Acclaimed Mezzo-Soprano Jennifer Johnson Cano Holds Master Class at CCM this Sunday

CCM hosts acclaimed mezzo-soprano Jennifer Johnson Cano for a master class featuring CCM students at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 11, 2018, in CCM’s Mary Emery Hall, room 3250. The master class is free and open to the public. Cano visits CCM after she performs as a featured artist in the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra’s “One: City: Beethoven 9” concert on Nov. 9 and 10.

Jennifer Johnson Cano. Photo by Lisa-Marie Mazzucco.

A naturally gifted singer noted for her commanding stage presence and profound artistry, Cano has garnered critical acclaim in a variety of roles. During the 2018-19 season, she returns to the Metropolitan Opera as Emilia in Otello and Meg Page in Falstaff and makes her role debut as Offred in Poul Ruders’ The Handmaid’s Tale with Boston Lyric Opera. Cano’s orchestral engagements include Bernstein’s Jeremiah Symphony with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde with the Colorado Springs Philharmonic, and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Pittsburgh and Cincinnati symphonies. A dedicated recitalist and chamber musician, she joins tenor Matthew Polenzani and pianist Julius Drake at Carnegie Hall for an evening of Schubert, Beethoven, Brahms and Janáček’s The Diary of One Who Disappeared. She will return to Chamber Music of Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall for a performance of Ravel’s Sheherazade and Falla’s Psyche. Cano will also be part of two world-premiere performances this season: Paul Moravec’s A New Country and Gregg Kallor’s Sketches from Frankenstein Suite.

Cano has given over 100 performances at the Metropolitan Opera, with recent roles including Bersi, Emilia, Hansel, Meg Page, Mercedes, Nicklausse, Wellgunde and Waltraute. Other operatic appearances have included Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni with Boston Lyric and Arizona operas, the Sharp Eared Fox in Janáček’s Cunning Little Vixen with the Cleveland Orchestra, Carmen in Bizet’s Carmen with Boston Lyric Opera, Orphée in Orphée et Eurydice with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis and Des Moines Metro Opera, Diana in La Calisto with Cincinnati Opera and Marguerite in Berlioz’s La Damnation de Faust with the Tucson Symphony. She has recently worked with an impressive array of conductors, such as Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Franz Welser-Möst, Gustavo Dudamel, Manfred Honeck, Marin Alsop, Robert Spano, Louis Langrée, Osmo Vänskä and Sir Andrew Davis.

Cano is a native of St. Louis and made her professional operatic debut with Opera Theatre of St. Louis. She has earned degrees from Webster University and Rice University and was honored as a distinguished alumna and commencement speaker at Webster University last May. Cano joined the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program at the Metropolitan Opera after winning the Metropolitan Opera National Council Audition, and she made her Met debut during the 2009-10 season. Among her honors are a First Prize winner of the Young Concert Artist International Auditions, Sara Tucker Study Grant, Richard Tucker Career Grant and George London Award.

Learn more about Cano on her professional website at jenniferjohnsoncano.net
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Master Class Time
2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 11

Location
Mary Emery Hall Room 3250, CCM Village
University of Cincinnati

Admission
Free and open to the general 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.

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 Celebrates the 200th Anniversary of Verdi’s Birth With Performances of ‘Requiem’

Photography by Dottie Stover.

CCM’s Philharmonia Orchestra, Chamber Choir and Chorale will present a rare two-evening run of Giuseppi Verdi’s Requiem at 8 p.m. on both Friday, Feb. 1, and Saturday, Feb. 2, in UC’s Corbett Auditorium. Tickets are on sale now.

CCM mounts these performances in celebration of the 200th anniversary of the composer’s birth, which will be Oct. 10, 2013. Huge choral and orchestral forces come together for this highlight of the 2013 CCM Orchestra Series, with choirs prepared by Earl Rivers, director of Choral Studies, and Brett Scott, Choral Studies faculty member, as well as performances led by Maestro Mark Gibson, director of Orchestral Studies and of the CCM Philharmonia.

Soloists for both performances include:

• CCM alumna Helen Lyons, soprano, who most recently returned to sing the title role in CCM’s acclaimed 2011 concert performance of Puccini’s Turandot;
• Leah de Gruyl, mezzo soprano, who sang Mother Goose in CCM’s Mainstage production of Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress in 2012;
• CCM alumnus Daniel Weeks, tenor, who was both a national finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and the winner of the National Federation of Music Clubs’ Young Artist Competition.
• Andrew Funk, bass, who recently performed with Opera Lyra Ottawa, San Francisco Opera, Opera Boston, Arizona Opera and Chicago Opera Theater.
• Yi Li, tenor, a winner of the CCM 2012 Opera Scholarship Competition and Musical America’s “New Artist of the Month” for March 2012;
• Nathan Stark, bass, who recently served as a cover in Britten’s Billy Budd at the Metropolitan Opera.

CCM Voice Students Receive Competition Honors

Five CCM voice students were named winners of CCM’s 2012 Opera Scholarship Competition, which was held Saturday, March 31, in CCM’s Corbett Auditorium. The annual competition welcomes current and incoming CCM voice students to compete for scholarships and cash prizes. A panel of judges composed of opera industry professionals selects each year’s class of prizewinners.

The 2012 CCM Opera Scholarship Competition winners are:

CCM Alumna Kate Tombaugh Wins 2012 Grace Keagy Award

Grace Keagy Award-winner and CCM alumna Kate Tombaugh.

Congratulations to mezzo-soprano Kate Tombaugh (MM Vocal Performance, ’10) on winning the Kurt Weill Foundation’s 2012 Grace Keagy Award for Outstanding Vocal Promise.

The award honors singer-actress Grace Keagy (1921-2009), a past judge for the Kurt Weill Foundation’s Lotte Lenya Competition and a great supporter, who played Mrs. Peachum in The Threepenny Opera on several occasions and the Widow Begbick in the Yale Repertory Theatre’s Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny.

CCM’s Opera Scholarship Competition Celebrates Excellence in Vocal Performance

CCM will provide local audiences with a first glimpse of tomorrow’s opera stars during the 2012 Opera Scholarship Competition running from 10 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 31 in Corbett Auditorium on the University of Cincinnati campus. Admission is free and open to the general public.

Musical America Names CCM Student as ‘New Artist of the Month’ for March 2012

Artist Diploma candidate Yi Li with Mark Gibson and the CCM Philharmonia.

Congratulations to first-year Artist Diploma candidate Yi Li for being named “New Artist of the Month” by Musical America! Each month, Musical America spotlights an important emerging talent with an in-depth profile. You can view Li’s profile here.

CCM Student Named First Recipient of the Merola Opera Program’s Zheng Cao Opera Fund Award

Congratulations to CCM’s Yi Li, tenor, for being named the inaugural recipient of the Merola Opera Program‘s Zheng Cao Opera Fund award!

Each summer, this fund will sponsor one incoming Merola artist: either an Asian/Pacific artist or a mezzo-soprano. In addition to covering the artist’s training and housing costs, the Zheng Cao Fund will provide the additional funding needed to cover visa and travel costs associated with bringing an Asian/Pacific artist to San Francisco.

CCM Announces Fall 2011 Calendar of Major Events

Photography by Scott Belck.

CCM is delighted to announce its fall schedule of major performances. Beginning Wednesday, September 28 CCM will present over 50 events, ranging from faculty and guest artist concerts to fully supported opera and musical theatre productions.

Download a digital copy of our Fall Quarterly Calendar of Events today!

Whether it’s a swinging tribute to Frank Sinatra, a festival showcasing the talents of two Russian powerhouse composers, the regional premiere of a drama co-produced with The Carnegie Visual and Performing Arts Center, a world premiere produced in partnership with Cincinnati Opera, a revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s beloved Oklahoma! or a holiday-themed choral extravaganza, CCM’s fall schedule of performing arts events offers dozens of opportunities to be mesmerized and delighted.

CCM Alumna Wins First Prize in 2011 Lotte Lenya Competition

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Congratulations to CCM alumnae Caitlin Mathes (MM, 2008, Artist Diploma, 2010) and Alisa Suzanne Jordheim (MM, 2010, DMA candidate) who both earned sizeable honors at this year’s Lotte Lenya Competition, sponsored by the Kurt Weill Foundation. Mathes earned First Prize and $15,000, while Jordheim earned a spot in the Final round of competition and $1000. The Lotte Lenya Competition was held on April 16, 2011 at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y.