composers.

Walker will continue her musical research while in Beijing and hopes to write more compositions that utilize Chinese instruments. Her composition I touched the ground while floating away uses the pipa, a pear-shaped instrument sometimes called the Chinese lute, and the yangqin, a Chinese hammered dulcimer. The piece is available for streaming on Sound Cloud; more of Walker’s work is featured on her website, www.rachelcwalker.com.

“I’m humbled by this opportunity and am excited to return to Beijing,” Walker says of her acceptance into the Schwarzman Scholars program. “It’s been a nice surprise as I close out my time at CCM.”

About Schwarzman Scholars
Schwarzman Scholars was inspired by the Rhodes Scholarship, which was founded in 1902 to promote international understanding and peace, and is designed to meet the challenges of the 21st century and beyond. Blackstone Co-Founder Stephen A. Schwarzman personally contributed $100 million to the program and is leading a fundraising campaign to raise an additional $350 million from private sources to endow the program in perpetuity. The $450 million endowment will support up to 200 scholars annually from the U.S., China, and around the world for a one-year Master’s Degree program at Tsinghua University in Beijing, one of China’s most prestigious universities and an indispensable base for the country’s scientific and technological research. Scholars chosen for this highly selective program will live in Beijing for a year of study and cultural immersion, attending lectures, traveling, and developing a better understanding of China. Admissions opened in the fall of 2015, with the first class of students in residence in 2016. Learn more at www.schwarzmanscholars.org.

Cincinnati World Piano Competition to Draw 24 International Competitors, June 7-13

The Cincinnati World Piano Competition, an annual classical piano competition featuring top performers from across the globe since 1956, welcomes 24 competitors from nine different countries from June 7-13. At stake is over $45,000 in prize money and a debut recital in New York.

For the first time in the competition’s history, the round-by-round competition, all rounds of which take place at CCM’s Corbett Auditorium, will be head-to-head as determined by a randomly selected bracket. The bracket draw will be announced to the competitors at an Opening Party on Saturday, June 6. The first and second rounds (Sunday and Monday, June 7-8 and Tuesday, June 9, respectively) consist of 15-minute solo recitals. The third round on Wednesday, June 10 consists of 30-minute solo recitals, while the semifinal round on Thursday, June 11 involves 40-minute solo recitals. Competitors will be expected to perform a variety of repertoire for all rounds.

Three finalists will be selected at 9:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 11, who will then go on to perform a full concerto with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (CSO), under the direction of rising star conductor Robert Treviño, during the final round of the competition beginning at 7 p.m. Saturday, June 13. The winner will be announced at an awards ceremony immediately following the performances.

Tickets are still available for all preliminary rounds as well as the final round with the CSO. The final performances for the 2013 and 2014 competition sold out.

The jury consists of pianists Akemi Alink-Yamamoto, Jura Margulis, Yoshikazu Nagai, Boris Slutsky and Frank Weinstock. Famed pianist and professor of piano/Artist-in-Residence at CCM, Awadagin Pratt, serves as the competition’s artistic director.

In 2013 the competition underwent an expansion with two exciting new collaborations and instituting a variety of changes aimed at enhancing the quality of the event and making Cincinnati a truly world-class destination for classical piano performance. Primary among the changes at the re-imagined Competition, already a highly respected event, are partnerships with two of the city’s cultural cornerstones – the CSO and CCM, an all-Steinway school.

This year marks the Cincinnati World Piano Competition’s 59th season. Tickets, starting at $15 for the first rounds, are available at the CSO Box Office at Music Hall, or by calling 513-381-3300. Competitor headshots and bios are available upon request.

Cincinnati World Piano Competition 2015 Schedule of Events 

Location
Corbett Auditorium, CCM Village
University of Cincinnati

• First Round (Day One): Sunday, June 7, 2-5:45 p.m.
• First Round (Day Two): Monday, June 8, 12-1:45 p.m. and 7-8:45 p.m.
• Second Round: Tuesday, June 9, 10 a.m.-1:45 p.m., 4-5:45 p.m. and 7-8:45 p.m.
• Third Round: Wednesday, June 10, 10 a.m.-1:15 p.m. and 5-8:15 p.m.
• Semifinal Round: Thursday, June 11, 12-3 p.m., 6-9 p.m.
• Final Round with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra: Saturday, June 13, 7:00 p.m.

Purchasing Tickets
One Day Passes for Preliminary Rounds start at $15 One Day Pass, $11.25 Group One Day Pass, $10 Student. Tickets for the final rounds are reserved seating starting at $35. Purchase tickets to all Cincinnati World Piano Competition Events through the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra website at www.cincinnatisymphony.org or by calling the CSO box office at 513-381-3300.

About Robert Treviño, final round conductor
Since his professional debut in 2003 at the age of 20, Robert Treviño has become an emerging force on the international music scene. The 2013/2014 season marks the third season as Associate Conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.  Further engagements this season include debuts with the China Philharmonic, Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra, Orquestra de Cámara de Bellas Artes, National Orchestra of Guatemala, California Symphony Orchestra, Tallahassee Symphony, St. Petersburg Philharmonic, Santa Fe Symphony, Alabama Symphony, Cincinnati Opera, and re-engagements with the Bolshoi Theatre, Slee Sinfonietta, and Cincinnati Symphony. Maestro Treviño steps into his role this season as the Principal Conductor of the Shippensburg Music Festival following his acclaimed debut last summer.

Treviño’s past symphonic and instrumental work includes numerous engagements with orchestras, festivals, and ensembles across North America, Europe, and Asia including the Symphonies of Cincinnati, Boston, St. Louis, Tallahassee, Napa Valley, New World, California, the Philharmonics of Los Angeles, Chicago, Louisiana, Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra, Aspen Music Festival Orchestra, Suwon Philharmonic of South Korea, Wuppertal Symphony of Germany, Montpellier National Orchestra of France, Universidad Nacional Autonoma De Mexico Philharmonic of Mexico, the Millennium Chamber Players, and the Jusqu’aux Oreilles Festival of Canada. Of particular note was Treviño’s month-long residency with the Helsinki Philharmonic where he has assisted Music Director Leif Segerstam on the complete symphonies of Sibelius.

In addition to his great volume of work in the instrumental realm, an important component of Treviño’s career has been his work in opera. Treviño made an acclaimed debut with the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, Russia conducting Puccini’s Tosca in the 2011/2012 season. His success with this production led to the orchestra bestowing upon him the title of ‘Honorary Maestro of the Bolshoi”. He was also immediately reengaged for two more seasons by the Bolshoi to conduct performances of Puccini’s Tosca as well as a new production and residency in the 2013/14 season for a new production of Verdi’s Don Carlos. Treviño served as Associate Conductor and Guest Conductor for the New York City Opera at Lincoln Center from 2009 – 2011, where he led the company in world premieres of five operas as part of the annual VOX: American Opera Series, in addition to his work on productions: Bernstein’s A Quiet Place and Mozart’s Don Giovanni. Additionally, in 2011 Robert conducted the Tanglewood Music Festival Opera Center’s production of Milhaud’s Trios Operas Minutes, directed by Mark Morris.

An avid advocate and performer of contemporary music, Maestro Treviño has commissioned, premiered, and worked closely with many leading composers of today such as: Augusta Read Thomas, Jennifer Higdon, Charles Wuorinen, Bernard Rands, Shulamit Ran, George Walker, David Felder, and John Zorn among others. He has been the recipient of numerous grants and awards from the Foundation for Contemporary Art, Gene Gutche Foundation, Soli Deo Gloria, the Renaissance Society, the Canadian Consular General to the USA and the University of Chicago.

Treviño has conducted the Ensemble Modern Academy Orchestra at the Klangspuren Festival (Schwaz, Austria), the Jusqu’aux Oreilles Festival, as well as the Slee Sinfonietta at the Robert and Carol Morris Center for 21st Century Music.

Robert Treviño is a laureate of the 2010 Evgeny Svetlanov International Conducting Competition and was awarded the 2009 James Conlon Prize for Excellence in Conducting at the Aspen Music Festival and School by David Zinman.

He also won a 2010 Career Assistance Award and the 2012 Career Development Award from the Sir George Solti Foundation, and was a featured conductor at the 2011 Bruno Walter National Conductor Preview.  In summer 2011, Mr. Treviño was selected by James Levine to be one of three conducting fellows at the Tanglewood Music Festival as the Seiji Ozawa Conducting Fellow where he worked with artists such as Mark Morris, Kurt Masur, and Emanuel Ax.

Mr. Treviño has studied with Maestros David Zinman, Leif Segerstam, Michael Tilson Thomas, and Kurt Masur. For further information can be found at his website: roberttrevino.org.

About the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra is a dynamic ensemble of some of the world’s finest musicians. The fifth oldest symphony orchestra in the U.S. and the oldest orchestra in Ohio, the CSO has played a leading role in the cultural life of Greater Cincinnati and the Midwest since its founding in 1895.

Louis Langrée began his tenure as the CSO’s 13th Music Director in the 2013-2014 season with a celebrated program The New York Times said “deftly combined nods to the orchestra’s history, the city’s musical life and new music.” Over the Orchestra’s 120-year history, it has also been led by Leopold Stokowski, Eugéne Ysaÿe, Fritz Reiner, Eugene Goossens, Max Rudolf, Thomas Schippers, Jesús López-Cobos, and Paavo Järvi, among others. The CSO has built a reputation as one of the world’s foremost orchestras, determined for greatness and heralded as a place of experimentation.

A champion of new music, the Orchestra has given American premieres of works by such composers as Debussy, Ravel, Mahler and Bartók and has commissioned works that have since become mainstays of the classical repertoire, including Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man. The CSO was the first orchestra to be broadcast to a national radio audience (1921) and the third to record (1917). The Orchestra continues to commission new works and to program an impressive array of music. Most recently, the CSO performed the world premieres of Nico Muhly’s Pleasure Ground, David Lang’s mountain, Caroline Shaw’s Lo and Daniel Bjarnason’s Collider as part of the groundbreaking collaboration with the MusicNOW Festival, Cincinnati’s premier new music festival, as well as the world premiere of André Previn’s Double Concerto in November 2014.

The Cincinnati Symphony and Pops Orchestra is Cincinnati’s ambassador with over 10 million units sold, many of which have received Grammy awards and nominations. In January of 2010, the CSO launched its own record label, Fanfare Cincinnati, which currently boasts six releases.

The CSO was the first American orchestra to make a world tour sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and continues to tour domestically and internationally, most recently to Europe in 2008 and to Japan in 2009, including two concerts at Tokyo’s Suntory Hall and the CSO’s first-ever nationally televised concert in Japan.

The CSO has performed at New York’s Carnegie Hall 48 times since its debut there in 1917, most recently to rave reviews in May of 2014. The Orchestra will perform again in New York as part of Lincoln Center’s prestigious Great Performers series in January of 2016.

The Orchestra also performs, records and tours as the Cincinnati Pops under the direction of John Morris Russell, and the CSO is the official orchestra for the Cincinnati May Festival, Cincinnati Opera, Cincinnati Ballet and the Cincinnati World Piano Competition.

The CSO is Cincinnati’s own and committed to enhancing and expanding music education for the children of Greater Cincinnati and works to bring music education, in its many different forms, to as broad a public as possible. Education and outreach programs currently serve more than 80,000 individuals annually.

For more information about the CSO, visit www.cincinnatisymphony.org.

About the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music
Nationally ranked and internationally renowned, the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) is a preeminent institution for the performing and media arts. Declared “one of the nation’s leading conservatories” by the New York Times, CCM provides life-changing experiences within a highly creative and multidisciplinary artistic environment.

CCM’s educational roots date back to 1867, and a solid, visionary instruction has been at its core since that time. The synergy created by housing CCM within a comprehensive public university gives the college its unique character and defines its objective: to educate and inspire the whole artist and scholar for positions on the world’s stage.

CCM’s faculty and staff and its state-of-the-art facilities make possible the professional training and exceptional education on which CCM believes the future of the arts relies. The school’s roster of eminent faculty regularly receives distinguished honors for creative and scholarly work, and its alumni have achieved notable success in the performing and media arts.

More than 150 internationally recognized faculty members work with students from around the world, specializing in the areas of Composition, Musicology and Theory; Electronic Media; Ensembles and Conducting; Keyboard Studies; Music Education; Performance Studies and Theatre Arts, Production and Arts Administration. In the most recent rankings by U.S. News and World Report, CCM was honored as the sixth top program in the country for pursuing a graduate degree in music. CCM ensembles have performed internationally, recorded for major labels and won ASCAP awards for excellence and programming.

The largest single source of performing arts events in the state of Ohio, CCM presents nearly 1000 major public performances each year, ranging from faculty and guest artist concerts to fully supported opera, musical theatre, drama and dance productions.

In 1999 CCM celebrated the completion of the CCM Village, the renovated and expanded home of the college. Its stunning, comprehensive performance and educational facilities are unrivaled in the nation. Designed by architect Henry N. Cobb, the CCM Village received a National Honor Award from the American Institute of Architects in 2001.

In 2009 CCM received the designation of “All-Steinway School,” a distinction shared by the top conservatories in the world. CCM has also become one of the largest repositories of Steinway pianos outside of the company’s Long Island City, N.Y.-based factory.

In 2011 CCM was officially recognized by the Ohio Board of Regents as the state’s first Center of Excellence in Music and Theatre Arts.

For more information about the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, please visit us online at ccm.uc.edu.

About the Cincinnati World Piano Competition
Held annually in Cincinnati, the Cincinnati World Piano Competition attracts applicants from every corner of the world. The talented artists and young artists proceed through a series of auditions to the Cincinnati World Piano Competition to compete for over $45,000 in prize money. The Gold Medal winner in the Artist Division is awarded a debut recital in New York and numerous performance opportunities worldwide.

The Competition is sponsored by ArtsWave, the Louise Dieterle Nippert Musical Arts Fund, Western and Southern Financial Group, and the Sarah Marvin Foundation for the Performing Arts.

CCM Dance Invited to Perform at the Beijing Dance Academy’s 60th Anniversary International Gala Celebration This Month

Choreography by guest artist Michael Bearden. Photo copyright Luke Isley.

We are delighted to report that CCM’s Department of Dance has been invited to perform at the Beijing Dance Academy‘s 60th anniversary international gala celebration later on this month.

Twenty schools from around the world have been invited to participate in this event, including just two other representatives from the United States: SUNY Purchase College’s Conservatory of Dance and Brigham Young University’s Department of Dance.

This celebration runs Oct. 10 – 16 and includes performances, lectures and exchange classes in Beijing. Five dance majors will be participating in this celebration: Luca De-Poli, Regina DuPont, Gabrielle Gulan, Dominic Barrett and Claire Bergman. They will be performing Simpatico, choreographed by guest artist Michael Bearden. This piece will also be presented locally in CCM’s Fall Dance Concert later on this semester (Dec. 5 – 7).

These students will gain international performance and study abroad experience during this trip, while also strengthening  CCM’s relationship with the world-renowned Beijing Dance Academy, paving the way for future exchange programs and job opportunities. CCM Dance Chair Jiang Qi and CCM Dean Peter Landgren will also be traveling to China for this celebration.

This invitation is just the latest example of CCM Dance’s ever-rising profile. Earlier this year, Dance Magazine named CCM one of “three top programs to consider.” Read the full report here.

The Dance Department gratefully acknowledges the support of the Corbett Endowment at CCM.

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What’s the best way to keep up with CCM’s remarkable faculty, students, alumni, friends and benefactors? Subscribe to THE VILLAGE NEWS, CCM’s new electronic newsletter.

• Learn about the CCM student and alumni-led Whiz Kids Music Program, which is making a difference in disadvantaged schools throughout Cincinnati.
• Watch all 75 current Musical Theatre majors perform CCM alumnus Stephen Flaherty’s (BM, 1982) “On the Wings of a Dream” in tribute to UC alumnus and supporter Otto M. Budig Jr.
• Find out where CCM’s latest Fulbright grant-recipient will be studying next year.
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LISTEN: WVXU Features Interview With Jon Faddis About 2013 Carmine Caruso Jazz Trumpet Competition

Acclaimed jazz trumpet player Jon Faddis.

WVXU contributor Chris Comer recently spoke with acclaimed jazz trumpet player Jon Faddis about the International Trumpet Guild’s 2013 Carmine Caruso International Jazz Trumpet Solo Competition.

You can listen to audio of the entire interview here.

The world’s finest jazz trumpet players will compete for $15,000 in total prizes during this prestigious competition, which is sponsored by the Herb Alpert Foundation. This year’s proceedings will culminate with a free gala concert on Sept. 14, featuring performances by the finalists and the acclaimed judges, with accompaniment by the Cincinnati Contemporary Jazz Orchestra. Learn more about the Competition and related events here.

CCM Hosts the International Trumpet Guild’s 2013 Carmine Caruso International Jazz Trumpet Competition

CCM proudly presents the final round of the 2013 Carmine Caruso International Jazz Trumpet Competition on Sept. 14.

The world’s best up-and-coming jazz trumpet players will converge at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) this month to compete for $15,000 in total prizes during the International Trumpet Guild‘s 2013 Carmine Caruso International Jazz Trumpet Solo Competition, hosted by the Herb Alpert Foundation.

From a pool of 32 contenders hailing from all four corners of the globe, five finalists will strive to craft the most creative solos in exciting displays of virtuosity and artistry during the Competition’s Final Round, which will take place from 1 p.m.-4:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 14, in CCM’s Corbett Auditorium on the campus of the University of Cincinnati. This event is free and open to the general public, and it will also be streamed live on Livestream (link below).

Three of the most famous and successful jazz trumpet performers of the last 40 years will judge this year’s competition, including:

• Byron Stripling, artistic director of the Columbus Jazz Orchestra, who has had a long performance career with some of the best bands in the world, including the GRP All-Star Band, the Count Basie Orchestra and the Carnegie Hall Jazz Band;
• Bobby Shew, internationally renowned soloist and designer of the popular 8310Z Yamaha trumpet, who has performed with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, the Buddy Rich Big Band and Maynard Ferguson’s Big Band among others; and
• Jon Faddis, often likened to Dizzy Gillespie, a former member of the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra who has shared the stage with musicians such as Charles Mingus, Oscar Peterson and Lionel Hampton.

In honor of the legendary brass pedagogue and author for whom the competition is named, the Competition’s Final Round will be preceded by a Caruso Clinic at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 14, in CCM’s Cohen Family Studio Theater. Clinicians Vince DiMartino and Liesl Whitaker will lead this stimulating session, which is free and open to the public.

Following the final round of the competition, CCM Jazz will present a Gala Concert, complete with performances by the finalists, judges and clinicians. The Cincinnati Contemporary Jazz Orchestra will accompany the soloists, led by artistic director and CCM Jazz Studies director Scott Belck, DMA. This exciting event is also free and will begin at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 14 in Corbett Auditorium.

About the Carmine Caruso International Jazz Trumpet Solo Competition
First held in 1993, the Carmine Caruso International Jazz Trumpet Competition is considered the most prestigious competition for jazz trumpeters in the world. Held every two years, the competition is sponsored by the International Trumpet Guild and supported by a grant from the Herb Alpert Foundation. CCM faculty members Scott Belck, Kim Pensyl and Alan Siebert serve as hosts of this year’s competition. Past winners include Blue Note recording artist Ambrose Akinmusire, Jason Palmer and Benny Benack. Learn more about this year’s competition by visiting uc.edu/events/caruso.

UC Hosts Global Lens Film Festival This Fall

The University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music’s Division of Electronic Media (CCM E-Media) and the University of Cincinnati Libraries will host free public screenings of ten award-winning narrative feature films from Brazil, Chile, China, Egypt, India, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Mexico and Serbia this fall as part of the Global Film Initiative’s 2013 Global Lens film series.

All films will be shown at 6 p.m. on Wednesdays in the TUC MainStreet Cinema on the campus of the University of Cincinnati, except for the screening of Eduardo Nunes’ Southwest, which will be held at 6 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 2.

Launched in 2003, the Global Lens film series is designed to support the distribution of unique and critically acclaimed cinematic works from around the world. The 2013 series premiered at the Museum of Modern Art this past January and is now being presented in over 35 cities across the United States and Canada.

This year’s film series includes The Fantastic World of Juan Orol (El Fantástico Mundo De Juan Orol) on Sept. 4, Beijing Flickers (You-Zhong) on Sept. 18, Modest Reception (Paziraie Sadeh) on Oct. 2, The Parade (Parada) on Oct. 9, About 111 Girls (Darbare 111 Dokhtar) on Oct. 16, Life Kills Me (La Vida Me Mata) on Oct. 30, Cairo 678 on Nov. 6, Student on Nov. 13, Southwest (Sudoeste) on Dec. 2 and Shyamal Uncle Turns off the Lights on Dec. 4. Learn more about each film below.

German Composer Ulrich Kreppein Receives UC College-Conservatory of Music’s Prestigious Zemlinsky Prize

Zemlinsky First Prize-winner Ulrich Kreppein. Photo by Raf Thienpont.

CCM is proud to announce that German composer Ulrich Kreppein has been awarded first prize in CCM’s Alexander Zemlinsky Prize for Composition, the third international competition of its kind for young composers.

Created at the behest of Alexander Zemlinsky’s widow, Louise Zemlinsky, this prestigious prize is awarded by CCM once every six years in recognition of achievement in musical composition for artists age 35 or younger. Each applicant is asked to submit one original score – either published or unpublished – for any size orchestra, which is then submitted to a rigorous three-round adjudication process. Winners receive a cash award and the opportunity to premiere an original work at CCM.

This year’s competition opened in December 2012 with entries received from more than 200 composers from 32 countries. Judges for the competition were selected by CCM’s Composition, Musicology and Theory Division Head Joel Hoffman; the Alexander Zemlinsky Fund in Vienna; and the Austrian Cultural Institute in New York City. Judges included the following:

• Robert Beaser, chair of the composition department at the Juilliard School;
• Zygmunt Krauze, distinguished Polish composer and conductor; and
• Matthias Pintscher, distinguished German composer and conductor.