CCM E-Media professor and student help UC Emeriti Center launch new website

The University of Cincinnati Emeriti Association and Center, headed by College-Conservatory of Music E-Media Professor Peter DePietro, unveiled a new website in April that showcases the work of recent graduate Jonathan Kilberg (BFA E-Media, ’20). As the center’s multimedia intern, Kilberg’s work included web design/development, user experience design, videography and audio production — a grouping of disciplines that are unique to CCM’s E-Media program.

Peter DePietro.

DePietro is the first non-interim executive director of the Emeriti Center, which advocates for the interests of emeriti, provides intellectual and social opportunities and strengthens ties between emeriti and the university, local, national and international communities. The new website includes videos from the Center’s YouTube channel as well as helpful resources for the university’s retired faculty members.

Since having a major role in the Center, DePietro has worked on creating connections between UC and community leaders as well as connecting deans from different colleges across campus. He is also focused on growth and expanding membership. At CCM he continues to educate his students through experience-based learning, which is why he recruited a student to help build the Center’s new website. DePietro enlisted the help of Kilberg because he believes that engaging students in practical learning is important.

“It was an amazing opportunity to be able to work for the Center,” Kilberg says. “I jumped at the opportunity. Every single member is supportive and kind and sociable. It was amazing to meet all these people from campus life and beyond campus life.”

Creating the UC Emeriti website was no small feat. The task required both Kilberg and DePietro to take classes and tests in order to train on the university’s web content management system and to meet the standards of UC’s Digital Communications office. In addition to the website, Kilberg and DePietro created a YouTube channel with original video content. The crown jewel of the YouTube channel is the EmeriTALKS series which Kilberg noted as one of the best parts of working on this project. The EmeriTALKS videos include a joint-venture between the Center and CCM, featuring the leadership of Cincinnati’s Playhouse in the Park, and another featuring former UC President Nancy Zimpher.

As an E-Media student at CCM, Kilberg has enjoyed multiple opportunities to participate in hands on learning experiences. In October 2019, Kilberg traveled to Germany and Poland with CCM E-Media Professor Hagit Limor’s multi-disciplinary Media Topics class. The group of 15 students set out to create “Hope After Hate,” an immersive play and virtual reality experience that shares Limor’s father’s experience during the Holocaust with lessons to inspire action against future acts of hatred.

CCM’s BFA E-Media program encompasses the integrated media arts of film and digital cinema, television and broadcast media news, audio production and new media design. Students are given the opportunity to study in the track of their choosing, including Broadcast and Media Production, Multimedia Production and Film and Television Production. Internships are a key part of the curriculum and take advantage of the professional resources in Cincinnati and other areas across the country. With its emphasis on experiential learning, students acquire the hands-on skills and a digital portfolio necessary to transition successfully into the professional world.

Kilberg plans on going into the film industry and feels that one of the biggest skills E-Media has taught him is how to effectively work with a team. “E-Media pushed me to work with other people, which is so necessary in the field that I want to go in. The program taught me the importance of working as a team.”

“The professors are talented and they work hard at creating community,” Kilberg says. “They also offer great resources and there is support from the alumni of E-Media. Going forward they are going to continue to do an amazing job preparing students.”

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Story by CCM Graduate Student Kelly Barefield

Featured image at top: An aerial view of CCM Village. Photo/Jay Yocis

Thank You: CCM Celebrates Faculty and Staff Retirements

As the academic year comes to a close, we celebrate the careers of nine retiring faculty and staff members who have given nearly 250 years of combined service to UC’s College-Conservatory of Music. These members of the CCM family have dedicated themselves to continuing the college’s legacy as a leading training center for the performing and media arts.

• Yvonne Becknell, Performance Management Program Manager, 1969-2016
• Lee Fiser, Professor of Violincello and former member of the LaSalle Quartet, 1975-2017
• Allen Otte, Professor of Percussion and member of Percussion Group Cincinnati, 1977-2017
• Mary Stucky, Professor of Voice, 1990-2017
• Sandra Vanlandingham, Theatre Arts, Production and Arts Administration Program Manager, 1990-2005 and 2007-2016
• Piotr Milewski, Professor of Violin, 1995-2017
• Patti James, Professor of Dance, 1999-2017
• Ben Terry Lusk, Professor of Opera/Vocal Coaching, 1999-2017
• Kimberly Daniel de Acha, Professor of Voice, 2010-2017

View photos of their time at CCM:

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Retiring Faculty Members Share Memories:

This year marks my 48th year of continuous work — 21 years as a singer/actress, and another 20 years as a college professor and theatre producer. In 2009 my husband and I retired to Cincinnati, where I received an unexpected invitation to return to CCM — my alma mater — to teach musical theatre voice as an adjunct professor. These past seven years have been a total joy. I call it simply “the gift I gave myself.” As an older professional, it means so much to continue to contribute and feel appreciated. I’ve been truly honored to work with wonderful colleagues, and to have been given the opportunity to teach and mentor my talented and remarkable students. A number of my students surprised me in New York with a champagne brunch on April 2 to celebrate my retirement. I have no words to express what that meant to me, and the joy I feel, seeing them claim their places on Broadway and other stages, following their dreams. I would like to thank UC for recognizing and honoring the work of adjunct faculty. It is rare for a university to recognize adjunct contributions, and I salute UC for doing so. I’ll be forever grateful that I have been able to come full circle, and share the training I received at CCM with another generation of students. CCM is about to celebrate its 150th anniversary. I look forward to continuing to serve on the CCMPower board, raising money for scholarships, and helping to ensure that CCM will be here for another 150 years, training and graduating outstanding music professionals. – Kimberly Daniel de Acha
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Some of my favorite times at CCM revolve around hearing and interacting with such a wonderful faculty, be it at their concerts, at committee meetings, or in day by day interaction. I feel honored to have worked with such stellar teachers and artists! – Mary Stucky
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When I started fall 1975, DVAC was the Schmidlapp Gymnasium, Memorial was a women’s dorm, the main way to the garage was from Calhoun down to CCM garage — the connector tunnel didn’t exist. Werner Hall and Starbucks weren’t here and CCM had about half of the students it does now. It was an exciting time for me, as I was starting in LaSalle Quartet. We did four concerts a year in Corbett and two to four international tours a year. I worked with so many wonderful colleagues over all these years, some are sadly no longer with us. Almost my whole professional life has been at CCM, more than four decades worth of experiences. – Lee Fiser
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In 1999, I received a call asking me to teach at CCM. Who would have thought that almost two decades later my passion for teaching has only increased because of the talented students and faculty that I have had the pleasure of working with! Thank you all so much! – Patti James
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There’s something a touch poetic for me about retiring along with Lee Fiser — the final retirement from the LaSalle String Quartet. I came to the CCM faculty as a quite young person. It was the Quartet who were instrumental in getting Percussion Group Cincinnati the appointment to CCM. Some of my strongest memories of that first decade here are the Quartet’s concerts on Corbett stage, and I endeavored to live up to the beautiful standards that they had set. I wanted a percussion group in the late 20th century to be able to function just as the greatest string quartets always had, and I am grateful to CCM for giving me and my colleagues that opportunity and support. – Allen Otte

McKnight’s Senior Living Magazine Spotlights CCM Artist-in-Residence Program With Twin Towers

The McKnight’s Senior Living magazine and media brand has turned the spotlight on CCM’s new artist-in-residence program with the Twin Towers Senior Living Community.

As previously reported, this partnership offers free housing to two CCM graduate students on one of Twin Towers’ campuses for the duration of their degree programs. In return, these students will perform one recital per month and allow the community’s citizens unprecedented interaction through discussions and open rehearsals.

The inaugural artists-in-residence are soprano Annie Barr and collaborative pianist Alyssa Griffith, both of whom are first-year Master of Music students at CCM.

In the recently published McKnight’s article, Twin Towers Executive Director Jim Lay explores the surprises brought about through this intergenerational program:

“The simple vision that these students would provide pleasing musical entertainment for Twin Towers’ residents has blossomed into a depth of kinship and connection between unlikely acquaintances,” Lay observes. “When semester break led to the students heading home to be with their families for the holidays, their Twin Towers family anxiously anticipated their January return.”

Barr and Griffith have expressed similar enthusiasm for the innovative new program.

“I loved the idea of living in the Twin Towers community, having more opportunities to perform and practice for the residents’ enjoyment,” Griffith says.

“I feel honored and thankful to have this opportunity,” Barr adds. “I love interacting with all of my neighbors, they’re all so sweet and kind. The neighborhood is a happy place to live.”

CCM Dean Peter Landgren views this new partnership as a natural extension of the college’s ongoing community engagement activities throughout Greater Cincinnati. “An important part of CCM’s responsibility as a training ground for the performing and media arts is to provide aspiring artists with opportunities to interact with and give back to their communities,” he says.

Read the complete McKnight‘s article online at www.mcknightsseniorliving.com/guest-columns/intergenerational-program-brings-nice-surprises/article/471691/.

Learn more about CCM’s partnership with Twin Towers at ccm.uc.edu/about/villagenews/notations-ovations/ccm-twin-towers-partnership.

CCM Drama Holds Annual Senior Showcase and Dolly Awards on March 27

CCM’s Department of Drama presents its annual Senior Showcase at 2 and 7 p.m. on Friday, March 27, in UC’s Patricia Corbett Theater. The 13th annual DOLLY Awards Ceremony follows the 7 p.m. showcase performance. These events are free and open to the public. Reservations are not required.

CCM’s Class of 2015 in Drama.

The showcase performance will consist of a variety of scenes by graduating seniors in CCM’s Drama program, demonstrating the depth and breadth of the acting skills they have honed during their undergraduate training at CCM. The Senior Showcase will be the first presentation of a performance that the students will be taking on the road to exhibit their talent in New York and Los Angeles in April. You can learn more about the Drama Class of 2015 by visiting ccm.uc.edu/theatre/drama/seniorshowcase.

Hosted by Richard E. Hess, CCM’s A.B., Dolly, Ralph and Julia Cohen Chair of Dramatic Performance, the Annual CCM Drama DOLLY Awards recognize outstanding achievement and performance by students in the Department of Drama. Awards are given for Excellence in Performance and Excellence in Ensemble Performance from the 2014-15 CCM Drama season, which included the productions TRANSMIGRATION 2014, Living Dead in Denmark, Macbeth, Speech and Debate and The Heidi Chronicles.

The evening will also include tributes to CCM faculty members Diane Kvapil and R. Terrell Finney, both of whom will retire at the end of the semester. A faculty member since 1977, Professor Kvapil received the Acclaim Award for Outstanding Theatre Educator in 2011. A faculty member since 1983, Professor Finney currently serves as CCM’s Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Director of Graduate Studies. He is also currently serving as president of the National Association of Schools of Theatre.

CCM alumnus Keith Pillow.

The highlight of the ceremony will be the presentation of the 2015 Julia Winter Cohen Career Excellence Award to a graduate of CCM Drama. This year’s honoree is Keith Pillow, CCM Drama class of 1989. An accomplished film and television actor, Pillow has had recurring roles on Judging Amy, The Shield, The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Awkward and Pretty Little Liars. He has made guest appearances on The Mentalist, Glee, The Goldbergs, Law & Order L.A., TheCloser, Nip/Tuck, Hot in Cleveland, 24, CSI, Cold Case, The Young and the Restless, General Hospital and The Bold and the Beautiful, to name but a few. A classically trained singer and actor, Pillow is also very much at home on the stage. His credits include the Broadway touring company of Show Boat, the role of Pontius Pilate in the European tour of Jesus Christ Superstar, the role of Hud in the European tour of Hair and the role of Jim in the national tour of Big River. He was also featured at the prestigious Theater des Westens in Berlin as Jacob in La Cage aux Folles, and in productions of My Fair Lady, Anything Goes and Evita. In addition to his television and stage credits, Pillow has appeared in over 20 national and regional commercials and numerous films.

About Diane Kvapil

CCM Associate Professor of Drama Diane Kvapil.

Diane L. Kvapil studied at Catholic University in Washington, D.C., and the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York City with Sanford Meisner. She joined CCM’s faculty in 1977 and currently serves as Associate Professor of Drama. Kvapil has directed several notable productions during her time at CCM, including Trojan Woman (with original music by Richard Oberacker), Our Town, Three Sisters (which won the Acclaim Award for Outstanding Ensemble) and Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia. In 2011, she received the Acclaim Award for Outstanding Theatre Educator.

Featured in numerous regional and national touring productions as well as WNET and NBC telecasts, Kvapil has also performed with National Players in Japan, Korea, Canada, North Africa and Bermuda. She is in demand for on-camera commercial work as well as voice overs for radio and television. As a writer, Kvapil has had a teleplay produced for NBC’s Young People’s Specials. She studied with American actor and acting teacher Eric Morris during the summer of 1987.

About R. Terrell Finney

CCM Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, Director of Graduate Studies and Professor of Drama Terrell Finney.

R. Terrell Finney, Jr. is the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Director of Graduate Studies and a Professor of Drama at CCM. A faculty member since 1983, his recent directing credits include Charley’s Aunt, Floyd Collins, Dancing at Lughnasa, The Diviners, Myths and Hymns, As You Like It,Lend Me A Tenor, Chekhov in Yalta, Blithe Spirit and the world premiere of Clever Dick for CCM/Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati, among others. He has also served as a faculty member at Birmingham-Southern College and the Cincinnati School for Creative and Performing Arts.

Finney is a former artistic director of the Showboat Majestic where selected productions included Crimes of the Heart and They’re Playing Our Song. He also directed The Importance of Being Earnest for the Cincinnati Shakespeare Festival. Acting credits include Nurse Nanny Fanny in ETC’s Snow White, Hysterium in the Hot Summer Nights production of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and Argon in CCM’sThe Imaginary Invalid. He has also served as narrator for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.

A graduate of the MFA directing program at Boston University, he spent the summers of 1992 and 1995 in training programs with the Royal National Theatre of Great Britain. A past president of the Ohio Theatre Alliance, Finney previously served as the head of the Division of Opera, Musical Theatere, Drama and Arts Administration at CCM and acted as producer of CCM’s acclaimed Hot Summer Nights from 1998 to 2002. A member of Actors’ Equity Association, he is currently serving as President of the National Association of Schools of Theatre and frequently serves as a consultant to theatre programs across the United States.

Although Finney is retiring this spring, he will make a return to CCM’s Mainstage Series to direct Eugene O’Neill’s Ah, Wilderness! in February of 2016. You can learn more about this production, and the rest of CCM’s upcoming season, by visiting ccm.uc.edu/about/villagenews/notations-ovations/mainstage-series-2015-2016.

Performance Times
2 & 7 p.m., Friday, March 27

Location
Patricia Corbett Theater, CCM Village
University of Cincinnati

Admission Details
Admission to the CCM Drama Senior Showcase and DOLLY Awards Ceremony is FREE and open to the general public. 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 more information on parking rates.

For detailed maps and directions, please visit uc.edu/visitors. Additional parking is available off-campus at the new 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

Community Partner: ArtsWave

CCM Celebrates the Career of Retiring Professor Terence Milligan in Concert on April 5

CCM Professor Terence Milligan will take the Corbett Auditorium podium for a special farewell concert on April 5. Photography by Lisa Ventre.

CCM celebrates the retirement of Professor Terence Milligan with a series of special events beginning at 7 p.m. on Saturday, April 5. The CCM Wind Ensemble, the UC Bearcat Band, alumni members of Phi Alpha Sinfonia and other special guests will take part in the celebrations, which are free and open to the general public.

The pre-concert festivities begin at 7 p.m. with a pre-concert performance by the UC Bearcat Band in the CCM plaza. Milligan directed the Bearcat band from 1979-1992 and remains close friends with many of the band’s alumni.

A meet and greet in CCM’s Baur room will follow the Bearcat Band performance, culminating in the brass and percussion ensembles performing a special fanfare in the Corbett Center Atrium.

The concert will begin at 8:15 p.m. in Corbett Auditorium, featuring the Wind Ensemble, which will perform six different pieces, each holding a special meaning for Professor Milligan.

CCM E-Media Division Head Marjorie Fox Retires

Electronic Media Division Head Marjorie Fox joined the faculty in 1988. She retires this summer.

CCM Electronic Media Division Head Marjorie Fox has announced that she will retire this June. Fox joined the faculty of the University of Cincinnati in 1988 as an adjunct instructor.

After getting her start as a TV reporter in Peoria, Illinois, Fox spent the early part of her career in television with the Chicago NBC affiliate WMAQ-TV, working as a writer, field producer, newscast producer, assignment editor and eventually executive producer.

Although she did not have plans to become a professor initially, Fox became acquainted with longtime E-Media Division Head Manfred Wolfram through their mutual friend the late Henry Meyer, who was himself a distinguished professor of violin at CCM and founding member of the world-renowned LaSalle Quartet.

Fox explains, “I met with Dr. Wolfram and he arranged for me to teach a journalism class as an adjunct and I loved it. I felt that this is what I should be doing.” Fox soon became a visiting assistant professor and was hired for a tenure-track position in 1990.

CCM Wind Symphony Concert Celebrates Achievements of Retiring Director of Wind Studies

Rodney Winther with CCM Interim Dean Frank Weinstock.

CCM director of Wind Studies Rodney Winther conducts his final CCM Wind Symphony concert on June 4 at 8 p.m. in Corbett Auditoriumin CCM Village, before retiring after 14 years with CCM.

This concert is also part of the first CCM Wind Studies Alumni Weekend, in which alumni have been invited to sit in on rehearsals, attend concerts and even perform in the final Wind Symphony concert. In addition to the Wind Symphony concert, the weekend will include performances by the Chamber Winds and Wind Ensemble along with a post-concert reception. You can view a full schedule for the weekend here.

Titled “CCM Alumni Concert – A New Beginning,” the June 4 Wind Symphony concert will celebrate Winther’s career and the next chapter for the Wind Studies Department.

Chamber Players’ Conductor Rodney Winther Makes His Last Bow with the Ensemble

Rodney Winther (far right) and the CCM Chamber Players.

CCM’s Director of Wind Studies Rodney Winther makes his final appearance as conductor of the Chamber Players this weekend, in a concert featuring the music of Mozart and Schwantner. Winther’s tenure comes to a close as he retires at the end of this academic year, finishing 13 years as Director of Wind Studies and Professor of Music at CCM. He is also responsible for the Chamber Winds and CCM Wind Symphony: his final concert with this ensemble is later this month. Read more about Rodney here.

We thank Rodney Winther for his years of dedication to CCM, and invite you  to join us in celebrating him during his final concerts here!