CCM Presents Staged Version of J. S. Bach’s ‘St. John Passion’

CCM presents J. S. Bach’s St. John Passion, a work for chamber orchestra, choir and vocal soloists that premiered in 1724. The staged performances of this timeless piece will take place at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 27 and Sunday, Oct. 28, 2018, at Cincinnati’s Knox Presbyterian Church, 3400 Michigan Ave.

This production features CCM’s Chamber Choir and Concert Orchestra, led by Earl Rivers, CCM director of choral studies. Artist diploma candidate Audrey Chait directs the St. John Passion and will also direct CCM’s Studio Opera production of Dinner at Eight in February. Faculty artist Daniel Weeks, tenor, sings the role of the Evangelist, with student soloists playing the other roles.

“The Passion story is told here through the eyes of the Apostle John,” Chait says. “Through reliving his memories of the final days of Jesus, he explores both the interior and exterior of the narrative, as well as his own role in creating the canonical version of the text. We utilize a simple, timeless visual language to emphasize the beauty and transcendence of Bach’s landmark work.”

“In recent seasons throughout the world, staged productions of Bach’s St. John Passion and St. Matthew Passion have sprung up and blossomed, as music directors and stage directors explore new means of expressing these timeless settings of the Passion story,” Rivers adds. “By staging the St. John Passion, CCM is preparing CCM students for real-world professional performances they will experience over their careers.”

Student soloists will sing the roles of Jesus (Daren Small, baritone), Pontius Pilate (John Siarris, baritone) in this production, with the parts for the Disciples sung by Claire Lopatka and Victoria Okafor, sopranos; Michelle La Jeunesse and Brenda Iglesias Zarco, mezzo-sopranos; Victor Cardamone, tenor; Joshua Cook and Antonia Cruz, baritones; and Michael Hyatt, bass.

Admission for this production is free, but subscribers receive access to a preferred section of the best seats. Subscribers can call the CCM Box Office on Monday, October 22 to reserve seats.

CCM’s production of Bach’s St. John Passion will be sung in German with English surtitles.
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Performance Times

• 4 p.m. Saturday, October 27
• 4 p.m. Sunday, October 28

Location
Knox Presbyterian Church
3400 Michigan Ave.
Cincinnati, OH 45208

Admission
Admission is free, reservations are not required.

CCM subscribers receive access to a preferred section of the best seats. Subscribers can call the CCM Box Office at 513-556-4183 on Monday, October 22 to reserve seats.

Parking and Directions:
Please visit the Knox Presbyterian Church website at https://www.knox.org/ for more information on parking and directions.
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CCM Choral Studies Sponsor: Jan Rogers and Willard and Jean Mulford Charitable Fund of the Cambridge Charitable Foundation

Visiting Artists Sponsor: The Joseph and Frances Jones Poetker Fund of the Cambridge Charitable Foundation, Ritter and Randolph, LLC, Corporate Council

CCM’s production of Bach’s St. John Passion is supported by a generous grant from the Willard and Jean Mulford Charitable Fund of the Cambridge Charitable Foundation.
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Story by CCM Graduate Student Alexandra Doyle

CCM Performances and Collaborations Highlighted on Several “Best of 2013” Lists

As we ring in a new year, several local arts writers have released their “year in review” lists for 2013. Rafael de Acha, Mary Ellyn Hutton, Kirk Sheppard, Rick Pender and Janelle Gelfand help us take a look back at the year that was:

In his “best of” roundup for Music for All Seasons, Rafael de Acha commented, “(CCM) consistently achieves professional level in its numerous productions of operas, musicals and concerts which approached the four-digit mark this past year.” Last spring’s original production of Into a Lamplit Room: The Songs of Kurt Weill and the recent concert production of Verdi’s Don Carlos, along with CCM’s Mainstage Series productions of Singin’ in the Rain and Owen Wingrave, all received special mention in de Acha’s review.

Mary Ellyn Hutton presented her top 16 performances for Music in Cincinnati, which included three CCM productions: Verdi’s Don Carlos, Bach’s St. John Passion and Britten’s Owen Wingrave. Of Verdi’s Don Carlos, Hutton commented, “This gets my vote as perhaps the single finest concert of 2013 in Cincinnati.”

Compiled for The Snappy Critic, Kirk Sheppard‘s list of favorite theatre productions of 2013 included last spring’s Mainstage production of The Threepenny Opera and the Studio production of Parade produced in collaboration with the Carnegie in Covington. This past fall’s CCM productions of Carrie and Singin’ in the Rain also made Sheppard’s list.

Rick Pender included two CCM productions in his 2013 round up of theatre in Cincinnati for CityBeat. Last spring’s co-production of Parade with the Carnegie and the recent Mainstage production of Singin’ in the Rain received special attention.

Janelle Gelfand also included CCM’s massive concert production of Don Carlos in her list of “Top 13 Classical Music Shows in 2013” for the Cincinnati Enquirer. In addition to her performance-specific list, she published a summary of “arts highlights” for the year, which included the work of the MYCincinnati after-school program in East Price Hill (learn more about CCM’s connection to the organization here) and the new partnership between Cincinnati’s World Piano Competition, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and CCM.

What were your favorite performances of 2013? What are you looking forward to most in 2014? Get a first look at what’s coming up at CCM in 2014 here!

CCM and Constella Festival Present Bach’s ‘St. John Passion’ This Sunday

The Cincinnati Enquirer has named CCM’s Sunday, Nov. 3, staging of J. S. Bach’s St. John Passion as its “top pick for the weekend!”

According to the preview, “it should be one of the most moving events of the entire fall season.” Tickets are still available for this unique staged performance at Cincinnati’s Christ Church Cathedral.

Learn more about CCM’s production of this cherished Baroque masterwork here.

CCM Presents a Grand Recreation of a Beloved Bach Masterpiece on Nov. 3

Graduate student Conor McDonald performs the role of Jesus in CCM’s production of J.S. Bach’s ‘St. John Passion,’ presented at Christ Church Cathedral on Nov. 3. Photography by Dottie Stover.

CCM’s Chamber Choir and Philharmonia Chamber Orchestra join forces to perform a unique staged production of Johann Sebastian Bach’s visceral rendering of the St. John Passion as the next installment in CCM’s 2013-14 Prestige Concert Series. The monumental work will be presented at 5 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 3, at Christ Church Cathedral under the direction of Earl Rivers, staged by Omer Ben-Seadia, and in conjunction with the Constella Festival of Music and Fine Arts.

Bach composed his St. John Passion for the congregations of Leipzig, Germany for Good Friday services in April 1724. The story is narrated by the character of the Evangelist and emphasizes the conflict of Pontius Pilate. “Bach’s interpretation provides us with a dramatic and physiological account,” explains stage director and Artist Diploma directing student Omer Ben-Seadia. “The staging will portray the drama through symbolic elements and light. The text and historical reflection are just as pungent today as ever – and the staging confronts these truths head on.” Ben-Seadia will also direct CCM’s Mainstage Series production of Don Pasquale in April 2014.

“Performances of Bach’s Passions, particularly in light of the attention that Mel Gibson’s film The Passion of the Christ received, present an opportunity for Christians and Jews to confront issues of religious intolerance, and the role of the arts and how the arts might, advertently or inadvertently, promote intolerance,” explains conductor and Director of Choral Studies Earl Rivers. “By exploring these issues, we will know the music better and we will know each other better.”

The concert will be performed at the magnificent setting of Christ Church Cathedral, which enjoys a long tradition of great choral music and is hosting the collaboration between CCM’s Chamber Choir and Philharmonia Chamber Orchestra and the Constella Festival for a second year. In 2010, the CCM Chamber Choir and Philharmonia Orchestra presented the 400th Anniversary of Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610 at the downtown location, and the Cathedral presents a wide variety of performances throughout the year.

CCM alumnus and Joseph and Frances Jones Poetker Visiting Artist Jeffrey Thompson, tenor, will sing the role of the Evangelist. CCM graduate voice majors Conor McDonald and Jeffrey Byrnes, baritones, perform the roles of Jesus and Pilate, respectively. The roles of aria soloists will be sung by CCM graduate voice majors Danielle Adams, soprano; Laurin McAlister, mezzo-soprano; Alec Carlson, tenor; Jonathan Cooper, baritone; and Stefan Egerstrom, bass. Guest Artist Adriana Contino, cellist, plays continuo cello and Michael Unger, Assistant Professor of Harpsichord and Organ, is featured as harpsichordist. Student obbligato soloists include Haoli Lin and Yang Liu, violin; Xue Su and Carol Joe, flute; and Katelyn Kyser and Martha Peck, oboe.

CCM and Constella Festival Present the Music of Missy Mazzoli on Oct. 16

Constella Festival Composer-in-Residence Missy Mazzoli.

Café MoMus, CCM’s new music ensemble, explores the work of Constella Festival Composer-in-Residence Missy Mazzoli in a free concert performance at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 16, in CCM’s Patricia Corbett Theater.

Described by the New York Times as “one of the more consistently inventive, surprising composers now working,” Mazzoli is a composer of chamber, orchestral and operatic works. Her music has been played the world over by performers as varied the Kronos Quartet, eighth blackbird, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, violinist Jennifer Kohn, violist Nadia Sirota, Dublin’s Crash Ensemble and her own group, Victoire.

Victoire’s debut album, titled Cathedral City, was named one of 2010′s best classical albums by the New York Times, the New Yorker and NPR. Her opera, Song from the Uproar, premiered in New York in 2012. The original cast recording was released in November.

Mazzoli joins CCM’s new music ensemble, led by music director Jing Huan, for a special performance as part of the 2013 Constella Festival. On Sunday, Nov. 3, CCM and the Constella Festival will also co-present a unique staged performance of Johann Sebastian Bach’s St. John Passion. You can learn more about that performance here.

CCM and Constella Festival Present Roig-Francolí and Friends in Concert on Oct. 8

Miguel A. Roig-Francolí Professor, Music Theory & Composition, College-Conservatory of Music. photo/Lisa Ventre

CCM celebrates the work of Music Theory and Composition Professor Miguel A. Roig-Francolí with a concert at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 8, presented in conjunction with the 2013 Constella Festival of Music and Fine Arts. Held in CCM’s Robert J. Werner Recital Hall, the performance is free and open to the general public.

The evening will feature five of Roig-Francolí’s chamber works performed by CCM faculty and students, including Cincinnati premieres of Songs of the Infinite, for violin and piano, and Songs of Light and Darkness, for piano trio. The concert will feature performances by Timothy Lees and Jennifer Roig-Francolí, violin; Ilya Finkelshteyn, cello; Abigail Santos Villalobos, soprano; and James Tocco, Michael Chertock and Edward Neeman, piano.

CCM Announces Fall 2013 Calendar of Major Events

Download a copy of CCM’s Fall 2013 Calendar Booklet today!

The University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) is delighted to announce its fall schedule of major events. The largest single source of performing arts events in the state of Ohio, CCM presents more than 120 major public performances from Sept. 4 through Dec. 14, ranging from faculty and guest artist concerts to fully supported opera, musical theatre, drama and dance productions.

View a digital copy of CCM’s Fall 2013 Calendar Booklet today by visiting on.uc.edu/CCMFall2013. Refer to the listings below for more details.

Event Information
All events listed here will take place in CCM Village on the University of Cincinnati campus unless otherwise indicated. Admission is free to many CCM performances, although some events do require purchased tickets or reservations. Please see individual event information for details and ordering information.

All event dates and programs are subject to change. Visit ccm.uc.edu  or contact the CCM Box Office at 513-556-4183 for the most current event information.

Choral. Jazz. Orchestra. Winds. Piano. Percussion. Guest Artists. And Much More…

With nearly 40 major concert productions planned for our 2013-14 concert season, here is just a glimpse of what’s COMING UP at CCM!

Subscription and concert flex packages are on sale now. Single tickets are on sale beginning Sept. 9, 2013. Learn more at ccm.uc.edu.

Define Your Inspiration: Download CCM’s 2013-14 Season Brochure Today!

Experience the evocative. Embrace the unexpected. Rekindle old flames and discover new loves during CCM’s 2013-14 performance season.

This year, we proudly present 50 major concert and theatre productions designed to entertain, to challenge, to delight and to inspire.

Discover the world-class musicians, virtuoso performances, creative collaborations and inspiring productions that make us CCM.

Download a digital copy of CCM’s 2013-14 brochure and define your season today.

Subscription and flex ticket packages are on sale now. Single tickets go on sale Monday, Sept. 9, 2013.

CCM Announces 2013-14 Mainstage Concert Series Schedule

Photography by Dottie Stover.

CCM is pleased to announce initial details on its 2013-14 Mainstage Series of concert performances. Encompassing more than 40 different concerts, this series begins with a production of Verdi’s grand opera Don Carlos on Sept. 22 and concludes with the annual concerto competition-winners concert on April 11.

The internationally acclaimed Ariel Quartet will present a complete tour of Beethoven’s string quartets as part of CCM’s upcoming season, with six concerts scheduled for January, February and March.

CCM’s 2013-14 concert series also features a rare staged performance of Bach’s St. John Passion presented in conjunction with the Constella Festival of Music and Fine Arts, a year-long Britten Centennial Celebration, a jazz tribute to the Rolling Stones, a concert dedicated to Richard Wagner’s 200th birthday, a performance of John Adams’ opera-oratorio El Niño and much more.

Several popular concert productions are also returning, including the annual Feast of Carols, Duke Ellington’s Nutcracker Suite featuring CCM’s Jazz Ensembles and Musical Theatre Dancers, the annual PRISM concert and the latest installment of Pianopalooza.

Event Information
All events listed below take place on the campus of the University of Cincinnati unless otherwise indicated. Please see individual event information for single-ticket prices and ordering information.

New subscription and flex ticket packages go on sale Monday, June 17, 2013. Single tickets go on sale beginning Monday, Sept. 9.

All event dates and programs are subject to change. Visit ccm.uc.edu or contact the CCM Box Office at 513-556-4183 for the most current event information.